I couldn't sleep this morning. It was one of the wonderful mornings where its just a little too cold outside my grey checkered Ikea comforter and just right underneath. My room falls on the side of the house opposite of the sun rising and combined with dark curtains, "in theory", should create a high ranking slumber cave of sleep. Yet, for some reason I couldn't fall back asleep. So after six or so weeks of playing shows Im back at my usual morning hunger better known as Silver Lake Coffee. It was our first time as a band playing in NYC for CMJ. A similar yet not so similar SXSW festival for the east coast. We flew straight in from London and quickly had to settle into an all to perfect Brooklyn loft Matt somehow found on Craigslist for only $80/night. We were lucky enough to be asked to play six shows for CMJ. Two a day on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. After a few of us had a New York argument with a number of grumpy equipment rental employees and after locking down a bruised and battered mini van to haul ourselves around in, we headed over to Fontanas for our first show. Jet lag is no excuse, but I would be lying if I said we weren't all feeling a little "out of the ordinary" when we starting playing in this basement. Overall, however it was a great little first show. I think the fact that our eyes were swelling shut and our heads were higher than a kite actually played into the overall good feeling of the whole set. A large thank you to our friends at Aquarium Drunkard for having us. That evening was our official showcase at The Mercury Lounge. We packed down some falafel and made it in time to see Patrick Watson whom Kelcey had been convincing us all to listen to for the past few weeks. He had such an amazing set! Everyone in the band were true artists and along with being a great performer Patrick was also a stand up gentlemen. Our set went over well and the sandwiches at Katz are over rated and touristy. Friday's shows were a little bit later in the day and it was nice for all of us to enjoy eating yellow starbursts and sleeping in. We met with many of our UK friends/family at Santos for our Neon Gold/Chess Club show. The rumor was that Andrew WK of all people owned the bar and after noticing the 2-3 hundred large speakers literally covering the length of the side walls the rumors were confirmed. I think we were all a little bummed that we couldn't hang out longer with all our friends as we crammed into the van and headed to the next show right after the set. I had been emailing back and forth for some time about this next gig. It was described as a "brooklyn loft house party" and past that none of us knew that much... yet it somehow just felt like it was going to be something special from the get go. Our Mom van ravaged the rain soaked streets of back alley Brooklyn as we pulled up to our destination around 9pm I think. I want you to imagine the best and most unique loft house you've ever been to or seen and then forget about it because this loft was at least three times better than that. Somehow the 5 to 6 wonderful people who dwelled here manged to fit three stories inside the box. Each floor connected with staggering staircases lined with people. A kitchen full of veggie lasagna, waffles w/cream and a wooden swing hung with rope from the ceiling greeted us as we entered. An oak bar with a kind bartender served PBR's and red wine in the corner while good live music was filling the room and about 310 ears, which is 155 people, which is just the right amount. We met some new friends, played a loose set and Taylor randomly ran into one of his favorite artists there...which is an understatement. Thanks to Robbie and Brooklyn Vegan for letting us in. Good feelings all around. Our first stop on Saturday was a Brooklyn Vegan show at Pianos which is also the same place where we played our first show ever in NYC. Then again, we have only played NYC twice ever, but I thought I'd mention anyways. We arrived at the venue early and started the day off with bloody mary's and good conversation. Straight after our show we had to high tail it over to Delancys for our last show of CMJ. Amidst the leaves and vines of a roof top jungle we scurried into a damp corner and put together a relatively on the fly acoustic set. Sound was being tweaked, songs were being ad libbed and we made up the set as we went. Matt managed to put together some percussion with his foot on a tambourine and his sticks playing anything in front of him. Ryan found a dead pig floating in the jungle pool while celebrating after wards. We spent the next few days soaking in the rain, eating the sandwiches around the corner and learning the ins and outs of the L line. New York treated us all very well and across the board a memorable and significant experience. Thanks again to everyone who invited us out to play. We leave in 30min for our west coast run with White Rabbits. Andy Local Natives

