As the connection crackled, the articulate voice coming over the line did not sound like that of a world-renowned rock star.
However, as Taylor Rice began speaking about his band, Local Natives, his passionate attitude showed him as a musician incredibly involved with every aspect of his music-making.
Local Natives, formerly known as Cavil at Rest, is a L.A.-based band that will be performing in UCLA’s Bruin Plaza on Tuesday at noon, hosted by the Campus Events Commission.
Comprised of five men ““ Taylor Rice on vocals and guitar; Kelcey Ayer on vocals, keyboard and percussion; Ryan Hahn on vocals and guitar; Andy Hamm on bass and Matt Frazier on drums ““ the band has been together for eight years. Three of the members attended high school together in Orange County, but Rice said that post-college, they decided to make a fresh start.
“We wanted to make a big departure (with our music), and we knew it was a big undertaking,” Rice said.
So far, Local Natives’ big undertaking has produced an album titled “Gorilla Manor” and, most recently, it announced a tour with Grammy Award-winning band Arcade Fire. “Gorilla Manor” debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard New Artist Chart in 2010, which, according to Rice, came as a pleasant surprise.
Rice said that, even as the band gains popularity, it still keeps every aspect of the music within the five band members.
“We decided to do everything ourselves. There was no waiting around for a manager or record label. The music comes first; that’s very important to us,” Rice said.
While an independent attitude may not work for most musicians, this self-sufficient mindset works well for the band.
“We’re really collaborative,” Rice said. “A lot of bands have more of a rigid process … but for us, it’s much more collaborative.
Someone may come in with a song, and oftentimes, it will be changed a lot.”
According to Rice, Local Natives’ music undergoes so much member input that by the end of the writing process, it can be hard to give the original credit to just one person. Living in the same house in Silver Lake allows the quintet to spend more time perfecting its music, creating album artwork and promoting the band.
“Los Angeles is an amazing community of musicians,” said Rice, who cited their location in Silver Lake as an instrumental part of the band’s success so far. The band was able to secure residencies at two clubs within two miles of its house, the Silverlake Lounge and Club Spaceland, allowing it to meet many L.A.-based bands.
Kevin Delavega, a fifth-year computer science and engineering student and a member of CEC’s concert staff, said that hearing about Local Natives’ music from several friends and becoming a fan himself made it an easy decision to book the band for Tuesday’s show in Bruin Plaza.
According to Delavega, Bruin Plaza is ideal for concerts because of its outdoor location and ability to accommodate a large audience.
“(Booking) mostly comes down to luck,” Delavega said. “They’re really good performers that we thought could appeal to many different demographics.”
Kim Nederveen Pieterse, a second-year psychology student, saw the band at the 2010 Coachella Music and Arts Festival and said Local Natives put on a great show.
“The vibe was really positive and energetic,” Pieterse said of the band’s Coachella performance. “All in all … they were fun to watch, and the crowd really got into it.”
According to Rice, Local Natives owes a lot to its early fans and public radio stations such as National Public Radio for the early publicity that led to the positive feedback that “Gorilla Manor” received. The band finds comparisons to bands such as Fleet Foxes and Grizzly Bear flattering, and also cites Broken Social Scene, Animal Collective and ’60s harmony bands as influences.
“But when you get down to it, I think comparing bands is more of a thing for reporters,” said Rice. “For us, it’s mostly about how we can improve ourselves and our sound.”