Local H is an American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band originally formed by guitarist and vocalist Scott Lucas, bassist Matt Garcia, drummer Joe Daniels, and lead guitarist John Sparkman in

Zion Zion ( he, צִיּוֹן ''Ṣīyyōn'', LXX , also variously transliterated ''Sion'', ''Tzion'', ''Tsion'', ''Tsiyyon'') is a placename in the Hebrew Bible used as a synonym for Jerusalem as well as for the Land of Israel as a whole (see Names ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

in 1990. The members all met in high school in 1987 and founded Local H three years later. They are known for their unorthodox two-piece setup. After Sparkman's departure in 1991 and Garcia's departure in 1993, Local H signed a record contract with

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...

in 1994 as a duo, where they would go on to release three albums. They became best known for their radio hit "

Bound for the Floor "Bound for the Floor" is a song by American alternative rock duo Local H, released as the first single from their 1996 album, '' As Good as Dead''. It was released to modern rock stations on July 15 and mainstream rock stations on July 22. It is ...

", a single from the 1996 album '' As Good as Dead'' which peaked at No. 5 on the US Alternative ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' Chart. The album ''As Good As Dead'' was also certified gold. Daniels was replaced by Brian St. Clair in 1999, and the group released four albums and four EPs with St. Clair on drums. Brian St. Clair's last show with Local H was in 2013. In November 2013, Ryan Harding was announced as the new drummer, and the band have since released two albums, ''

Hey, Killer Hey, Killer is the eighth studio album by American alternative rock duo Local H, released on April 14, 2015 through G&P Records, the official merchandiser for the band. Unlike previous recordings, ''Hey, Killer'' is not a conceptual release. The a ...

'' in 2015 and '' Lifers'' in 2020. According to the band's

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

account in 2015, its name comes from combining two

R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the first alternati ...

songs: "Oddfellows Local 151" and "Swan Swan H".

History

Joe Daniels era (1987–1999)

Local H formed as a result of a high school band that Scott Lucas and Matt Garcia were in called Rude Awakening, in 1987. In 1987, while attending high school in Zion, Scott Lucas and Joe Daniels began jamming together, along with Matt Garcia and John Sparkman. Local H was formed in 1990, performing their first show on April 20, 1990, at the University of Wisconsin in Whitewater. Sparkman left the band on April 4, 1991. Local H released ''Drum'', their first

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

, in 1991. Garcia left on January 26, 1993, and Lucas and Daniels began looking for a replacement bassist. They eventually decided to carry on as a duo with Lucas handling bass guitar frequencies after having a high school friend, Tobey Flescher, modify his guitar with an added bass pickup and second output. Local H played their first show as a true duo on September 3, 1993. Local H recorded and released three studio albums through Island Records with the Lucas/Daniels lineup: ''

Ham Fisted ''Ham Fisted'' is the debut studio album by the alternative rock band Local H. It was released through Island Records in January 1995. Though the tracks "Cynic" and "Mayonnaise and Malaise" were released as airplay singles in 1994, the album faile ...

'' (1995), '' As Good as Dead'' (1996), and ''

Pack Up the Cats ''Pack Up the Cats'' is the third studio album by the American alternative rock band Local H. Self-described by the band as "our little concept record about a shitty mid-level band", it was released on September 1, 1998, on Island Records, around ...

'' (1998). With ''As Good as Dead'', the band found moderate commercial success with the single "

" which rose to No. 5 on the US Alternative ''

'' Chart and No. 10 on the US Hot Mainstream Rock ''Billboard'' Chart. The songs "

Eddie Vedder Eddie Jerome Vedder (born Edward Louis Severson III; December 23, 1964) is an American singer, musician, and songwriter best known as the lead vocalist and one of four guitarists of the rock band Pearl Jam. He also appeared as a guest vocalist i ...

" and "Fritz's Corner" additionally made Top 40 on the Alternative and Mainstream Rock Billboard Charts.