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Matt: Ryan:Andy: Taylor: Kelcey: There is a little tail end on the album artwork so for sharing purposes only... An idea is sparked somewhere in the think blob of the better know human brain. This idea soon sprouts a new think stem from which blooms a road map of new trails, rails and roads. Every once and a while we will focus and dwell, analyze and reanalyze this idea to the point of over inflation. The head throbs and swells like a belly breathing and suddenly your focal point is lost and bursts into varieties you can't recall. It's funny how this idea, this dream and this pursuit over time molds itself into an ever constant pressure to obtain what you always wanted(feel like that could have been printed on a bad No Fear T-shirt ...) and it makes you feel as if your head is going to explode. With this atrocity in mind I headed out to Ralphs(supermarket) around the corner from our house to get some supplies. I had been really wanting to use meat in something for awhile so I knew I needed that. With the rest of the bits and chunks I tried to find elements that would apply to each one of our personalities. I could go into detail on why Taylor has foil in his head or why Kelcey has cottage cheese but I won't. White trash bags which were taped to the yellow tile floor in our upstairs bathroom. I had a pile of groceries, dirt, weeds, paint and a camera. Like a fool with a sleep mask on I proceeded to blop, drop and throw specific liquids and solids onto the flattened trash bags. For the broken skulls I supplied shattered bottles and broken melons. Cleaning the melon seeds out of my bath tub drain proved to be the longest part of the entire process. I thought a splatter logo would fit well enough with the rest of these piles created and the words were brought about with left over black paint. The layout of LN was based off the wolf poster we had. The mouths on the back were simply my way of fucking with an image of each of us singing. I just really liked the idea of someone imaging those images when listening. The inside poster was done by Matt. It was originally a random photo someone had taken at a party turned food fight at our previous house. All of us have always loved this image and thought it really captured the idea of "Gorilla Manor" in a nutshell. Notice how Matt is literally in mid air caught in the mayhem of flour, peanut butter, pasta, sugar, cereal and liquor. Thats it. Hope you enjoy Andy Local Natives Front Cover: Back Cover:Inside Lyrics/Info fold out: Inside fold: Inside Poster:

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We have settled in, soaked some of it in and are readying ourselves for more. Currently being a rather large geek and spending my precious back stage time on the internet in Manchester. To my left is a beautiful and most likely ancient church. I am quickly reminded of how young the United States is compared to most of the world. Ryan is finally in a place where many of his favorite bands grew up and Matt is taking very nicely to his "prawn cocktail crisps"(translation: ketchup flavored potato chips). We are slowly but surely being integrated into this proper society. Being that this is a tour put on by a major publication, we are all also getting our first lick of being interviewed. I think the majority of us still get a little giddy at the fact that people outside of Southern California are interested in us. Certain questions for new bands have to be asked. i.e. How did you get you started? Tell us about the album? etc. In the gut of us all we take what we create very close to heart and I can't say how many times we've been at our wits end trying to get a melody just right or yelling into each others faces fighting over a lead line or bridge. Yet with the monotony and repetitiveness it was interesting to see how lackadaisical we would get as the day progressed. Earnestness and tension are best and often served in our small rehearsal studio in Los Angeles....so we'll have some fun while away. Off to Dublin and more. I have to say I am looking forward to a right pint of Guinness. Officially labeled "Picture Perfect Dublin Tourist". Andy Local Natives pictured below is literally the scene I came upon when we opened our suitcase filled entirely of our "van made" cd's in London. I thought it was very fitting visually to the above blurp.

