Local Boy is Not a Band
Photography by J. Faith Malicdem
by J. Faith Malicdem
“WHO THE F*** IS LOCAL BOY” was printed in bold font on countless posters plastered all over Downtown Boston and Emerson’s Little Building scaffolding—pretty much anywhere Local Boy’s members set foot in the spring of 2019.
The posters were the group’s first approach to marketing themselves. Whenever the posters would get taken down, they’d come right back to restaple them on the construction site. “It looks good in writing,” admitted guitarist, vocalist and Emerson sophomore songwriting major Max Agee.
As I shuffled my shoes on the doorstep of the Local Boy apartment, I couldn’t stop thinking about their acclaimed iCarly theme song cover and music video. I had seen the group perform live at Allston house shows, witnessed their overcoming stage presence for myself, and now I got to interview them?
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Noah Leong, the bassist for Local Boy and sophomore Electronic Production and Design major at Berklee, unlocked the door, saying, “Simon and Max are out skating right now but they’ll be back soon,” rolling his eyes.
Local Boy is a sun-soaked indie and surf rock group comprised of guitarist Max Agee, guitarist and vocalist Simon John, bassist Noah Leong, and drummer Caelan Verhelst. The boys all met within their first week at Berklee, where the band would be born out of their quad dorm room. Agee had been recording John, Leong, and Verhelst’s cover of the Beatles’ Dear Prudence, when Agee proposed the idea of starting a band.
“I met Simon the first day I was here. I walked around looking like a noob, asking people what music they listened to to pick who I wanted to hang out with. [Simon] looked cool, so I was like ‘what’s up?’ and he was the only person who knew who my favorite artist was at the time, Ty Segall,” explained Agee.
The group bounced around band name ideas until they finally arrived at Local Boy—but the process of doing so was an unending debate. From Commonwealth to Video House to Rose Boy, the boys refused to settle.
“Max was like ‘How about the Local Boys?’ and I was like ‘What about just Local Boy?’ and Max didn’t fuck with it for like three months,” said John.
Leong shared their unanimous sentiment. “Once we came across Local Boy, we always knew the name would stick.”
“It grew on me, too. I don’t hate it anymore,” joked Agee.
The band’s name is derived from their first release, “Singler Season,” a song about a love interest’s commitment to a dying long-distance relationship even though there is someone for her right under her nose—her very own local boy.
“Singler Season gets me overjoyed, ‘cause I could be your local boy”
John, Leong, and Verhelst all collaborated to lay down the foundation of “Singler Season,” when Agee later came in to add guitar parts. The lyrics were written by John with some help from Verhelst.
In most instances, the members each bring a completely finished song for the band to mull over and jam to, where they’ll workshop bits and pieces before finalizing the tune. According to John, Agee brought in the group’s third single release “Paradise Island” completely finished, which was first workshopped before it was recorded.
Additionally, their second release, “Supreme’s,” was written by Leong alone after mustering up a bass riff.
“I thought about what would be relatable to people at Berklee, so I just decided to write it about the pizza place all the Berklee kids go to late after the party kinda vibes,” said Leong.
Although “Singler Season” is the band’s only released song that exhibits their all-around collaboration, John explained that he thinks “it’s nice to write together ‘cause then the sound sounds a little more like all of our tastes and styles combined as opposed to just one person’s vision.”
The group realized playing house shows and parties would be a great way to play music while also having fun whenever they’d go out. So they brainstormed setlists of original songs and covers, taking on the underground music scene, according to John.
“Playing a show is always a new experience. The more you perform, the more you realize you gain this nice bundle of memories you get to have,” Agee reminisced.
Local Boy has established themselves through their lively innovative take on surf rock with punchy bass lines, guitar solo breaks, and signature vocal layering, mastering their ability to stir an audience into a frenzy of head-bobs and flailing arms.
“One thing about Local Boy that I’ve just been starting to think is the fact that we’re the perfect house party band. It’s something that we’ve grown to embrace,” said Leong.
Local Boy currently aims to serve as a session group and cohort of solo musicians supporting one another in their musical endeavors, whether that be through performing or mixing and mastering for each other.
According to Leong, “Local Boy is a place where we all come together and work as musicians together to build this artistic chemistry. Without Local Boy, we wouldn’t be making the music we are now on our own.”
The band isn’t entirely focused on releasing new music, but they are always looking to play shows to keep performing for others. In the meantime, the boys are actively working on and releasing their solo music, according to Agee.
“We use Local Boy as a platform to promote all of our own music and styles,” he expanded. “Local Boy is kind of like a Frankenstein band because we never intended to have a fully serious band, and yet we came across decisions that had to be made, which was a learning experience in the end. Now it’s just a fun thing we have to keep putting ourselves out there and to keep playing for people.”
Throughout the interview, the boys would digress into a rabbit hole of marketing and show ideas, referencing their renowned initial promotional catchphrase: Who the fuck is Local Boy?
“Now let’s just tell people we aren’t a band. That’ll get ‘em hooked,” said John.
Leong chuckled, “Yeah, contrary to popular belief, Local Boy is not a band.”
While the musicians of Local Boy are all focused on their own solo careers, they are still more than happy to perform live as a collective. Be on the lookout for upcoming house shows this spring, which are regularly posted here.
