Author Archives: Alex

Welcome Bo! / FTTT on iTunes

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First off – a huge welcome to Mr. Bo Prochnow!! He’s joining Local Hero on lead & rhythm guitar, as well as chiming in with periodic appearances on backing vocals. Bo moonlights as a jazz saxophonist, and is considered the world’s foremost scholar on R Kelly’s “Ignition (Remix).”

_MG_8293 - 2012-08-21 at 21-08-50

“Must be a football coach…”

Moving on…  Thanks to everyone who came out to our first-ever San Jose show at Art Boutiki on the 29th.  We had a great time and we hope to make it back to SJ next summer!

Also, a huge thank you to SF Rebirth, who just ranked ‘Black & White’ the 7th best song and From Timid to Timbuktu the 4th best album on their Bay Area Best-of-2012 Lists.

Big ups to WOBC-FM radio in Oberlin, Ohio for spinning Black & White, and a shoutout to British podcast Uncovering the Unsigned, who included Five Stars in their latest episode.

Lastly, From Timid to Timbuktu is finally on iTunes!  Buy it here.

Be healthy, be well, etc.

Thank You Huffington Post!

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A huge thank you to The Huffington Post, who just posted this article about us today.  It’s entitled “Local Hero is Berkeley’s Next Big Band.”

That’s a big title to live up to.  It’s exhilarating to get coverage from a publication of this caliber, and we still can’t quite believe it.

Now despite our strongest impulses, we haven’t been idly twiddling our thumbs and basking in this small ray of recognition.  We’re extremely happy to announce we’ll be playing at Art Boutiki in San Jose on December 29th.  We’re sharing the bill with A Yawn Worth Yelling, Big Tree and Troubadour – this will be our first show since summer!  Full details are on our ‘Shows‘ tab, and there’s a Facebook event already up here.

In other news, a big thank you to The Wounded Jukebox, The Music Beam, CollegeRoots, Each Day A Song (French) and The Owl Mag for posting on the record.  Likewise, thank you to SF Rebirth, Blushing Panda and The Metropolitan Jolt for their delightful reviews.  Lastly, thanks to the folks at Tufts University Radio, who spun Lady Wisconsin last night.

If you haven’t listened already, here’s From Timid to Timbuktu in its entirety.  It’s available from our Bandcamp and it’ll be up on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, etc in short order.  1luv!

Be healthy, be well, etc.

Memolane (Three Cheers for Social Media)

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This is our Memolane – it compiles all of our Facebook, Twitter, Soundcloud & YouTube posts in one location. Sort of a one-stop shopping type of deal. Use it to stay updated on our day-to-day affairs, look back at stuff we’ve done in the past, and to delve into our embarrassing earlier years. Album coming soon! Be healthy, be well, etc.

A Post! My Kingdom for a Post! / June Update

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Phew. Been a while. A quick recap….

We passed our Kickstarter goal! In fact, we’ve finished recording at Tiny Telephone and we’re almost done with the record altogether. Stay tuned on this one.

We dropped by KPFA 94.1 on Wednesday night to play a couple songs. It was our first live radio appearance, and we generally had a grand old time. We played two songs, and we may indeed post one on Soundcloud for streaming/free download in the next week or so.

We also have several shows to announce…

  • We’ll be playing this Saturday (June 9th) at The Freight and Salvage as part of The Freight Goes British Revue #3. The bill includes The RaveUps, Girl Named T, The Blondies and the Whitecliff Rangers. We’ll be inserting three 60s British Invasion songs into our set, make sure not to miss it. Tickets are also half off for anyone under 25, so why the hell not? Advance tix available here.
  • We’re pleased to announce we’ll be playing at Berkeley High graduation for the second consecutive year. That’ll be at the Greek Theatre on June 15th.
  • We’re also playing consecutive sets on June 21st and 22nd at the Humanist Hall in Oakland as a part of Bear Valley Films’ summer showcase. There’ll be tons of visual art, six short films by young Bay Area filmmakers, lots of music and a bouncy castle. Can’t miss.
  • We’re playing at Great American Music Hall alongside Princeton (these dudes have opened for Vampire Weekend, Ra Ra Riot, etc) on June 23rd as part of It Gets Indie, a locally-based annual fundraiser for It Gets Better and The Trevor Project. Advance tickets can be found here.
  • We just booked a show with fellow Berkeley High alumni Thirstbusters at the Starry Plough on August 5th.

In other news, SF Rebirth named us #7 on its “10 Bay Area Artists to Watch” list, and Maya just released a sweet cover of Grimes’ “Oblivion”, take a listen here. The Wounded Jukebox also picked it up, as did The Bay Bridged. Go Maya go!

Lastly, here’s a video of us playing a new original… Be healthy, be well, etc.

Free Gucci.

We’re Making a Record! + Kickstarter + Alameda Show

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We’re recording an album! Nine songs, twelve days of recording at Tiny Telephone in San Francisco. Thing is, recording isn’t a cheap endeavor by any means. We’ve saved up as much as we could from CD sales, T-Shirts and shows, but we still need your help! We’re looking to raise $4,000 over the next month.