Brian St. Clair era (1999–2013)

In July 1999, after a complicated year with their label, Daniels left the group. He was replaced by former

Triple Fast Action Triple Fast Action (sometimes stylized as tripl3fastaction) was an indie rock/alternative rock band started by Wes Kidd and Brian St. Clair, both previous members of Chicago band Rights of the Accused, in 1995. Kidd went on to manage such bands a ...

drummer Brian St. Clair, who had previously worked as a drum tech for

Cheap Trick Cheap Trick is an American rock band from Rockford, Illinois, formed in 1973 by guitarist Rick Nielsen, bassist Tom Petersson, lead vocalist Robin Zander and drummer Bun E. Carlos. The current lineup of the band consists of Zander, Nielsen and ...

. Lucas and St. Clair released the band's fourth album ''

Here Comes the Zoo ''Here Comes the Zoo'' is an album by the band Local H. It was released on March 5, 2002 on Palm Pictures. This was their first album not released on Island Records. Starting with this album, every release so far has been on a different label. Th ...

'' in 2002 under the

Palm Pictures Palm Pictures is a US-based entertainment company owned and run by Chris Blackwell. Palm Pictures produces, acquires and distributes music and film projects with a particular focus on the DVD-Video format. Palm places an emphasis on such pro ...

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 recording a cover of the

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...

single "

Toxic Toxicity is the degree to which a chemical substance or a particular mixture of substances can damage an organism. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect on a subst ...

." The track was the only studio recording featured on '' Alive '05'', a 2005 live album that constituted the sixth major release from the band. In 2008 the band released their sixth studio album '' Twelve Angry Months'', a

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

in which each of the twelve songs represented a stage in a year long process of overcoming a failed relationship. On April 5, 2011, the ICON release of the band's Island recordings became their first "best-of" compilation. In an April 22 interview with ''The Delaware County Daily Times'', Lucas commented, "It's kinda weird but kinda cool because it doesn’t cover our entire career, so I was like, 'Let's call it The Island Years.'" In a June 28 guest appearance on the movie review podcast/website "CinemaJaw," Lucas claimed that the next album would be out before the upcoming 2012 elections—mainly because so much of the album's content deals with it directly—expecting it to be released by February 2012. In the same interview, Lucas also suggested that a working title for the album was ''Hallelujah, I'm a Bum'', named for a song from the

Depression Era The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagion ...

. On July 11, 2012, the band announced that their next studio effort, '' Hallelujah! I'm a Bum'', would be released on September 18. A full track listing was also published. In May 2012, the band launched a tour of small clubs and bars in preparation for release of a new album. In September 2016, Local H announced a North American club tour supporting

Helmet A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a policeman's helmet in the United Kingdom) without protect ...

. On August 21, 2013, it was announced that St. Clair would be leaving the band after a brief farewell tour, in order to focus on his tour management company, Tour Time Productions. The departure was described as amicable and a mutual decision between Lucas and St. Clair.

Ryan Harding era (2013–present)

On November 4, 2013, Ryan Harding was announced as the new drummer. Previously, Harding had played with Sullen (Shanna Kiel from Sullen performed on "5th Ave. Crazy" from ''Here Comes the Zoo'' in 2001) and Short & Sweet, who had opened for Local H. Nobody else was auditioned or considered, and Harding's first show with the band was on November 8, 2013. On April 22, 2014 the band released a studio single of their cover of the

Lorde Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor (born 7 November 1996), known professionally as Lorde ( ), is a New Zealand singer-songwriter. Taking inspiration from aristocracy for her stage name, she is known for her unconventional musical styles and i ...

song "Team". In early 2015, the duo created a

Pledgemusic PledgeMusic was an online direct-to-fan music platform, launched in August 2009. It was started to facilitate musicians looking to pre-sell, market, and distribute projects; such as recordings and concerts. It bore similarities to other artist p ...

campaign in order to help fund the production of their new album, titled ''

''. The album was released on April 15, 2015 through G&P Records. On March 29, 2016, Lucas announced on WKQX that the band would celebrate the 20th anniversary of ''As Good As Dead'' by playing shows where they perform the entire AGAD album with original drummer Joe Daniels in addition to other songs with Harding on drums. In April 2017, Local H was announced as the winner of the 'Hit the Stage' contest, gaining the opportunity to open for

