Fender Feedback: Local Natives on Creating Their Unique Sound

Los Angeles’ Local Natives have carved out a niche all their own, with emotional vocals, soaring harmonies and rattling percussion.

But much of the band’s inspiration comes from their collection of guitars and basses, which now includes a pair of American Professional Jazzmasters and an American Professional Precision Bass.

"The guitar is such an important way to get a song from nowhere," the band said in a new Fender Feedback video starring guitarists Taylor Rice and Ryan Hahn and bassist Nik Ewing. "With all the new synths and electronics, we’d always come back to wanting to plug in one of our Jazzmasters in and get that reliable sound."

Clear of any formal music training, the band was able to approach musicality like a blank canvas, crafting their own rules and techniques, ultimately resulting in their unmistakable sound.

"We never learned theory or anything like that," they stated. "But what’s cool about it is that even without knowing those chords, you could just make your own rules and just figure it out and create a sound that is original to us." 

Learn more about Miller and how he uses the guitar to communicate in the video above.