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Everyone keep close, very, very close. We are currently so far from home(just landed in the UK) and in many ways even farther from the ones we love. Yet I watch as all of us scramble and fumble to make sure that we stay close w/those we are physically farthest from. As a band we keep close to try and keep it honest, to openly communicate and to annoy the living hell out of each other. We pack ourselves into a blue tin box known as our "tour van" and find ourselves focused on sitting up straight and keeping equal elbow room. We cram and spoon each other onto one bedroom hard wood floors, crashing with old friends or running into new ones. We push our bodies into seats 34A-E and fight to fall asleep in airplane chairs that seem more fitting for a five year old leprechaun than a full grown human. I see each of our material belongings condense and deflate into a single carry-on and a computer bag. Ambian, laptop, cellphone, alcohol, hard drive and headphones are my new materialistic best friends. Without these I am a quivering, crying child. We are all very new to this "closeness". Learning as we trip, bruise, pass out and stub our toes along the way...and it makes me smile. We should be so lucky that we are in such close quarters. Andy Local Natives

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I'm slightly shaky because of the caffeine. I'm slightly hungover because of the Anchor Steam. I'm slightly foggy on all the details of these past five Mondays spent playing at Spaceland. For some reason I think most of us were under the impression August was going to be a little lazy. Looking forward to the thought of finding random movies to watch on Netflix and getting around to exploring the corner bars of Atwater Village. I got as far as Naked Lunch and the bear special at Hugo's...which isn't that far. August shaped up to be a very busy but all around productive 31 days. We have added some music to the final album. We have finalized all the artwork/packaging. Its mixed, its mastered, its stirred, its salted, its sweetened, its splattered. Five Mondays in the month of August meant a quintuplet of free shows for our residency at the glitter curtain known as Spaceland. So very pleased with how this residency turned out. Humbled that so many great local LA bands decided to join us and thankful for all the people who got involved, whether it be a laptop DJ in the corner or just a fellow blog friend. I am a failure in the realm of photos or videos from this past months shenanigans, but I'm sure I'll be reminded of all them over the next few weeks(as I stare into a destroyed kitchen deconstructed at 3am last night). Every single one of us appreciate the fact that so many new friends came out each Monday. We are still dipping our toes into the deep end of L.A. and it was overwhelming to get such a welcoming response to what we put way too much time and effort into. I'm gonna take a nap. Andy Local Natives p.s. Every month Spaceland does a little piece of art d'residency on the display board right inside the doorway. This was the one we got....Note the bent frames on the glasses and the PBR in hand.

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So its already been a few weeks since we returned from our intiation into The Daytrotter Barnstroming Tour. We have been perspiring in our rehearsal studio everyday and and every night since returning. My finger tips are worn down to their nubs from writing new lines and my eye lids are barely peeled open. We also have to be back at Spaceland in 30min for our second August residency night. That being said I'll keep my summary of the Barnstorming tour short and sweet. Middle America Mayhem was introduced to the Local Natives in all the right ways. The people in middle of nowhere Iowa and Wisconsin know how to throw a proper Barn Show. Thanks for showing us the ways of the 'Small Town Love'. Below are all tid bits of the actual barns that we played in, partied in, fell in, tripped in, yelled in, hugged in, kissed in and just did a shit ton of weird fun in. This is all thanks to: Sean, Phil, Josh, John, Erin, Chelsea and Maria at Daytrotter, Kevin and Piper w/the cameras, Shoe with the sound goo and all the bands who joined us along the way.

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Its now 930am on Wednesday and according to my hazy math, makes that around 530pm in the UK. Safe to say that I am crazed, cracked out and very jet lagged. I think I remember eating pizza last night w/my girlfriend but that might have been a dream? We(Local Natives) embarked on our first ever UK dates about 10 days ago. First impressions are important and we had tightened our belts and tied our shoelaces in hopes of leaving a good one. Day 1 landed us at a small flat in Knotting Hill. We stood outside the cab gazing up at four flights of the steepest and most narrow stairs I had seen in awhile. This fourth floor flat would become our home for the next week and these stairs would become our morning and evening calisthenics. After proclaiming our corners and each taking a European bath of deodorant and chewing gum, we started formulating our plan of sleep and relaxation to prepare for the first show. Day 2 and 3 was a combo of jet lag non-sleep and exploring our surroundings. We were met by our