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

on five dates of the WorldWired tour. On January 1, 2018, the band announced a new live album from their 2017 European tour. The album, ''Live in Europe'', was released on February 6, 2018. On January 6, 2019, the band performed as the halftime entertainment of the Chicago Bears vs. Philadelphia Eagles NFL Wildcard Playoff game. In January 2020, the band premiered a new single entitled "Turn the Bow", as well as announced an upcoming studio album entitled '' LIFERS,'' set to be released in April of the same year. The album was produced by veteran audio engineers

Steve Albini Steve Albini (pronounced ; born July 22, 1962) is an American musician, record producer, audio engineer and music journalist. He was a member of Big Black, Rapeman and Flour, and is a member of Shellac. He is the founder, owner and principal en ...

and Andy Gerber, features members of Deer Tick and

Naked Raygun Naked Raygun was one of the first, one of the longest running, and one of the most recognized Chicago punk bands. They are considered by many to be the most important band in the history of Chicago punk rock and credited with creating “the Chi ...

, and was mixed by J. Robbins. On March 23, 2020, the band released the live video for their single "Hold That Thought." ''LIFERS'' was released on April 10, 2020. On October 22, 2021, the band performed at the Shaky Knees Music Festival.

Live shows

Local H is known for their frequent and energetic live shows. The members of the band can usually be found at their own merchandise table after shows, signing autographs and selling band T-shirts. Local H also has a reputation for creative ideas with regards to its live shows. In addition to playing a show in Chicago every

New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries, is the evening or the entire day of the last day of the year, on 31 December. The last day of the year is commonly referred to ...

, the band has also participated in several unconventional concerts over the years, such as allowing one fan to select an album name from a hat, and then playing that album in its entirety. In 2005, Local H performed an "all request tour" in which a ballot containing a breakdown of most of the bands' songs organized into various categories, resembling a traditional

sushi is a Japanese cuisine, Japanese dish of prepared , usually with some sugar and salt, accompanied by a variety of , such as seafood, often raw, and vegetables. Styles of sushi and its presentation vary widely, but the one key ingredient is " ...

menu, was handed out to the audience upon admittance to the venue. Audiences were allowed to pick seven songs from the "menu" and the setlist for each show was derived from these ballots. In 2003, the band auctioned off a live show to the winner of an

eBay eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became a ...

auction. The band subsequently performed this concert at Duke O'Briens, a pub in

Crystal Lake, IL Crystal Lake is a city in McHenry County in the U.S. state of Illinois. Named after a lake southwest of the city's downtown, Crystal Lake is 45 miles northwest of Chicago. The population is 40,269 as of the 2020 Census, a 1.2% decrease from 20 ...

. In July 2007, Local H played an early morning show at

U.S. Cellular Field Guaranteed Rate Field is a baseball stadium located on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. It serves as the home stadium of the Chicago White Sox, one of the city's two Major League Baseball (MLB) teams, and is owned by the state ...

in Chicago at the conclusion of the Nike Rock 'N Run 5K race, where runners ended the race on the field. Tickets to this show were only available by spotting Scott Lucas in public and speaking the phrase "Attention all planets of the Solar Federation, we have assumed control" directly to him. Later that same year, Local H announced a contest in which fans could make videos of themselves covering Local H songs. The winner would then get to be the opening act for Local H's New Year's Eve show later that year. A band from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

called Kung-Fu Grip won the contest with their cover of a song from Local H's ''No Fun'' E.P. During the spring months of 2010, Local H embarked on their "6 Angry Records" Tour. Each show began with Scott holding a hat filled with slips of paper containing the band's album names. After interviewing members of the audience about which album they'd like to hear, one audience member would choose an album from the hat. The band would then play that album on the spot in its entirety, followed by an encore of other Local H favorites and covers.

