"There are millions of bands doing what we're doing; so to actually click with people in such a way that's been happening is a real special thing. We have to pinch ourselves." Kelcey Ayer, keyboardist and 1/3 of Local Natives' vocal chord, couldn't hide the overriding grin on his face. I'd been talking with him and bassist Andy Hamm for almost 40 minutes at this point, but it wasn't the first time tonight that the LA band's amazement as to where they are right now came across. Even in the Brudenell's unglamorous backstage area, they seemed to be grateful for the fact that they were finally here: on their first headline tour and in the UK.
"Sometimes - like tonight, this place is sold-out - I get in awe," Kelcey admits. Yet it's only when you delve into Local Natives' background, particularly their astonishing emergence over the last 12 months, that you can fully appreciate why they seem so unfamiliar with and bewildered by the overwhelming support they've encountered so far on the tour. "Last year we did a national tour [in the U.S.] with two other LA bands. We did shitty venues, drawing in 10-30 people a night."
It's no surprise then that the thought of a headline tour would have been originally daunting to them, let alone a headline tour on this side of the Atlantic (they've only visited the UK on one other occasion). This feeling still lingers, Andy declares ominously: "We don't know the venues. We don't know the cities. We don't even know if people are going to show up. I'm still really nervous about that." But their label and tour manager will tell them not to be: across the 12 cities they'll visit, sold-out crowds are set to become the norm for Local Natives.
They seemed to be relishing the experience more than anything, admitting afterwards that they'd arrived late at the Brudenell after they "stayed out way too long" in Brighton the previous night, but denying they want the 'mythological' tour lifestyle. Leaving a great stack of beer untouched in a crammed fridge at their side as they soberly tuck into their 'potato chips and salsa' and bottles of still water, I take their word for it.
It's easy to overlook the fact that Local Natives are still a young band, although the five of them have been playing together now for five years. "For a few years we weren't a real full-time band", Andy adds, "It was more of a side-project." Yet I get the feeling that these "few years" were no less important to them; "During that time, we got to grow up a little bit more, mature a little bit more and become closer friends. We're in a better place mentally, and how we think about music." It's almost as if they look back at this time as a defining period for them as a band, whilst setting the ground for their success since; it says a lot about Local Natives, that despite their youth they seem surprisingly mature in their approach to it all.
It was with this confidence that in early 2008, they decided to leave behind their jobs and individual pursuits of education: "The timing felt right," Andy believes, "[and] regret for me is one of the worst feelings in the world." It was only then that Local Natives became a serious, full-time, long-term commitment to all five of them.
They reaped the rewards of this decision almost immediately, though. It was last March, during SXSW 2009, that they caught the attention of the international music press; after performing nine captivating shows in just under a week, from webzines to blogs, Pitchfork to NME, Local Natives were being touted as the 'best new band of 2009', the 'ones to watch out for', and the 'next big thing'. They were propelled onto a much larger platform; "It was definitely a really great step forward for the band and ended up turning into a lot of really great things," Kelcey acknowledges.
And it did turn into countless opportunities for the band. Surprisingly, however, those in the British music industry seemed to see the band's potential much sooner than their American counterparts did; NME quickly enlisted them for their Radar Tour in October, whilst Infectious agreed to release 'Gorilla Manor', the band's debut LP, the following month, five months prior to its US release with French Kiss Records. This doesn't seem to worry the band though; the prospect of its release in the US, however late it is, overwhelms them more than anything: "The first thing you want when you're in a band, is to put stuff out in your own country, you know?"
It feels as though they all had this aspiration at the back of their minds, particularly when writing the material for the record: "The five of us were all involved and everyone's opinionated. It's a difficult process to come up with a song that everyone's stoked on. But the goal [for all of us] was just to have a strong debut record, and 10 or 12 songs that we really could stand by." It's because of this that they didn't rush themselves; 'Gorilla Manor' certainly wasn't an album that was hastily written and recorded: "We had some songs, like Sun Hands, which is nearly three years old anyway. [But] there was a time in 2008 when we were writing pretty heavily for eight months and ended up recording what we thought was going to be the album. Since then we reworked some songs, wrote three brand new songs. It's been was a work in progress up until August [2009]."
Despite all the time and energy they've spent labouring over the record, there doesn't seem to be an overwhelming sense of concern or worry amongst them for how it's received or how well it sells: "I don't feel any pressure. Whatever happens from here will happen." Andy says nonchalantly. It's not indifference though: "I [read reviews] but I'm going to stop," Kelcey jokes, "I start to think with the opinions I hear so much." I don't think he'll stop anytime soon though: "When we hear our name, someone's taken the time not only to just listen to our music, but to spend their day to write something about it, it's such a huge compliment. We've put so much time into it, and for someone to give a little time back ..."
The reviews for 'Gorilla Manor' have been largely positive up until now; as a result, a headline tour has just been announced for when they return to the US, alongside appearances at Coachella and Bonnaroo. Wouldn't it now just be all too easy for them to get caught up in it all, become complacent and lose sight of who Local Natives really are? "It's a fine line," Kelcey admits, "You need to have fun while you're playing otherwise we wouldn't be doing it. But at the same time, it's something you need to take very seriously. It's finding that balance between having fun and having enough integrity to keep moving forward."
It's this integrity, Kelcey believes, that's kept Local Natives together over the last year: "When you mix that passion [of being in a band] with four of your best friends, there's naturally going to be tension and things to argue about. [But] you have four other people that are doing the same thing, so if you're super down and out, there's four other people that'll bring you back up. It becomes a bit of a support group at times; we're always holding each other up in one way or another." I don't doubt Kelcey; although they're all exhausted and worn-out as you'd expect, (so far, this is the longest they've ever spent away from California) it doesn't seem to be affecting their friendships; when Ryan, Taylor and Matt returned from the sound check, they all began to share in-jokes and funny anecdotes. The honeymoon period may be over for Local Natives, but as the entire band joked around, I never felt as though they didn't want to share this experience together.
It was then, as the interview was drawing to an end, that I realised Local Natives aren't the haughty and overconfident young musicians I probably expected them to be. In fact, the one thing that struck me most about them was how unpretentious they really are; they just seem to be taking everything in their stride: "Everyday I'm sitting here [being interviewed], somewhere I'd never visit," Kelcey utters. There's something even innocent to Kelcey when I ask him the predictable: 'What's been your biggest achievement to date?' He immediately answers with an eager expression: "[Being booked to play] Coachella ... I've always grown up with that." It's clear then that more than anything, however cheesy it may sound, they're realising their own dreams at the moment.
Yet the one thing they're not is delusional: "There's no real end goal, just to keep making music. And personally, just looking forward to trying out new things and pushing each other to outdo ourselves and make music we didn't think we could," Kelcey exclaims. "We're pretty anxious to write now; we just want to do it for a good while." Now I'm no soothsayer, but I know that if Local Natives continue to be the genuine, straight-thinking and adept group that they've become, they'll be pinching themselves long into the future.
