the locals blog

Happy New Year and thanks to all of you who came out and supported us in 2007.

We are busy plugging away on our new album, Big Picture, which will be released in Spring 2008 (hell or high water my friends, hell or high water!!).  We have 9 songs mixed with 2 more to go and will be mastering in early January!  Its sounding great, many thanks to our fantastic producer, Steve Gillis.  Look for more album updates in the next few weeks.

Happy New Year!

The Locals

This Saturday 6/23/07 The Locals will attempt 2 different shows at 2 different venues within 2 hours. Can they do it? Come find out….

First The Locals will play the annual Montrose Art Fair. The fair is in the beer garden of the Montrose Saloon (2933 W. Montrose), featuring music by the bands below and art from local Chicago artists. Beer, Sun, Music, Art, what more could you want?

Montrose Saloon 2933 W. Montrose, Chicago 1pm to 7pm

2pm – Ripley Caine

3pm – Eva Destruction and her Big Band

4pm – Cyclesomething

5pm – Nine Fifty

6pm – The Locals

Catch The Locals at 6pm at the Montrose, then jump in your car and follow them over to Chicago Pride Fest. The Locals will go on at 7:30pm.

Chicago Pride Fest – 7:30 pm to 8:30pm

Corner of Halsted & Grace

The Bud Light Stage

Up For a challenge?  One massive day of music?

Here is what you should do….

1. Go to Chicago Pridefest at Noon and check out one of our favorite bands, Dropmore Scarlet (www.dropmorescarlet.com). They are on the Bud Light stage from Noon to 1:30pm.

2. Get in your car after their set and come by the Montrose Saloon for a full day of music and art, starting at 2pm, featuring The Locals at 6pm.

3. After the Montrose get in a cab (lets face it, your drunk by now), and high tail it back to Pride Fest to hear the Locals do a completely different set of music (okay, maybe not COMPLETELY different, but your drunk, what do you know?) from 7:30pm to 8:30pm.

If you make it to all 3 shows, come see one of the Locals after our set at Pridefest and we will give you a free Locals T-shirt, CD and buy you a beer for being the crazy, drunk music fan that you are!

We hope to see you somewhere this weekend!

Last night was the 3rd annual Jerry Gilio Birthday show with The Locals and Dropmore Scarlet. I’m not sure how it happens, but we end up playing on Jerry’s birthday every year…next year we are definitely having pyrotechnics. This year we had Kirk’s moving rendition of “Happy Birthday, Mr. Hood”. He sang so high “he felt it in the trousers”.

While we were plagued with technical difficulties, it still was a very fun night. We played our new version of “Perfect World” which was a lot of fun. Dropmore Scarlet was great as always! Thanks to the ladies for driving down to play a show with us!

Best moment of the night, as told by Jerry Gilio himself:

Yvonne...: "The bass player can't hear anything out of her monitor."

Sound Guy: "Yes, she can."

Yvonne...: "Oh......Okay."

Thank you Mr. sound guy for being....you.  

It wasnt until later that we figured out the answer to Yvonne's amp outage...

Apparently Christy has been sticking all of Yvonne's patch cords up her nose.  

Boogers are bad for sound (unless they are of the whistle type).



Happy birthday, Gilio!



The Locals

This week we brought the rock in many ways.

Razor & Di in the studio with Danger Boy

The Locals have a new drummer, Kirk Snedeker. Christy and I sat down with Kirk to get the low down so we could pass along all the most important info to you about our newest member

Question #1 : Kirk,You are not from around these parts are you? Where are you from? And have you found yourself speaking with a Chicago accent yet…. “dem guys” “dos guys” “da bears”?
Answer: These parts? Ha. No, actually I hail from back east where the seas run cold and the nightlife is hot. Where the wind is redolent of crisp, bright pine in the winter and a the sweet smell of cut grass and sun-baked concrete in the summer. Where once in sixth grade I exclaimed with unfounded confidence that I had accidentally “sat on a wet see-saw” when in fact, I had pissed through my Toughskins in a near perfect half-moon shape. I f’ing got away with it too, in the pure Connecticutian dialect I retain to this day.

Question #2: If a large metal object was to fall from the sky during a Locals show are you the type of person who ….
A. Says “Heads Up Ladies” and in a herculean effort throws his body under the large metal object, catching it with one hand, without even breaking a sweat, all the while keeping the drum beat going
B. Release a blood curdling, almost woman-like scream and will only be found months later hiding under a fake rock in a backyard in Skokie wearing a tin foil hat (otherwise known as the Margot Kidder)
C. Says “Hmmm, that’s wear I put that”
D. None of the above (insert your answer here).

Answer: A. primarily because I didn’t want to answer with “B”. In addition to keeping the beat going however, I’d also manage to hit the object with a stick to uncover it’s innate percussive qualities, and then, if rewarded with a favorable result, I’d yell “I’ve got 3 crabs named Gordon Spatch!” and then I’d rub Christy’s head and simultaneously touch Yvonne’s nose with a wicker representation of Willard Scott. I’d make Borscht with my German friend Huüumpketan (or, Carl as his mother calls him) and his fiancée Earl (née Svetanya) who finally got rid of the extra organ. I’d sing soothing ant hymns at dusk and then eat with a spork and start an Apple Bank. It’s true.

Question #3: Ginger or Mary Ann?
Answer: Is that a question?? Ginger OR Mary Ann? I have to CHOOSE? If I’m trapped with those people on that island for decades in syndication, I’m tapping everything that moves. Lil’ Buddy.

Question #4: What is with you and fake mustaches? Is this something we should be concerned about? Follow up question… do you wear them anywhere else but on your face?
Answer: Fake what? You wondering if the carpet matches the drapes? You’re f’in right it does. Wall to wall baby.

Question #5: EJ used to hand out 100 dollar bills at every show to all of the Locals fans, will you be continuing this tradition or will you be starting one of your own?
Answer: EJ is indeed a trend setter and a fine drummer to boot. I will be continuing this honorable tradition, but with a slight “make-it-my-own” difference. The recipients will need to have their knuckles broken. It will be a slow, grueling process involving sledgehammers and canned spiders. Also, I will not actually pay anyone, so they will need to pretend.