Local H
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Local H |
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Local H is a rock band, formed by Scott Lucas (lead vocals, guitar, bass) and Joe Daniels (drums). The two began playing together in their Zion, Illinois high school in 1987. After failed attempts at recruiting a bassist, Lucas took the unique approach of adding bass pickups to his electric guitar.
History
Local H's first album, Ham Fisted, was released in 1995. Their 1996 follow up album, As Good as Dead had a successful release thanks to the popularity of the smash hit "Bound for the Floor." Other singles helped propel album sales as well as the band's popularity. 1998 saw the release of Pack Up the Cats, a critically acclaimed album which spawned the single "All the Kids Are Right" and found its way on many critics' top ten year end lists. Unfortunately, the album's chances of success were stifled when their label, PolyGram, merged with Universal and the album was all but forgotten during the transition.
Daniels left the band in July of 1999, leaving Lucas to recruit former Triple Fast Action drummer Brian St. Clair in September of 1999. Brian has also worked for Chicago-based Liz Phair, and Cheap Trick. The two released their fourth album Here Comes the Zoo in 2002 under the Palm Pictures record label. The No Fun EP followed in 2003 and their fifth album, Whatever Happened to P.J. Soles?, was released in April 2004 to favorable reviews.
In 2005 the band received a good deal of publicity after performing a cover of the Britney Spears hit "Toxic". The studio-recorded cover was available on the band's website, and it can now be found as the last, and only studio recorded, track of Alive '05, a live album the band released in 2005. "Toxic" has been performed in recent concerts.
Their seventh album, 12 Angry Months, was released on May 13, 2008 on the Shout! Factory label. The album is a concept album about the different emotions felt for the 12 months after the end of a romantic relationship.
Local H is currently managed by former Triple Fast Action member Wes Kidd for Silent Partner Management which merged with Charlottesville, Virginia, based Red Light Management in 2007.
Live shows
Local H is held in high regard amongst its fans for their frequent and energetic live shows. Scott Lucas has a reputation for being relatively combative with the crowd during these performances. It's not uncommon for Scott to pause during breaks in the show and verbally abuse specific members of the crowd. However, the members of the band (including Scott Lucas) can usually be found at their own merchandise table after shows - laughing, signing autographs, and selling t-shirts.
Local H also has a reputation for creative ideas with regards to its live shows.
In 2003, the band auctioned off a live show to the winner of an eBay auction.
In 2004, the band played a show at a bar named Fritz's Corner in Zion, Illinois. "Fritz's Corner" is the name of a single off of the 1996 release "As Good as Dead" and by all accounts the name was taken from this specific establishment.
In 2005; Local H performed an "all request tour" in which a ballot resembling a traditional sushi menu was handed out to the audience upon admittance to the venue; containing a breakdown of most of the bands' songs organized into various categories. Audiences were allowed to pick seven songs from the "menu" and the setlist for each show was derived from these ballots.
In the summer of 2007, Local H played a show at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago.
For Halloween 2007 Local H announced a contest in which fans would make videos of themselves doing Local H songs. The winner would then get to be the opening act at one of Local H's live shows. A band from New York called Kung-Fu Grip won the contest with their cover of "Cooler Heads," a song from Local H's No Fun E.P. Kung-Fu Grip opened for Local H on December 31, 2007 at Subterranean in Chicago Illinois.
Most recently, Local H announced a series of shows to promote the May 13, 2008 release of their new album 12 Angry Months. Starting on May 7th; Local H will consecutively play each of their albums in chronological order, one album a night, at the Beat Kitchen in Chicago. According to the band's website that means that from May 7th to May 13th "hardcore fans" will get "the chance of a lifetime" to see the band perform their entire studio catalog, with one night (May 12th) devoted to b-sides and rarities. A presale/promotional package for this event went on sale on before the bulk of the tickets were released on March 8th, and the special week long passes that included a commemorative t-shirt sold out in seconds. The final show on May 13th was filmed by Seattle-based King of Hearts Productions for a soon-to-be-released live DVD.
In addition, for Halloween from 1996 to 2006 Local H would play at the Double Door night club in Chicago, masquerading as another group. In previous years they have performed as bands including Nirvana, Tom Petty, Oasis, The Doors, and Sex Pistols. In 2006, the band announced that the Halloween show that year would be the last and played "headlining" shows as Kiss and Led Zeppelin on consecutive nights.