newfound friends and touring partners Mark and Chris early on day 3. They pulled up in a beautiful white rented Sprinter w/no bumper. Inside was a stack attack of rental amps, drums, converters etc.. Before our first gig at The Lexington we had to report to BBC 6 for a live session w/DJ Cerys(spelled right?). We were crammed into a small room and I remember looking at the microscopic monitors and thinking "how the hell are we going to record full band and still be able to hear ourselves through these monitors?". A volume twist here, a reposition there and I quickly learned that everything actually sounded amazing. We were asked to do 3 live songs followed by a very pleasant interview w/DJ Cerys. We arrived for sound check at The Lexington perfectly on time, which was a new feeling for us. An hour and a half later a fevered sound check was finished and a few monitors had been replaced. Our nerves were now eased and it quickly became set time. I can't say how amazing it is to play our first ever gig in the UK to not only a filled room but to a filled room of people who are singing the words to your songs. Now don't get me wrong, this isn't a cocky eyed rock star moment. The room was small and our set was short, however everyone there was incredibly welcoming and their energy fed all our stomachs during the show. We hung out w/some new found friends and finished off the night with "digestive cookies".... its a UK thing Day 4 would bring us to the "famous in our eyes" Shepard’s Bush Empire. We had heard nothing but great things about this beautiful venue and on top of that we were opening for Of Montreal. Sound checking alone would probably been enough to make us happy at this point. The only question I had burrowing through my head up until show time was "would fans the fans of Of Montreal like our sound?". I was guessing there might be 15 people there who wanted to see Local Natives and the rest would be checking their watches, yawning up in the air and impatiently waiting to see Of Montreal. The venue itself is like a giant upside down spiraling pit. Walking out on stage was like being swallowed into the neck of a giraffe lined with 2000 people. We finished our first two songs with ease and at our first pause Kelsey’s nerves were hitting their peak. I'd be lying if I said we weren't all a bit nervous particularly about this show. One of Kelsey’s drumsticks fell out of his hand and hit a key on the synthesizer letting out a giant "buahhhh!" just as he was approaching the mic to address the crowd. His voice managed to quiver out "Um, we have, um an ep for sale in the back...." and at that point I busted into laughter. Kelsey is usually very comfortable on stage and I don't think most of the people there even noticed his flub, but for some reason seeing him so out of character struck my funny bone w/a hammer. I spent the rest of the set trying to keep it together w/out bursting into laughter thinking about it. The crowd seemed from my vantage point to be very warm to us and we were pleased with how welcoming the OM fans were. Of Montreal put on a great set including a cover of Bat For Lashes "Daniel" which we also love. Day 5 we didn't have a show scheduled but we also weren't off the hook. A little station called BBC Radio 1 wanted us to come into the studio and record four live tracks. The band was about to set foot into the legendary studio where John Peel captured live sessions from too many great bands to name. We were greeted outside the studio by a security guard we’ll call Mr. Fuzz (he is an important part of this story and I forget his name). Mr. Fuzz kindly instructed us to load our equipment into the freight elevator, jump in and ride it down to the basement where we were to load out. Everything was running as planned. As Ryan, Kelsey, Phil and I entered the packed elevator; Phil had made a remark about how he found it was odd that there were no interior buttons for us to descend floors. The steel gates slammed shut and Mr. Fuzz proceeded to press the outside button and we started our decent into hell. Surrounded by stacks of amps, grey brick walls and close enough to each other to get whiffs of unclean pits, our enclosed caged prison came to a screeching halt in between floors. We searched the elevator for a call button or a phone and instead came across a dusty sign which read: Absolutely no persons are allowed in freight elevator at anytime. Mr. Fuzz yelled down to us and we yelled back. Our accent was foreign to him as was his to us. Nothing was running as planned. An hour and a half later the jam was fixed and all of us had become a bit closer. The session itself went very smoothly. Our engineer knew what he was doing. No questions asked and the final mixes were incredible. Not sure when these will be broadcast, but we'll let you know. Day 6 was a headlining show at a venue called The Borderline in London. Before heading there we stopped by for an XFM live session. This was by far the smallest room we did a session in and was also the first time we could really hear each other’s voices as most of the instruments were done DI and Matt was in a separate room. It was a little weird for me playing some of our more energetic songs and really only hearing the vocals while the tape was running. Great practice for all of us though to hear the ins and outs of certain