Chicago's Local H lets fans pick the set list

Scott Lucas is a man with a plan. His band, the Chicago-based Local H, has a full tour schedule ahead of them in the coming months, new music to work on and a legion of loyal fans that can’t seem to get enough of the former Subway sandwich shop worker and fellow musician, drummer Brian St. Clair.

Lucas, founder and multi-tasking vocalist, is preparing for a slew of shows the only way he knows how - lots and lots of practice.

You want to make sure you’re sharp out there, completely in sync with one another,” he said alluding to St. Clair. Together, the pair has captivated audiences up and down the Midwest with their raucous rock and sly wit, including titles like “No Fun EP” and stage props that don’t even sing.

We are serious about what we do, especially when it comes to the musical quality of our work, but you have to have fun out there doing whatever you do,” Lucas noted about the group’s reputation for tom foolery.

The singer, who also helms the guitar and bass tracks for the band, leans on drummer Brian St. Clair for more than just musicianship - the two genuinely like and have a riot together, on stage and off.

We are talking about a group, after all, who considers a stage dummy and a merchandise sign, both from earlier shows, “members of the band.” Add to that kinetic mix former road manager Gabe Rodriguez, who splits his time playing tambourine or singing backup with the group on the road and running his own label, G & P Records, which is the official merchandiser for Local H. He also handles the band’s newsletter, H-Notes.

I don’t know if we ever consider anyone an ‘ex’ member of the band,” Lucas laughed.

We kind of get together with various people who have played with us in the past and if they don’t play with us again, we at least see and talk to them on occasion.”

That includes founding members and fellow Zion, IL schoolmates Joe Nichols and Matt Garcia, even though Garcia left the band in the early 1990’s and Nichols followed suit in 1999. It was the departure of the two band mates, however, that ultimately led to one of Local H’s most characteristic calling cards - Lucas’s special guitar pick-up that combines bass and electric guitar, eliminating the need for an additional bass player and whittling the core of the band to just Lucas and St. Clair. Perhaps that’s why Lucas calls the band and their fans a “pretty tightly woven little community.”

It’s a community who is hoping to add a few thousand new members with the release of Whatever Happened to P.J. Soles? in Spring 2005. On their latest, fans will find more of Local-H’s eclectic songwriting, including the integration of popular culture that keeps fans and critics scratching their heads.

For instance, witness the Subway restaurant-inspired song “Mayonnaise and Malaise,” an ode to Lucas’s past life as a sandwich maker. While he noted that many of the band’s songs come from past experience or from influences ranging from Cheap Trick to Queens of the Stone Age, many are also about “days and dreams to come,” which is why you never know what you’re going to hear.

Just like on their current All Request Tour, where they claim if "you pick it, they'll play it." A note card at the door, choice of seven favorites and a drop off at the merchandise booth and BLAM - every show's set list is up in the air.

I think our latest is a great reflection on who we have been in the past as a band, while tossing in new sounds that make it sound fresh. That’s the trick - making sure that your music is a compilation of your totality as a band and not just what the latest trend is. I mean, technology is important and we all want to be heard, but it’s when you wrap it up altogether that you come up with something unforgettable.”