Trivia
- Frontman Scott Lucas has an affinity for Maker's Mark bourbon. On many occasions; Scott has been known to drink an entire bottle of Maker's Mark during a set. Drummer Brian St. Clair does not drink alcohol.
- Scott Lucas is a vegetarian.
- Brian St. Clair is an avid bird watcher.
- The songs Bound For The Floor from the 1996 album As Good As Dead, and Hands on the Bible from 2002 album Here Comes the Zoo was featured in the 2006 film, Big Nothing, starring Simon Pegg and David Schwimmer. "Bound for the Floor" was also featured in the video game Saints Row.
- A good friend of the band, Gabe Rodriguez, often accompanies the band on tours and will spring from behind an amplifier during songs to provide backing vocals or to play the kazoo, or the tambourine.
- Scott Lucas is involved in numerous side projects. His most recent activities include collaborating with several other Chicago area musicians to form the electronica-influenced Prairie Cartel. Scott also performs with members of Cisco Pike (a band he also recorded with); and that group focuses exclusively on covering lesser known songs and bands. He also recently toured with The Tossers in Europe, playing bass.
- There are numerous connections to White Zombie. At different times, both Brian St. Clair and White Zombie guitarist J. Yuenger were in Rights of the Accused. Yuenger later played in Stendec with Joe Daniels. While filming The Devil's Rejects, PJ Soles brought Rob Zombie Whatever Happened to P.J. Soles, with which while on set Zombie blared the song bearing her name.[1]
Band members
Current members
- Scott Lucas - lead & rhythm guitars, lead vocals, bass, percussion (1987-present)
- Brian St. Clair - drums, backing vocals (1999-present)
Former members
- Joe Daniels - drums, whistling, backing vocals (1987-1999)
- Matt Garcia - bass (1987-1992)
- John Sparkman
- Mike Lindine
Touring musicians
- Wes Kidd - lead & rhythm guitars on the Pack Up the Cats tour
- Gabe Rodriguez - backing vocals, kazoo, and tambourine.
Discography
Albums
- Ham Fisted (1995)
- As Good as Dead (1996)
- Pack Up the Cats (1998)
- Here Comes the Zoo (2002)
- Whatever Happened to P.J. Soles? (2004)
- Twelve Angry Months (2008)
EPs
- Half-Life E.P. (2001)
- The No Fun EP (2003)
Live albums
- Alive '05 (2005)
Singles and EPs
- Drum (1991)
- Local H/Sybil Vane Split 7" (1994)
- A vinyl split single which featured the unreleased "Disgruntled Xmas" and Sybil Vane's cover of "White Christmas"
- Local H/The Blank Theory Split 7" (2000)
- A vinyl split single which featured the unreleased cover of The Godfathers song "Birth, School, Work, Death" (later re-recorded for The No Fun EP) and The Blank Theory's "Corporation"
Singles
| Year | Song | U.S. Hot 100 | UK singles | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | "Cynic" | - | - | Ham Fisted |
| - | "Mayonnaise and Malaise" | - | - | |
| 1996 | "Bound for the Floor" | - | - | As Good as Dead |
| 1997 | "Eddie Vedder" | - | - | |
| 1997 | "Fritz's Corner" | - | - | |
| - | "High-Fiving MF" | - | - | |
| 1998 | "All the Kids Are Right" | - | - | Pack Up the Cats |
| 1998 | "All-Right (Oh, Yeah)" | - | - | |
| 2001 | "Half-Life" | - | - | Here Comes the Zoo |
| 2002 | "Hands on the Bible" | - | - | |
| 2004 | "California Songs" | - | - | Whatever Happened to P.J. Soles? |
| 2005 | "Toxic" (Britney Spears Cover) | - | - | Alive '05 |
| 2008 | "24 Hour Break-Up Session" | - | - | 12 Angry Months |
Demos/Demo Albums
- Scratch Demos (1991)
- The '92 Demos (Originally Released in 1992 under the name Local H, Re-Released in 1999)
- '99-'00 Demos (Released in 2006)
Compilation appearances
- The Great White Hype soundtrack (1996)
- Features "Feed"
- Sling Blade soundtrack (1996)
- Features a cover of Guided by Voices' "Smothered in Hugs"
- Gravesend soundtrack (1997)
- Features two unreleased songs, "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" and "Tag-Along"
- Where is my Mind? The Pixies Tribute (1999)
- Features a cover of "Tame"
- Oil thick records compilation (2002)
- Features an early version of "Mellowed"