Local H is an American rock band originally formed by guitarist and vocalist Scott Lucas, bassist Matt Garcia, drummer Joe Daniels, and lead guitarist John Sparkman in Zion, Illinois in 1990. The members all met in high school in 1987 and founded Local H three years later. After Sparkman's departure in 1991 and Garcia's departure in 1993, Local H continued as an unorthodox two-piece setup.
Local H signed a record contract with Island Records in 1994, where they would go on to release three albums. The band's debut album, Ham Fisted (1995), was not a success and the band was nearly dropped, but the band remained on the label long enough to release their second album As Good as Dead (1996). The album was a success, selling over 320,000 copies and spawned a radio hit with "Bound for the Floor", which peaked at No. 5 on the US Alternative Billboard Chart and became the band's best known song.[5][6] Local H's third album, Pack Up the Cats (1998), was a critical success and appeared on several best-of end of year lists,[7][8] but did not perform as well commercially due to its promotion being negatively affected by a corporate merger involving Island's parent company, PolyGram. The following year, the band left Island, and Daniels was replaced by Brian St. Clair.[9] By March 2002, Local H's first three albums had sold a combined total of 600,000 copies.[10] They have been based in Chicago since 1992.
Local H formed as a result of a high school band that Scott Lucas and Matt Garcia were in called Rude Awakening, in 1987. That year, 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, 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.
By 1994, record labels were trying to capitalize on the popularity of harder-edged alt-rock bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and Stone Temple Pilots, and the band caught the attention of Joe Bosso, an A&R rep for Polydor Records, which was then in the process of merging with Island Records.[9] Island released Local H's debut studio album Ham Fisted in January 1995, with the singles "Cynic" and "Mayonnaise and Malaise," but the album failed to chart. Behind the scenes, Island pressured Bosso to drop the band; instead, Bosso pushed them into quickly recording a follow-up before Island could cancel their contract. Ahead of the release of As Good as Dead, Lucas was informed by Island that the album needed to sell at least 100,000 copies for the band to remain with the label.[9]As Good as Dead achieved moderate commercial success behind the single "Bound for the Floor", which rose to No. 5 on the US Alternative Billboard Chart and No. 10 on the US Hot Mainstream Rock Billboard Chart. The songs "Eddie Vedder" and "Fritz's Corner" additionally made Top 40 on the Alternative and Mainstream Rock Billboard Charts. The album ultimately sold over 300,000 copies.
Encouraged by the unexpected success of As Good as Dead, Island Records greenlit a third album with Local H's preferred producer, Roy Thomas Baker, along with a larger budget and a promise of no interference. That album, Pack Up the Cats, was a 15-track concept album chronicling the rise and fall of a rock band. Island expected it to be a major success and intended to heavily promote it, with "All the Kids Are Right" as its leadoff single.[9] This plan was derailed, however, when Island Records' parent company, Polygram, was acquired by Universal Music Group. The promotional campaign was canceled and everyone at Island that the band had worked with, including Bosso, were fired or quit. Pack Up The Cats was released September 1, 1998, peaking at number 140 on the Billboard 200 and staying on the chart for only two weeks, despite "All the Kids Are Right" achieving moderate success on MTV. Universal did not release a second single. The album was critically acclaimed and ranked on several best-of year-end lists, and in a retrospective Vulture suggested Pack Up the Cats might have been a landmark album of '90s rock comparable to Nirvana's Nevermind or Radiohead's OK Computer had its release been handled differently.[9]
In July 1999, Daniels left the group.
Brian St. Clair era (1999–2013)
Intending to continue the band, Lucas hired Triple Fast Action drummer Brian St. Clair, who had previously worked as a drum tech for Cheap Trick. The pair began working on new material for a fourth album, but confidence in the band at Universal was low and the label made them perform showcases for executives, something typically reserved for new bands trying to earn their first contracts. Increasingly disillusioned with being signed to a major label, Lucas submitted new demos to Universal and invited the label to drop the band if they were not onboard, which Universal did.[9]
In 2005, the band received a good deal of publicity after recording a cover of the Britney Spears single "Toxic." 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 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.[13] 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. 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.[14]
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.
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.[15]
Ryan Harding era (2013–present)
On November 4, 2013, Ryan Harding was announced as the new drummer.[12] 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 song "Team". In early 2015, the duo created a Pledgemusic campaign in order to help fund the production of their new album, titled Hey, Killer.[16] The album was released on April 15, 2015 through G&P Records.[17]
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.[18]
In April 2017, Local H was announced as the winner of the 'Hit the Stage' contest, gaining the opportunity to open for Metallica on five dates of the WorldWired tour.[19]
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 and Andy Gerber, features members of Deer Tick and Naked Raygun, and was mixed by J. Robbins.[20] 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.
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, 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 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 auction. The band subsequently performed this concert at Duke O'Briens, a pub in Crystal Lake, IL.
In July 2007, Local H played an early morning show at U.S. Cellular Field 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.[citation needed] 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 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;[21] performed lead guitar on September 3, 1993 on "Do You Feel Like We Do" (1987–1999, 2016)
Adam McCaffery – guitar, backing vocals (2018–present)
Chad Williams – bass guitar (2018–present)
Gabe Rodriguez – backing vocals, tambourine, kazoo, drums, whistle;[21] 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)[22][23][24]
Wes Kidd – lead guitar, backing vocals on the Pack Up the Cats tour and on Late Night with Conan O'Brien in 1998 (1998–1999)
