Video Encounter: Local Natives XBOX Commercial

And that's why some bands sign to Universal Music Publishing.

And that's why some bands don't.

Video Encounter: Local Natives' "World News"

CER All-Time Favorites (it's highly unlikely that this blog would even exist if not for them) Local Natives released their video today for "World News." I'm not sure if the video is supposed to be understood, but if it is I clearly don't get it. Nonetheless, it will surely hold your attention for four and a half minutes.

What 2 Go 2 Special Alert: Local Natives at the Troubadour on Friday, June 4

Coachella exclusivity doesn't last forever. Local Natives' first LA show since December's uncomfortably sold out show at the Echo will be on June 4 at the Troubadour as part of their tour with labelmates Suckers. Local friends The Union Line will start the night's festivities.

Considering that the Echo show sold out, and especially considering everything thereafter (Pitchfork, Coachella, sold out shows across the country, including two at the Bowery Ballroom, etc.) this show is going to sell out fast once word gets out. As this is the last date of the tour, it's possible that a second date will be added, but there's definitely no guarantees. The next time the Troubadour is free is June 8, and LN is at Bonnaroo on June 10, which probably eliminates that possibility. Perhaps LN will pull a Passion Pit and book the Echoplex for a second show.

While I'm happy that this show is not at a larger venue, I am very surprised, since this show could definitely fill the Echoplex or El Rey. There's going to be a lot of unhappy fans getting shut out.

In December I was wrong when I wrote that the Echo show may be LN's last in a small venue in LA, but I don't see how this won't be it.

Best get your tickets now, which you can do at this link.

(Thanks to The Scenestar for the tip)

UPDATE 4/20: Troubadour show is sold out, but they've added a second show at Bootleg (21+). Tickets on sale now here.

UPDATE 4/21: Bootleg is sold out. No word on whether there will be a third show.

Closing the Loop

The pesky Pitchfork review that I mentioned at the end of last year as the only thing standing between Local Natives and 2010 domination? It's now a catapult. 8.4 and Best New Music.

Tomorrow: Local Natives, Voxhaul Broadcast, and Chief at the Echo

Bottom line: Last chance to see Local Natives in the U.S. until at least the middle of March. $5 if you buy from Ticketweb (although that option has just disappeared), $10 at the door, or free when you buy LN's vinyl single at Origami ($4).

Possible bottom line: Last chance to see Local Natives in a small venue in LA? 1) It looks like this show is on the verge of selling out. 2) Their album will be released in the U.S. in February, before they're back from Europe. A couple favorable reviews and they'll be playing the Echoplex or El Rey instead of the Echo or Spaceland.

Voxhaul Broadcast and Chief open it up. Bring a can of food and you get a free gift from the band.

Local Natives Finally Sign a Record Deal in the U.S.

The circle is now complete: Frenchkiss Records for the U.S. (side note: Frenchkiss also recently signed the excellent Freelance Whales -- LN/FW tour in 2010?), Infectious Records for the rest of the world, and Universal Music Publishing for those lucrative publishing rights. Gorilla Manor, Local Natives' debut album, which was released on November 2 in the U.K. (and I'm sure is all over the internet), will be released on February 16 in the U.S.

My initial thoughts about the three month gap between a U.S. and Worldwide release date for Gorilla Manor was that this was clearly stupid. I have a hard time believing there was a shortage U.S. labels that wanted to sign the band and release their album like they wanted to in the fall.

But when I think about it more, I really like the idea of spacing it out. First, the album was completely self-financed by the band, which means that LN is not thousands of dollars in debt to a label. This definitely takes the pressure off record sales (also helped by not signing to a major label), and I'm sure the band knows that their meal ticket is their phenomenal live shows, not some eternally fixed translation of their songs onto a record. (Taylor is quoted in Pop & Hiss saying “We’re proud of our album, but we’re at our best when we’re live.”)

Second, spacing out the releases allows Local Natives spend months solely focusing on Europe, since it's the only place they have label support and the only place where their album is available. And LN is taking advantage of the opportunity. They've already done two tours in the UK and will be spending two months there early next year. With the band being in Europe, and the album exclusively on Infectious Records, Infectious has a tremendous incentive to support the band.

Then, with momentum coming from the UK, Local Natives can continue making waves in the U.S., where they're almost surely destined for success (and just a pesky Pitchfork review away from 2010 domination). The momentum and potential will encourage Frenchkiss to put their full support behind the band.

