Interview: Local Natives
Meet You At The Show: You had a very different sound when you were known as Cavil At Rest. How did the transition to the sound you have now occur?
Kelcey Ayer: Well, the band’s come a long way from when Taylor, Ryan and I were in Cavil At Rest. I mean (laughs), that was way back when we were in high school. It was our high school band. I can say it was us trying to figure out what we wanted to sound like. We were discovering what kind of music we liked and playing around, and we were really influenced by music with harmonies from the 60s and 70s. And with line-up changes and everything, and after years of playing together and getting to know each other, it was just a natural process that turned our sound into what it is now.
MYATS: I’ve heard everything you do is a collaborative effort. Does this include all the visual art that’s been created so far for your album and posters and such?
KA: Andy is usually the one who works on all the neat pictures with photoshop and stuff, but Ryan helps with that too and Taylor and Matt sometimes…Yeah, I don’t do anything like that (laughs).
MYATS: Well, I don’t blame you, photoshop isn’t the simplest of things…
KA: Haha, yeah definitely not…It takes a lot of patience, I just can’t deal.
MYATS: So, working on new material yet, or basking in the well-deserved glory of Gorilla Manor?
KA: Sort of. When we’re on the tour bus we usually have time to spare so we use it to try some stuff, and we’ve been working on some stuff, but I think we’ll only be really working on new material some time next year.
MYATS: Wait, so you guys have a tour bus instead of a van now? That’s great!
KA: Yeah, we’re really lucky; we’re one of the few who can afford it nowadays because we’re a lot better off from when we first started, so we’re grateful for getting this far, it’s great!
MYATS: You spent most of the album writing process in your band house “Gorilla Manor”. Do you still spend time in the house or have you moved onto something else?
KA: Well, Gorilla Manor isn’t really a name we gave to the house itself… It was more like, we had gotten to that point where we all wanted to invest more time on the music, and it was a really mutual decision to like, spend all our time on making something out of it, and we needed a place, and Ryan was from L.A. and knew this sweet place we could use, and he wanted us to move there because the music scene is great. But yeah, we all had the same drive and wanted to make something out of it, so we needed a place, and we spent a lot of our time there, and named it that.
MYATS: We’ve noticed you tweet a lot about food on your Twitter account. What are your top 5 favourite food stops on tour?
KA: Aww man, there’s so many good places. There’s this place in Seattle called Paseo that serves these amazing Cuban chipotle sandwiches, and there’s always a line-up outside…Always. They have great bread, and great food. We haven’t been lucky when we’ve been there, they’d run out of bread or something, but still one of our favourite places. Another place…Now this isn’t in order, I’m just saying what comes to me first, because there are too many places…We were in New Orleans not too long ago, but there wasn’t anything that stood out… umm, let me think… just give me a sec!
MYATS: I’m sorry, I didn’t realize how difficult that question actually was!
KA: (laughs) It’s like going to a record store and having a wall full of different albums you like in front of you, but not being able to pick one! Umm there’s this great bar place in Minneapolis, I can’t remember the name. It was right near our venue, and, I’m not kidding, the appetizers…like, it’s hard to find good bar food, but they had amazing, amazing sweet potato fries, and a bunch of stuff. They have great mango salsa. There’s also this pretty great place in L.A. actually, and when you’re there you feel like you’re in Grenada or something with the way they decorated the place. There are palm trees and, yeah.
MYATS: Okay, we’ve got three, that’s fine! One last question: What’s it like touring with your friends The Union Line?
KA: Oh it’s great! Yeah, we’ve been good buddies for a long time now; them and Voxhaul Broadcast. So we’re really glad to have chosen them to tag along with us on tour this time. Good times.
MYATS: Great! Well, thank you so much for your time, Kelcey, and we’re looking forward to seeing you in Montreal!
KA: You’re going? Great! Thanks, we’re looking forward to it too, we love Montreal! See you there!
Interview Conducted by Sarve Amir-E
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We would like to thank Kelcey Ayer of Local Natives for taking the time to chat with us. You can catch the band live tonight in Montreal at La Tulipe. As mentioned, The Union Line will open along with The Ruby Suns. Tickets are $18.00 and can be purchased online here.