Band members

Current members * Scott Lucas – guitar, lead vocals, percussion, xylophone, synthesizer, organ (1987–present) *Ryan Harding – drums, percussion, bass, backing vocals (2013–present) Former members *Matt Garcia – bass guitar, vocals (1987–1993) *Toby (Tobey) Flescher – guitar (1987) *John Sparkman – lead guitar (1987–1991) * Joe Daniels – drums, percussion, backing vocals, whistling, live bass, live guitar; performed lead guitar on September 3, 1993 on "Do You Feel Like We Do" (1987–1999, 2016) * Brian St. Clair – drums, percussion, backing vocals (1999–2013) Touring musicians *Adam McCaffery – guitar, backing vocals (2018–present) *Chad Williams – bass guitar (2018–present) *Gabe Rodriguez – backing vocals, tambourine, kazoo, drums, whistle; performed drums on September 3, 1993 on "Do You Feel Like We Do", 1995 as an unofficial third member, at Edgefest in 1997, on ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' in 1998, and on ''Alive '05'' in 2004 (1997, 1998, 2002, 2004, 2012, 2014, and other miscellaneous years)Archived a
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Wayback Machine
*

Wes Kidd Wes Kidd was a founding member of Rights of the Accused and Triple Fast Action, the latter signing to Capitol Records and Deep Elm Records. He grew up in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, and attended Glenbard West High School Glenbard West High School ...

– lead guitar, backing vocals on the ''Pack Up the Cats'' tour and on ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' in 1998 (1998–1999) *Herb Rosen (1999) *Jason Batchko – drums, percussion (2008)Archived a
Ghostarchive
and th
Wayback Machine
*Pete Beeman – drums, percussion (2017) Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Live albums

Compilation albums

Demo releases

Concert Films

Singles

Split singles

Music videos

Compilations and soundtracks

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The Great White Hype ''The Great White Hype'' is a 1996 American sports comedy film directed by Reginald Hudlin. It stars Samuel L. Jackson, Peter Berg, Damon Wayans, Jeff Goldblum, Jon Lovitz, Cheech Marin, John Rhys-Davies, Salli Richardson and Jamie Foxx. The f ...

'' (1996) – "Feed" (featured in film only) *''

Sling Blade A sling blade or kaiser blade is a heavy, hooked, steel blade at the end of a long (around ) handle that is usually made of wood. The blade is double-edged, and both sides are usually kept sharp. It is used to cut brush, briar, and undergrowth. ...

Soundtrack'' (1996) – "Smothered in Hugs" ( Guided by Voices) * '' Kevin & Bean Present Christmastime In The LBC'' (1996) – "Disgruntled Christmas" * '' Royal Flush: Live On-Air'' (1997) – "Bound for the Floor" (acoustic) *''

Gravesend Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the Bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames and opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Ro ...

Soundtrack'' (1997) – "

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" is a song written in 1943 by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane and introduced by Judy Garland in the 1944 MGM musical ''Meet Me in St. Louis''. Frank Sinatra later recorded a version with modified lyrics. In ...

" and "Tag-Along" * ''93 One: Unplugged & Burnt Out'' (1998) – "Bound for the Floor" (acoustic) * ''Q101: Local 101 Volume One'' (1998) – "Talking Smack" * ''

Q101 Q101 may refer to: * Archive Series No. 2: Live in Chicago Q101, a live broadcast 'studio' album released by Violent Femmes in 2006 * CKMQ-FM, Merritt, British Columbia, Canada * KQDJ-FM, Valley City, North Dakota * WKQX (FM), an alternative rock ...

: Live 101 Volume One'' (1999) – "All the Kids Are Right" (live) *'' Where Is My Mind: A Tribute to the Pixies'' (1999) – "Tame" (

Pixies A pixie (also pisky, pixy, pixi, pizkie, and piskie in Cornwall and Devon, and pigsie or puggsy in the New Forest) is a mythical creature of British folklore. Pixies are considered to be particularly concentrated in the high moorland areas aro ...

) *''

Thick Records Thick Records is a Chicago-based independent record label which actively operated from 1994 to 2007. It now exists as a catalog only label for its previous releases. History Thick was formed in 1994 by Detroit native Zak Einstein, who started the ...

' Oil Compilation'' (2002) – "Mellowed" (early version) *'' Big Nothing'' (2006) – "Hands on the Bible" and "Bound for the Floor" (both featured in film only)

References

External links

*
Allmusic entry for Local HLocal H collection
at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

Save Me from My Half-life Drive Documentary
{{Authority control 1990 establishments in Illinois Alternative rock groups from Illinois American musical duos American post-grunge musical groups Male musical duos Musical groups established in 1990 Musical groups from Chicago Rock music duos Zion, Illinois