harmonies. We had just released our first single through Chess Club and they helped put on the show that evening at The Borderline for us. The venue itself felt was like an underground Pirate bar. The crowd was great and I think the set went very well. Day 7-10 meant Latitude Festival. We had all been to our fair share of festivals in the states, but none of us had played at a festival before. The best way to describe Latitude is like a wonderful Forest filled with the happiest people you'll ever meet. You can camp there, bring all the food and booze you want, pints are less than $8 and everyone there is simply having a good time listening to music. Nothing against the festivals in the states, but can't we please take some pointers from this......please? We were playing at the Sunrise stage the first day of the festival at 630pm. After wondering the grounds we found ourselves literally in the middle of a thick, almost neon green forest where just down the dirt path laid a giant open white tent with our stage inside. The setting sun shot through the tops of the trees like little laser beams and light bulbs strung from branch to branch suddenly lit up. How the hell did we end up in this wonderful place? As we started to line check my stomach cringed up as despite the surroundings, only 40 or so people in the crowd had found us. We all grouped together, shrugged our shoulders and were ready to start the set. Fast-forward to song three and the tent was packed. Like bees to a honey comb people heard music and starting swarming. I could hear Taylor's excitement seeping through as he let everyone know this was our first ever-festival show. I wish there was another Latitude festival next week. Up until now the band as a whole had been pretty well behaved. Voices needed to be in tip top shape, hangovers were out of the question and "well rested" was the theme of every evening. However, with our last show successfully finished, it was time to let the beast out. As I brought my guitar back to the van, everyone was bursting with a high from our last show. I think our manager actually ran up and hugged us all? and if you know our manager he's not the hugging type of guy. A $5 bottle of scotch/whiskey was passed around the circle and slowly I think we could all feel the barbells being lifted off our shoulders. We rounded up the crew and celebrated back at the meal tent with warm ciders, warmer lager and laughter...lots of laughter. All of us stumbled our way out into Mother Nature, quickly finding refuge in the local 'Peace Pipe TeePee Tent'. We sat in a circle and all planned on having no plans at all for the remainder of the festival. Highlighted bands for us included Bat For Lashes, Wild Beasts, The Doves and Thom Yorke to name a few. The weather at the festival was odd. Literally in a matter minutes scorching sunlight would turn to treacherous rain and then back again. This meant for us Yankees that at least 3-4 times a day we would change out of our shorts and tees into long pants, parkas and wellies. While the locals danced in the rain with flip flops and tank tops, we would be coated head to toe in water proof material running to the drink tent for another lager and some coverage. By day three of the festival we had made so many new friends and wavered from tent to tent, band to band with quite the large crew of people. All in all, an amazing trip. Thanks again to everyone who came to see us play for the first time out there. We hope to see everyone we hung out with during our stay in Knotting Hill as well as at Latitude when we return in September. I wish I could go more into detail about all the shenanigans and people we became friends with, but I fear I've rambled on too long already. We'll talk to you soon. Andy Local Natives ps. I don't think I'll ever get used to the concept of drinking 'cider' all night. Its all beneficial.

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Busy in all the right ways... Its currently 10 a.m. on Thursday morning. In one hour I leave for another all day practice in our humble rehearsal hole in downtown L.A. Trying to cram in any and all last minute rehearsals before heading over to the U.K. for the first time in the band's history. After we run our 30min set into the ground, we run our 45min til its beaten to a pulp. We then quickly move onto writing new material...which has been moving along quite well. Excitement tangled with antsy met with a punch in the stomach is the best fit description of our mind set right now. Our arrival back in the states is July 22nd and we shove our way into August with a Monday night(s) residency at Spaceland. For all the bands whom are confirmed to play w/us during August already, thank you. I know especially for our friends in LA bands whom have a great following, its always a bit sticky to jump on an early or late night slot. This band is very well acquainted with both of those set times and can relate, so thank you again. Really looking forward to these shows. The album is being put through the polisher, hand waxed, rinsed, washed and then set out in the sun for a few birds to shit on, because none of us like a brand new pair of white shoes. In the meantime I do know our song Sun Hands(along with a few others) is out there to download which is another track off the album. I'm pretty sure if you search Hype Machine you can find it. The Sun Hands 7" single will be out via Chess Club records on the 13th(ahhhh first time I'll see some of my artwork on professional print record!). Andy Local Natives