But how can you help us reach this lofty goal? Glad you asked. We’ve made a KICKSTARTER where you can pledge for all sorts of sweet prizes. Musical voicemails, private shows, early morning serenades, skype concerts, pre-release albums – whatever you want. For a big enough pledge, we’ll even drive anywhere in the continental United States or Canada to play a private show for you at your convenience. Can’t beat that. At the moment, we’re already nearly 25% 35% funded! Click here to check it out!

We also have a show to announce. We’re playing with Eager Eyes and Adam Gold at Rooster’s Roadhouse in Alameda on April 6th. It’s gonna be a big show so let’s get the lead out. Doors at 7.

Lastly, here’s an exuberant lil’ video of us doing a new original – “Black & White” live at the DNA Lounge in February. See you at Rooster’s!

CD Release!

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We’re playing a big release show on the 25th. If you’ve been thinking about making it to a gig, this is the Local Hero show to go to. This is our Monterrey Pop Festival, our Isle of Wight, our live at Leed’s, etc. We’ve booked a beautiful venue and, for the first time in recent memory, we have no time constraints. We have a nice, long set planned, including several brand new originals.

The theatre is gorgeous. Fancy lighting, awesomely powerful sound system, an overhead projector and a huge drop-down screen. We’ve never done something quite like this before.

The outstandingly talented Matt Jaffe will be opening the night with an acoustic set.  Seriously, this guy will blow you away.  Check out one of his originals here.

This is also the release party for the Aldgate EP, so we’ll have CD’s and (for the very first time) T-Shirts for sale! We’ll be showering the audience with free EP’s periodically throughout the night.

Tickets are $5 in advance, $10 at the do’.  Purchase in advance from Max, Maya, Leo or Alex, or buy them online RIGHT HERE.

Don’t forget we’ll also be playing another big show at the DNA Lounge this Thursday, the 16th.

Lastly, check out some additional footage from the New Parish show.  Another new original, ‘We Three Pistoliers’:

See you on the 25th! Be healthy, be well, etc.

January Update

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First off, we’re fortunate enough to be in the running for the Deli Magazine’s Emerging Bay Area Artist of 2011 poll.  We’re currently in 3rd place, and we need your help to win this puppy.  Only takes half a second.  Cast your own vote, get your friends to vote, shout it from the rooftops!  Here’s the link:

http://sf.thedelimagazine.com/snacks

Secondly, here’s a smangin video of us doing the unreleased original ‘Your Own Water’ near the end of our set at the New Parish in December:

We’ve got several shows in the works at the moment, and they’ll all be announced soon once we’ve ironed out all the details. It’s an exciting time for us!

Be healthy, be well, etc.

Maya Goes Solo / Hello 2012

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First off, a big 21-gun salute to Fever Charm, Prima Donna and 1234Go! records for having us on the 6th.  We had gobs of fun. Onwards and upwards.

Maya recently released a sparkling cover of The Ronettes’ 1963 classic “Why Don’t They Let Us Fall in Love?”, and it’s been absolutely tearing shit up. After Cover Me premiered the track, Indie Shuffle picked it up, as did The Wounded Jukebox and Metrojolt. The newly redesigned On My Radar and 1146 Miles got their boogie on, and The Dadada rambled on us.  Quite nice of them all.  In any case, take a listen:

Pretty dreamy, right? Snag a download before we reach our limit on Soundcloud!

Happy new year!  Adventure and Fulfillment to you all in 2012.

Be healthy, be well, etc.

Lady Wisconsin Video / Holiday Update

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First off, that New Parish show was amazing.  Great venue, the crowd energy was utterly fantastic and we couldn’t have asked for better bands to play with.  Tumbleweed Wanderers, The SHE’S and Finish Ticket all killed it!!  What a spectacular evening.  Big thanks to everyone who came out.

As you can see below, we’ve just released a video for Lady Wisconsin.  We videotaped each take we did of that song, and this video is literally the footage from us playing live in the studio.  Take a look!

We also have a show to announce!  We’re playing at 1234 Go! Records on January 6th with Fever Charm and Prima Donna.  More details as they come.  Happy Holidays!

Be Healthy, Be Well, etc.

Lady Wisconsin Arrives!

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Good morrow to you. Our first single since the EP is up and running!  It’s entitled “Lady Wisconsin” and we’ve grown quite fond of it.  Take a listen:

We essentially recorded this song in one 5-hour session, which is something new for us.  We tried our best to preserve the sound of four people in a room together, imperfections, smudges and all.  Lady Wisconsin also marks Max & Maya’s studio debut with Local Hero (on piano and vocals/guitar/accordion, respectively), which is tremendous.

It premiered on Indie Shuffle yesterday and Earmilk wrote a piece on it today.  You can catch us playing Lady Wisconsin and a bevy of other tunes at our show at the New Parish on Thursday!

Be healthy, be well, etc.