Who knows how much of this was planned. Nonetheless, Local Natives and their team have assembled a very smart group of business partners:

• Two indie labels on the recording side, which secures indie cred and frees up more money for them (2 is more than 1). Splitting up their label commitments geographically allows each label to focus on the territories they know, and should allow more efficient use of their resources.
  

• Universal Music Publishing Group for that always needed advance money, not to mention the clout of the world's largest music publishing company in the only way bands make money now besides touring: placements in TV and advertising.
  

So, in all, kudos to the band, its management (Phil Costello of Red Light Management -- Red Light also manages to Dave Matthews, The Jakes, and a ton of others) and most importantly (in my eyes) their attorney, Richard Grabel, who's known to be one of the best indie lawyers around, if not the best.

For CER, LN's signing comes during a time of reflection on the past year and thoughts about what the next year will bring. The first time I ventured to the east side for a show was to see Local Natives for the first time almost one year ago, on December 8 at the Silverlake Lounge. Since then I've had the privilege to see them 9 additional times, and set #11 will be at the Echo on December 22. That's a lot, I know, but every time I'd go to a LN show thinking this would be the last time before taking a break, I came away from their sets always wanting more. Their explosion in 2009 has been deserving and remarkable and I see no limits for them in 2010.

CER Favorites at the 2009 CMJ Music Marathon

Want to check out three of LA's finest as they descend on New York for this week's CMJ Music Marathon? I've got everything you need to know right here.

This year Casxio, Local Natives, and The Happy Hollows will be playing all over the city. Here's their schedules, listed by date. (There's also a little cheat sheet, listed by band, at the bottom.)

Tuesday October 20

Casxio: Piano's (158 Ludlow St.) for The Music Slut CMJ Party. Casxio is on at 6pm. Great lineup. Other bands you should check out at this party are The Love Language, Fanfarlo, Sean Bones and Calypso.



The Happy Hollows have their CMJ showcase at 11:30pm at the Lit Lounge (93 2nd Ave.)

Wendesday October 21

Casxio is at Southpaw in Brooklyn (125 5th Ave.) for one of their two official showcases. They go on at 9:15pm.

The Happy Hollows are at Coco 66 in Brooklyn (66 Greenpoint Ave.) at around 10pm.

Thursday October 22

Aquarium Drunkard & Intelligent Noise party at Fontana's (105 Eldridge St.). This is the daytime party to attend at CMJ: Happy Hollows (3:30pm), Local Natives (3pm), Roadside Graves, and The Love Language are all performing.


Casxio will be at The Canal Room (285 West Broadway) for the ASCAP showcase. 9:15pm set time once again.

Local Natives: In typical fashion, LN plays a second show on the same day, this time their CMJ showcase at The Mercury Lounge (217 E. Houston) at midnight. Hockey plays right before them at 11 and Sean Bones follows them at 1am. Complete details.

Friday October 23

Casxio is at Norwood (241 W. 14th St.) for The:Hours Records Meet & Greet party. Time TBA.

Local Natives once again play two shows in one day:

• First they're at Santos Party House (96 Lafayette) at 8pm.
  

• Then they're at BrooklynVegan's party at a Williamsburg loft in a secret location at 11:55pm. To RSVP and get on the list (which does not guarantee admission) you have to email loft.rsvp@gmail.com with your name. Here's more details on that show.

Saturday October 24

Local Natives again play two events in one day.

• First, they're at the Brooklyn Vegan party at 2pm at Piano's (158 Ludlow St.) (Note: I'm a bit skeptical about this in light of the BV loft show they're playing the night before)
  

• Then, they're at Delancy (168 Delancy) for the Deli Magazine showcase at 4:15pm.

List by Band

Local Natives

• Thursday October 22: 1) Fontana's at 3pm, 2) Mercury Lounge at midnight
• Friday October 23: 1) Santos Party House at 8pm, 2) Williamsburg loft at 11:55pm
• Saturday October 24: 1) Piano's at 2pm, 2) Delancy at 4pm

Casxio

• Tuesday October 20: Piano's at 6pm
• Wednesday October 21: Southpaw at 9:15pm
• Thursday October 22: Canal Room at 9:15pm
• Friday October 23: Norwood. Time TBA.

Happy Hollows

• Tuesday October 20: Lit Lounge at 11:30pm
• Wednesday October 21: Coco 66 at around 10pm

Wish I could be in New York this week. Have fun!

