Student Band Local Talk Gains Attention

The drummer was heating up a chimichanga when he heard it. The bassist heard it while at a Chambers event. One guitarist heard it huddled around a radio at a friends house, the other while doing homework in the kitchen.

Four boys, all in separate places, connected together by one thing: a song on the radio. The boys, more well known by their band’s name, Local Talk, listened to their track ”Electrocution,” on Alice 102 at 6 o’clock on Tuesday, Oct. 25. Local Talk, which consists of four male juniors, Max Braasch, Ian Harmon, Thomas Petrie and Gardner Grantham, have always been brought together by their music.

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Local Talk has come a long way from the basement they started out playing in. In their year and a half of being together, the band has performed at events and venues in the community and recorded their debut album “Local Talk EP.”

Last year, they slaved away at an original album that they shared with their family and friends. Recently, one of the hosts of Alice 102 got a hold of the album and wanted to broadcast one of the songs. He called Grantham and asked him questions about their background and told them that Local Talk was going to be on the radio. This was the first time their song was played on a popular radio station at a prime time.

“I was so glad that our music finally went somewhere even if nothing came from it,” Grantham said.

The band was started by Harmon, Grantham and Braasch. Harmon and Grantham were starting to get involved with music and guitar lessons. They were playing around one day and had the idea of starting a band. They knew their friend Braasch played the drums so they talked it over and the idea was an overall success. The boys discussed with their friends that played instruments and after a long list of members, Local Talk had finally landed on their final four: Grantham, Harmon, Braasch and Thomas Petrie.

Ever since the band started, Harmon, Grantham and Braasch have been the only steady members. Petrie was added about a year and a half ago and Braasch believes this is the most cohesive group that Local Talk has been through.

“I think we all understand music equally, so we know what sounds good and what sounds bad,” Grantham said, “and we are all very accepting to new ideas of how to play something or write something.”

Watch Local Talk’s first place performance at last year’s Bunch of Bands competition.

Their understanding of each others’ music taste came from similar musical backgrounds. Harmon’s father was in a band, which gave him the desire to learn an instrument. Harmon started out playing the trombone; however, he believed that this instrument was not going to get him anywhere because he “felt too restricted.” He wanted to write his own music and be able to sing. In sixth grade, he decided to begin guitar lessons. He never had to be told to practice because he loved it so much, and did not get the chance to sing seriously until he joined choir at school, where he was able to experiment with professional music.

“I don’t want to be too cheesy, “ Harmon said, “but the reason I find music so intriguing is that it has been around for a long time and I think it is cool to know that you can shut the outside world off and play a piece of music written 500 years ago.”

For Braasch, this was not the first band he was ever a part of. In 2004, he started playing the drums and this was been the only real instrument that he has ever played. In elementary school, he was in a band that was basically run by the parents instead of the members. Braasch was not great friends with the members so he did not enjoy the experience. He gets along with the members of Local Talk so well that he enjoys going to practice and they are able to get all of their songs and rhythms done within a decent amount of time.

“The thing [about music] that intrigues me the most is that it is totally made by you and interpreted by you” Braasch said. “When writing a song you have total control over the music and that is pretty cool to do. There is so much music I listen to that there I always something new, which keeps it fresh and exciting.”

Petrie agrees that when he plays or listens to a song that he is feeling, everything stops and he is in his own world for those few minutes. Petrie believes that his musical taste comes form his family because his mother was a great musician. This led him to try playing a lot of instruments as a child before finding one he enjoyed: he started with violin and clarinet in elementary school, but was not inspired until seventh grade when he began taking guitar lessons.

“After taking lessons for a while, I played an acoustic version of “Read My Mind” by the Killers with my guitar teacher,” Petrie said. “I realized music was going to be one of the most important things in my life.”

Like Braasch, Grantham’s father listens to classic rock types of music, inspiring Gardner to do the same. The boys all share this musical taste and understand music equally, a key factor in the group’s ability to succeed. They have known each other since elementary school so they’re aware of how to act around one another in order to get work done.

“We all know what sounds good and what sounds bad,” Grantham says. “We are all very accepting to new ideas how to play something or write something.”

As of now, Local Talk performs at private parties and events through the school and community. They played at a basketball tournament at East, First Fridays at the Crossroads in downtown KC and runs like the Dragon Dash and Trolley Run. Their favorite event was at this year’s Bunch of Bands competition at East because the whole crowd was into the performance and they were pumped up. They tied for first place at the competition, which is just another step forward for this local band.

The band has been recording their second album over the past couple weeks. All of their songs are original and a collaborative effort within the group. One of them may come up with a beat or verse and they all bounce ideas off of each other. According to Petrie, none of them are afraid to correct each other or share their opinions. They believe it is constructive criticism and they are able to improve from each others’ input.

The group is unsure about their future and are just “going with the flow,” according to Harmon. Local Talk is considered a fun thing to do for the members and they are wanting to work hard this upcoming album. They are planning on spending more focus this time around on recording and producing a really well thought out album.

“I want to keep playing with these guys for as long as possible” Braasch said. “Obviously with college creeping up we may be separated from one another but nothing is for sure.”

Watch Local Talk at last year’s Coalition Love 146 concert.