the locals blog

EJ Dawson played drums for The Locals from 2004 to 2006 and was with us when we first started recording Big Picture. EJ joined The Locals at a time when we were rebuilding and revitalizing our sound and needed someone full of energy, who could hit hard and rock out a beat. He did just that. Not only is he a great drummer and a good friend, but he’s full of freak show anomalies that we adore, like his ability to turn one leg completely backwards at the knee, stomach a Cincinnati taco pizza without vomiting, raise a bionic cat with a metal hip and taste 20 cups of Espresso all in one day. EJ appears on 4 songs on the album; Big Picture, Together Alone, Seems So and Psychic Night at the Big Boy.

EJ is also an avid photographer and a coffee roasting master. He now resides in Nashville, TN where he can almost certainly be found eating Doritos and impersonating Mr. Wong.

You can learn more about EJ by visiting his MySpace

http://www.myspace.com/ejholmes

I still remember the first time we heard Eric play cello. It was at a show at Chicago’s Elbo Room with his old band, Red Elephant. We were completely blown away by his style, energy and mastery of the instrument. That being said, it was a no brainer on who to call when we decided to add cello to Bending In The Wind. Eric came in and spent the whole day writing and layering parts over the song, each getting better one after the next. He was a total pro and great to work with.

Eric is probably best known for contributing to The Smashing Pumpkins‘ 1993 release, Siamese Dream, and appearing in the subsequent tour and “Disarm” music video. He is also credited on the band Filter’s album Title of Record for acoustic cello and Zeta electric cello, as well as James Iha’s solo CD, Let It Come Down.

We are so happy to have Kari Bloom as guest backing vocalist on Seems So. Kari, better known as KaBloom among The Locals camp, has one of those voices that when she starts to sing, the world stops to listen. She is not only the powerhouse, lead vocalist for one of our favorite bands, Dropmore Scarlet from Milwaukee, but also the most genuinely nice person we know, and the brains behind 2 of our all time favorite beer quotes “Beer, the other white milk” and “Mom, beer me”. Kari’s voice compliments Yvonne’s so nicely that we knew she had to be a part of this project, and Seems So was the perfect fit.

The Locals play live with Dropmore Scarlet as often as we possibly can, so keep an eye out for future shows. They are definitely a band you dont want to miss.

To learn more about Kari and Dropmore Scarlet, check out their website at www.dropmorescarlet.com

Who is Kristen Kakatsch, you ask? She is 1/2 of the songwriting force behind one of our favorite bands, Milwaukee’s own Dropmore Scarlet, a killer guitarist, the type of pal who is willing to help you polish off a bottle of Sailor Jerry rum in a night, and all around one of our most favorite people on this planet. That being said, its only natural we would ask her, hound her and harrass her to be a part of our album. She was hanging around one of our band practices last winter and jumped in on guitar while we were playing “Tidal Wave”, and from then on, we knew we had to get her to play her part on the album. She came in one session and knocked it out in 3 takes. Thanks, Kristen, we love you.

To learn more about Kristen and Dropmore Scarlet, visit www.dropmorescarlet.com.