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Second date was straight outta DC(we listened to NWA on our way from NYC and damn there is some great lines in some of those songs). I think its safe to say that the people in DC like music. We were blown away with how many people turned up to the show early to take a gamble on us before Blind Pilot. Thank you for that. We got a $10 food credit there and quickly proceeded to eat enough pita bread and hummus to fill a pregnant whale. The set itself was good overall. A few mishits here and there but fun all in all. I think we are still in the "just excited to be here period" stage. The next day we had off so we slummed it over to the local park square for some much needed acoustic rehearsals. The center of the square housed a gigantic fountain surrounded by the who's who of downtown DC. To the left were two gritty young men giving eachother haircuts with a rusty razor. To the right was an internet tv crew that actually ended up filming and interviewing us for their fashion site. And right in the center was a man with his smelly pants rolled up, wading knee deep through the fountain waters stealing peoples wishes. I can't imagine the bad karma that comes with the coins that ended up in his pockets. From DC our path led us to Philly. Being "way to touristy" to the area we were off to get cheesesteaks in our bellies. "You gotta go to Ginos" "No gibroni Pats is da spot" "Go screw yo mutta, Ginos is da best" "Screw my mutta? Someone told me Gino himself screwed yo mutta...go to Pats". I'm going to speak for the whole band on this one: Pats serves fatty meat on dried bread with canned mushrooms and crusty unmelted imitation provolone for $8. You can make up your own mind from there. We didn't go to the other spot. Our show that night was at a rad little bar/restuarant called JohnnyBrendas. Funny enough the last time I was in Philadelphia on business actually, this is the bar we ended up at the one night I went out. Its run by one of the nicest guys we have ever run into on tour and the microbrew/food selection is quite impressive. We finally got some much needed hang out time w/Blind Pilot whom all are great people. With no money for hotels and not a single realible friend in Philly, we had to make some new friends in hopes for some floor space to sleep on. Our oasis was owned by our new friend Dano and his two roomates. They were renting a huge art loft in the city and on top of that they left us bagels and muffins in the morning......no shitting bagels AND muffins. Andy Local Natives ps. a gujogillion thanks to Mel, Mrs. Mel and Mels Mother's Cousin for their hospitality. The DKNY bubbly is still lingering on my tongue:)

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Back on the road means back on the blog. Being the responsible and forward thinking young gentlemen that I am, I forgot to bring my camera out with me on our first date in NYC. We were slotted to play Saturday night at Bowery Ballroom with our new tour friends in Blind Pilot(very much looking forward to getting to know these guys). With shows on the west coast all the way up to just weeks ago, we literally had to jump in the van and make a bee-line across the country straight to the Ballroom. This meant driving.......a ton of driving. Ryan, Matt, Taylor, Kelcey, Amanda and I all become very comfortable with Mrs. Pandora on the iphone and quickly learned the pros of caffeine. The trip was planned out to precision. We arrived in the city a day early to ensure a good night's rest. It was raining quite hard outside upon arrival and after soaking in enough of the dampened streets I found myself alongside two proper UK gents in the local pub. We talked about music and soon after the rest of the band wondered in, we talked about pints and 3-4 shots of Jameson. It was now around 4:30pm w/dinner plans at 6pm and we were all as wet as the sidewalks outside. Lets just say we are still learning. All of us met with some great people who spoiled us at dinner and things went very well. Rule of thumb that I learned: you can't experiment with oysters without immediately chasing it with vodka. We exited the restaurant and proceeded to immediately receive not one, but two tickets from the NYPD. In our swirled state of mind, Kelcey and I thought it was more than ok to drink open beers outside on the streets. When Doughnut Joe asked me what was in the bag I told him it was Welches Grape Soda. With about 5 hours of sleep and 40hours of straight driving we were ready for our first show. These are not normal things for us. The Bowery Ballroom is a wonderful venue. I stood on stage wondering how the hell they own this much real estate in one of the most expensive places to live in the world. The building was quite massive and must of been very old. Its experience and wisdom was shown quite brightly through its beautiful sounding walls and reverberations. I think all of us were very pleased with the set and the surroundings. Thank you to everyone in that room that took a chance on our little band. A great night all around. Andy Local Natives

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