Tonight (My Birthday!) at Spaceland: Henry Clay People, Local Natives, Fun., Aushua

True, it's purely a coincidence that my birthday is the same day as this spectacular show, but when you can see both Local Natives and The Henry Clay People at Spaceland on your birthday (and for free) the stars have truly aligned.

And that doesn't even include Fun., which features Nate Ruess of The Format and Jack from Steel Train. They've sold out the Mercury Lounge (NYC) and Schuba's (Chicago) dates on their current tour. And Aushua is supposed to be great also. I am very excited.

Local Natives on at 11, Henry Clay at 10. Fun and Aushua keep the candle burning on both ends (9pm and Midnight, not necessarily respectively). You best get there early.

August Highlights

August is going to be a spectacular month. Let me count the ways . . .

#1) Sunset Junction: August 22 and 23. Seeing Arrested Development will be worth the price of admission ($15/day in advance), but then there's also Local Natives, Nico Vega, The Submarines, Conor Oberst, Nico Stai, and Fool's Gold, among others.



#2) Local Natives Residency (especially the August 10 date). It's Local Natives' month; we're just living in it. They've got six LA shows this month: 5 Mondays at Spaceland and the first day of Sunset Junction.



#3) Rock 'N Roll Summer Circus at the Echoplex. This is going to be great. To start, it's Henry Clay's first "small" LA show since their April residency, but there's so much more. From THCP's myspace description:

w/ FOL CHEN, FLYING TOURBILLON ORCHESTRA, MARVELOUS TOY --- "Side Show Acoustic Performers": Damselles/TC4, Balloon Bass, Roadside Graves, Les Blanks, Downtown/Union, Oof Tarted, Banjo-vi, and Eli Monolator. Cotton Candy, Games (Skeeball!), Balloon Animals, Face Painting, Moustaches, Mimes, and MORE

Local Natives Spaceland Residency -- The Lineups

Time to plan ahead. Here's the supporting acts for the Local Natives August residency at Spaceland:

August 3: The Union Line, The Outline, We Barbarians.

August 10: Red Cortez, Rademacher, Swim Party. This is the one not to miss.

August 17: Voxhaul Broadcast, Soko, The Lonely H.

August 24: The Parson Redheads, The Cheat.

August 31: Fun, Aushua.

You get a free download of LN's "Sun Hands" when you sign up for their mailing list. For your convenience, you can sign up right here:

Castledoor, Local Natives @ Spaceland (6/22/2009)

Two of CER's absolute favorites, playing back to back at Spaceland for free on a Monday night. This is why I love LA.

Local Natives were on first, and I don't think I've heard them sound better. They held back a little on the vocals, pursuing harmony over an unneeded vocal assault. And they even sounded great without their violinist. Each of the six previous times I've seen LN their violinist, who the band refers to as "Amanda Violin," played with them. When I noticed she was not with the band this time, I thought I was in for a poorer set, like when Princeton plays without their string section. But surprisingly I didn't miss her presence.

The band played their typical, albeit great, set list. If I had any criticism, it's that they need to add some new songs to their live show, although I doubt many people have seen them enough to consider this critique. I'm sure they'll add something to the mix for their August Spaceland residency. In all, if LN were the only band playing that night I would have left happy.

Here's a video of them playing "Cards & Quarters," which is the b-side to their soon-to-be-released single for "Sun Hands." Notice Kelcey playing the keyboard with his right hand and the drum his left at the same time; I don't know how he does that.



Then up comes Castledoor. They played well and it was a fun set, but it didn't match the experience I had seeing them at tiny Temporary Spaces back in May: Spaceland was too packed and too warm to repeat that.

Here's a clip of their cover of "It Ain't Me," which they burned onto 100 CDs and handed out for free.



Pictures (EDIT: deleted because, as an anonymous commenter noted, they came out very poorly)

What 2 Go 2: June 23 - 28

I'm out of town again beginning on Thursday, but I'll be scheduling posts to go up while I'm out. This looks like a high quality week.

Tuesday: Cryptacize at Echo Curio.

• Alternative: Local Natives and Sean Bones are playing a free show at Space 15 Twenty.
  

Wednesday: The Watson Twins at Largo.

Thursday: Amanda Palmer at the Troubadour. She's mesmerizing.

Friday: Fol Chen at the PDG Warehouse downtown. Supposedly a Lakers celebration. I'm going to miss Fol Chen again. Arrgs.

• Alternate: Telekinesis at Echoplex
• Alternate 2: Line and Circle (who sound great on their Myspace) at Spaceland. They're not headlining, and I'm not familiar with the other bands playing, so might not be worth it.
  

