About Local Natives
Local Natives is an American indie rock band formed in Orange County, California, and based in Los Angeles. The band currently consists of Taylor Rice , Ryan Hahn , Matthew Frazier and Nik Ewing . Former co-lead vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Kelcey Ayer was a member of the band from its foundation in 2005 until 2024. Before taking its current name in 2008, Local Natives was called Cavil at Rest.
Named after the house the band members all shared in Orange County, the band's debut studio album, Gorilla Manor, was released in 2009 to positive reviews and extensive touring. Their second studio album, Hummingbird , was recorded with producer Aaron Dessner, with its lyrical content influenced by the departure of founding bass guitarist Andy Hamm and the recent death of Ayer's mother. Their third album, Sunlit Youth, was released in September 2016 and their fourth, Violet Street, was released in April 2019.
After a period of personal turmoil, the band recorded their fifth and sixth studio albums, Time Will Wait for No One and But I'll Wait for You , concurrently. Following their release, Kelcey Ayer announced his amicable departure from the band and performed his final show with the band in November 2024.
The band originates from Orange County, California, where Taylor Rice, Ryan Hahn and Kelcey Ayer grew up near each other. Rice and Hahn began playing guitar together in junior high school. Ayer attended a private Catholic high school, while Rice and Hahn attended Tesoro High School in Las Flores. In 2001, during their sophomore year at Tesoro, Rice and Hahn formed the group Cavil at Rest. The group went through several incarnations and Ayer began playing music with them in his senior year. In 2004, the lineup consisted of Rice, Hahn, Ayer, Chris Filley, Andy Savage and Mike Rosenbaum. Throughout college, the group played music and sang together.
The band coalesced with the addition of bassist Andy Hamm in 2005, and drummer Matthew Frazier in 2006. Cavil at Rest opened for Jimmy Eat World at Firestone Fieldhouse in fall 2005. Hahn graduated from Pepperdine University. Rice was a communications studies student at UCLA. Ayer, who was attending San Francisco State University, transferred to UCLA, but after Rice graduated in 2008, he dropped out in order for them to focus on Local Natives full-time. In the summer of 2008, the band changed its name to Local Natives and started work on their debut album. Except for Hamm, all of the members were living together in a duplex in Orange. In December 2008, they all moved into a house in Silver Lake.
Everything the band creates comes from a complete collaboration between their members, from songwriting to artwork. Their debut album, Gorilla Manor, was named after the house they all shared in Orange County, where most of the album was written. "It was insanely messy and there were always friends over knocking around on guitars or our thrift store piano," said Hahn. "It was an incredible experience and I'll never forget that time." The self-funded Gorilla Manor was recorded by Raymond Richards in his own Red Rockets Glare Studio, in West Los Angeles, and was produced by Richards and the band. The third track on Gorilla Manor, "Sun Hands", first appeared on the Cavil at Rest album Orion Way.
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