In
a YouTube video,
Local Natives play an acoustic cover of "Cecilia" by Simon and
Garfunkel in the backyard of the house all five share, nicknamed
Gorilla Manor. It's a perfect fit for the band, whose own songs show
the same affinity for sunny vocal harmonies and jungle rhythms tracked
by the originals in 1970. But of course, Local Natives bring "Cecilia"
an energy all their own. One drums the whole song on a tree, one might
be jamming on a cooler (it's hard to tell), and another finishes his
glockenspiel solo with a hurl of the mallets, possibly the most
rockstar way to end the least rockstar moment possible.
I expect no less in shenanigans from a place called Gorilla Manor.
The band doesn't keep that energy at home. It seems to seep into
everything they do, from a tireless touring schedule to their
meticulously democratic approach in crafting songs, to their exuberant
live shows and, most tellingly, leaving their jobs to pursue the band
full-time.
"It's feelings of abandon and following a pursuit," says
Ryan Hahn (vocals/guitar), "with everything, with all your time and
efforts and forgoing the normal path." In between tours of the east coast and the UK, Ryan Hahn and Matt Frazier (drums) spoke The Overcast.