Saturday: Probably can't go wrong with Halloween Jack at Spaceland. I never made it to any of their shows.

Castledoor AND Local Natives at Spaceland TONIGHT

Two CER favorites on the bill tonight at Spaceland for the perfect price of FREE. A CER dream show? Signs point to yes.

Local Natives open up for Castledoor's fourth residency show tonight. Local Natives should be on at 10 with Castledoor at 11. Don't miss it.

More info if you need it.

News & Notes: May 28 (Local Natives, Divisadero, Discovery, and more)

• Local Natives first ever release: UK Label Chess Club Records is releasing Local Natives' "Sun Hands" on June 7. It's a vinyl release and limited to 500 copies. Cards & Quarters is the B Side. You can pre-order your copy here. The release coincides with Local Natives' first ever trip to the UK.

• On Tuesday JAXART Records released Divisadero's album "Lefty" in electronic format. So now you can buy it on iTunes, eMusic, or Amazon, and stream it from Rhapsody. A free MP3 from the album can be downloaded here.

• Pitchfork interview with Discovery. Most disappointing part: "I don't think we're ever going to play any Discovery shows, so there's only so far it can go, really."

• For you New Yorkers, Kittens Ablaze will be opening for Natalie Portman's Shaved Head on June 20th at Santos.

• Go West Young Man dropped out of Sunday's show at Dakota Lounge. I'm probably dropping out too.

• This has already made the rounds, but http://lab.andre-michelle.com/tonematrix is really fun. It's a tone matrix where you can make your own beats.
  

Local Natives at Spaceland (5/8/2009)

Local Natives are obviously a CER favorite; just look over to the playlist I include on the right side of this blog or see my Featured Band: Local Natives post, the only featured band post I've ever done. Nonetheless, I was worried before the show that with this being my sixth time seeing Local Natives I'd be less impressed simply because I've seen them so many times.

But once they started playing those worries disappeared and I really enjoyed their set. Taylor said afterwards that the vocals were a bit low (he also generally said that they've been disappointed with the sound at their LA shows), but the band plays with so much energy that even if one or two things are off it's always a great set.

Video Clips:

Their cover of Talking Heads' "Warning Sign"



"Sun Hands"



Pictures:

Tonight: Local Natives at Spaceland

I haven't seen Local Natives (CER Favorites) since SXSW, and they're not going to be playing many small LA shows in the near future. First, they have no May shows scheduled besides tonight. Then in the first half of June they'll be touring the East Coast with Blind Pilot and afterwards are playing LA and San Diego with Ben Kweller.

To get on the $6 list for tonight, email info@thelocalnatives.com by 6pm. Tonight will be my sixth time seeing them, and I'm still looking forward to it. Lots of 6's in this paragraph.

Here's a video for "World News" that LN posted to their myspace recently:



And here's a cover of "Cecilia" that's been on their page for awhile



Related Posts
CER Featured Band #1: Local Natives

Video Encounter: My SXSW Videos

Advance apologies for the audio and video quality.

Kittens Ablaze at Wave on Friday.



Local Natives playing "Airplanes" at Wave on Saturday.



Cage the Elephant at Antone's on Saturday night.



Some strange electrical stuff that I'll explain more about later when I figure out what it is

CER Featured Band #1: Local Natives

It only makes sense that CER's first featured band is Local Natives, since their December 8, 2008 show catapulted me into LA's local music "scene." It was 1) my first ever Silverlake/Echo Park show, 2) my first time at the Silverlake Lounge, 3) the first time I had gone to see a band after hearing them on Indie 103.1's local music show "Check One Two . . ." (R.I.P.), and 4) quite a performance. I was lucky enough to catch two of their February residency shows at the Silverlake Lounge, and they're not the secret that they were back in December; their last residency show hit capacity just minutes after their set began. I'm looking forward to seeing them play at SXSW before a foreign crowd.

At the top right of the blog (in the "gadgets" section) are four of their songs, courtesy of iLike. Embedded below are tracks posted by Matt Frazier, the band's drummer, on iMeem, including three songs that have never appeared on LN's Myspace. After hearing "Camera Talk" on Check One Two on December 7, it was these iMeem songs that convinced me to head out to Silverlake the next night to see them. Glad I did.

Pictures from each of the three LN shows I've seen are courtesy of the mediocre camera on my aging AT&T Tilt.

Local Natives