The last time we talked to Local Natives, they hadn't played Coachella yet, they hadn't embarked on their first headlining US tour, and they hadn't gone around the world playing songs from Gorilla Manor to audiences who spoke every kind of language imaginable. It's been a whirlwind of “how did I get here?” moments, says lead singer Taylor Rice over the phone, but every member of the band has felt really lucky to have been on the road, playing their music every night. “We really thrive off the live experience, and the audience is new every single night. For me, I ust love performing and interacting with the audience in that way.”
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“I don't feel burnt out at all,” he says, adding that the fact that the band gets to spend days Tokyo, and getting to hang out with other bands in Holland has been a great highlight of their year.
Even their second headlining US tour, kicking off today with friends and OC locals the Union Line at the Henry Fonda in LA (it's sold-out) makes Rice super excited. “It doesn't feel like a grind at all, I'm so excited for tonight. The level has jumped and the support has been so great.”
Rice says that they've always wanted to bring Union Line on tour with them; “They've been great friends for a long time, (and played with us) since they started,” he says. In fact, their first national tour–with another local band, Voxhaul Broadcast–was a crazy one made up of two vans, no trailers, and three bands. “Some nights we were going insane playing for five people, and others we were filling places in New York and Philly.”
And it's not like they have time to miss Orange County. “Sometimes we do,” he said. “We all grew up in south OC, and all our families are down there. We've been traveling a lot but every break we have, we visit.”
Speaking of breaks–will there be one soon, so they can work on their follow up to Gorilla Manor?
“We have lots of ideas and songs we want to work on; we're a restless band and always working. But in December we're takinga break from touring and focusing on writing our next album. i have no idea how long it will take us, because our writing process is so tedious.”
