Author Spotlight
Erin Reilly
When sophomore Gardner Grantham started the band Local Talk with fellow sophomores Jason Taylor (manager), Thomas Petrie (bass), Ian Harmon (lead guitar) and Max Braasch (drums) in seventh grade, he never expected it to turn into anything more than a few jam sessions and gigs for friends. But with a new demo due out this spring, this group has, in the words of the Eagles, “taken it to the next level.”
The alternative rock group, formerly known as Letterhead, has displayed their sound in the past by playing at Battle of the Bands, First Fridays, The Trolley Run, the Corinth Dragon Dash, Homestead Country Club, Prairie Elementary, Corinth Square, Foo’s and private parties. They started as a cover band but have since progressed to writing their own songs, all of which are on their upcoming, self-titled demo.
“It’s more of an E.P. than an album, and we’re planning on releasing it through iTunes and CDbaby.com in about two weeks,” Grantham said. “We mainly are just waiting on the cover art to clear, and then we’ll be set.” Interested fans can look at the group’s cover art and get updates on the E.P. on Local Talk’s facebook page.
In an effort to spread awareness of the band’s newest venture, Grantham played his tracks for teacher Coleman Ogdon and the rest of his chemistry class, to the general acclaim of the room. Many people have followed up on the band’s plans for an album, eagerly awaiting it’s release.
“They’re actually good, unlike a bunch of the other bands here,” senior George Galvin, a fellow chemistry student, said.
Choir teacher Ken Foley has also noted the group member’s dedication and talent.
“They’re in here many seminars for songwriting club, singing and writing songs with the other people in the group,” Foley said. “They’re a really talented group of kids.”
The album was recorded last fall in sophomore Jason Taylor’s basement/recording studio.
“We met Jason because he’s family friends with Ian, and he had some recording equipment which we took to Maxwell’s, since all of our instruments were there,” Grantham said. “We recorded our music first, then added in vocals later.”
The actual recording process only took about two weeks, with the band recording anywhere from three to six hours a day. Then the group started mastering and editing process.
“My favorite part of recording was doing the mastering, because we got to add in tambourines and stuff, which was really fun,” Grantham said.
The demo is being sent to CDbaby.com, where that company will make the E.P. available for purchase on iTunes and Amazon as well as the site itself. Grantham also anticipates selling the E.P. at the student store and the coffee shop soon, if the school permits them to.
The band takes inspiration from groups like Weezer, Oasis and the Beatles, and has a really good sound, but often has trouble writing lyrics.
“We had a lot of really cool music, but we didn’t know what to write,” Grantham said. “So we just went with it, mostly writing about girls, you know, the usual stuff. For example, Florida (Your Eyes) is about these girls from Texas me and my friend Will Short met on vacation in Florida, and Electrocution is one I wrote when someone broke up with me.”
While they do not have immediate plans for any performances, Local Talk won’t be keeping fans in the dark. The band is planning on releasing a full album through CDbaby.com as well, including the five tracks from their upcoming E.P. plus several other original songs, about two months after their E.P.’s release.
“We made this album hoping that people who listen to it will be entertained,” Grantham said.
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