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Local H is a two-piece rock band from Chicago, Illinois. Its members are Scott Lucas (vocals and guitar 1990-present) and Ryan Harding (drums, 2013-present). Former members include 1990-1999 drummer Joe Daniels, 1999-2013 drummer Brian St. Clair, 1990-1991 guitarist John Sparkman and 1990-1993 bassist Matt Garcia.

Local H is well-known for the full sound they achieve with only two instruments; a design of pre-Local H friend Toby Flescher, Lucas has a bass pickup under the low strings of his guitar and runs it through a bass effects pedal and separate bass amp. The two-man lineup of Scott Lucas and Joe Daniels released Ham Fisted, Local H's first album, in 1995.

After having achieved early success at Island Records selling 320,000 copies of their sophomore album As Good As Dead with hit “Bound For the Floor”, Local H was largely ignored by the label on their third album, Pack Up the Cats, due to the Island/Universal corporate merger; and then unceremoniously dumped by the label, leading to Daniels’ departure.

With new drummer Brian St. Clair, Local H’s studio albums were all concept albums for ten years; Here Comes the Zoo, Whatever Happened To P.J. Soles?, 12 Angry Months, and Hallelujah! I’m a Bum came out in this time.

After St. Clair’s departure, Ryan Harding joined and Hey, Killer and Lifers were released. ReFISTED, Local H’s latest release, dropped for the 30th anniversary of Ham Fisted, and is a re-imagining and re-recording of that album.

Local H has rebuilt its image since the 90s and become a hard-working, small venue-stuffing powerhouse, thankful for its fans and their loyalty. The “Cinderella story in reverse” may not have done wonders for the duo’s finances, but it has certainly given them more cred.

Studio Albums by Local H:

• Ham Fisted (1995)
• As Good As Dead (1996)
• Pack Up The Cats (1998)
• Here Comes The Zoo (2002)
• Whatever Happened To PJ Soles (2004)
• Twelve Angry Months (2008)
• Hallelujah Im A Bum (2012)
• Hey Killer (2015)
• Lifers (2020)
• ReFISTED (2025)

Tropes seen in the band and its works:

• Addiction Song: “Mellowed” is a sad look at the spiral of alcoholism. “Eleven years as seen through alcoholic eyes. Nothing here at all but lows disguised as highs.”
• Anti-Christmas Song: “Disgruntled Christmas” is a song about someone plotting to blow up people’s celebrations. It ends with the line “You’ll be sorry that you ever lied to me about Santa Claus.”
• Bad Taste Call-Out: In High Fiving MF, the subject of the song is lambasted for having the same haircut since 1983, wearing stonewashed jeans and the latest brands, and worst of all, "[having] no taste in music and [really loving] our band."
• Careful with That Axe: Scott Lucas has had several piercing screams over the years, notably in songs like “City of Knives” and “Heavy Metal Bake Sale”.
• Celebrity Song: “Eddie Vedder,” a look at being ignored and devalued compared to others; “Ray Milland,” a disturbing look at men who consider themselves “nice” and “romantic;” “P. J. Soles,” a sad remembrance of those who seemed like they had so much ahead of them; “Hey, Rita,” a look at what happens after celebrity fades; “Paddy Considine,” an unhinged rant about new people moving into the neighborhood; and “Farrah,” the sacrificial rite of having to remove that saucy poster from your wall.
• Epic Rocking: Songs like “(Baby Wants To) Tame Me,” “Buffalo Trace,” and “Defy and Surrender” approach the ten-minute mark. “What Would You Have Me Do?” shatters it with a 13-minute song featuring call-backs to all the other songs on the album, with another 12 minutes of interstitial noise.
• Grief Song: “One of Us” is about the death of a good friend.
• Hail to the Thief: “President Forever” is a scathing look at what would happen if Kevin McAllister was president.
• I Am the Band: Scott Lucas has been the driving force of Local H, and the only constant member.
• "I Hate" Song: “The Misanthrope,” as the title implies, hates everything and everyone.
• Job Song: “Mayonnaise and Malaise” is a memoir of lead Scott Lucas’s time working as a sandwich artist at Subway. It is not a fond remembrance.
  • “She Hates My Job” is about the stress a job can put on a relationship.
• Limited Lyrics Song: “Manipulator” features less than twenty words. “Where Are They Now?” only has the lyrics “You’re never gonna get it.”
• Location Song: “Fritz’s Corner” and “The Last Picture Show in Zion” are about the band’s birthplace, Zion, Illinois. “Chicago Fanphair ‘93,” about seeing shows in their later hometown, Chicago; and “Bryn-Mawr Stomp,” a reference to the Pennsylvania college.
• Love Is a Drug: “Halcyon Days (Where Were You Then?)” features the lyric “The drug of your love has me slipping away.”
• Lyrical Cold Open: An unaccompanied “All your life” starts “Mansplainer” before the instruments join in.
• Nobody Loves the Bassist: Following the departure of original bassist Garcia, Lucas had a custom rig built that would emulate a bass signal as he played guitar. He has continued to fine-tune the effect over the years, so the band has never again had a permanent bass player.
• Non-Appearing Title: “Bound For the Floor”, to the point that most think the song’s title involves the word “copacetic.”
• Ode to Intoxication: The original version of “Lead Pipe Cinch” was all about drinking at a bar, hoping to get the courage to call an ex. It was cut for lyrically sounding too much like a bad country song.
• Sequel Song: “Halcyon Days (Where Were You Then?)” follows “Halcion Daze,” which was released on an album of demos and rarities, and “Halcyon Days (Part II),” a demo tape likely thrown in the trash by a studio executive.
  • “Lovey Dovey” mentions a girl named Heather. “Hey, Rita” obviously is about Rita. And then “Michelle, Again” completes the Midwest Girls Trilogy with the lyric “You know that Heather’s got it all, Rita’s got a little more than all, but no one’s got it like Michelle.”
  • "Where Are They Now?" only features the lyric “You’re never, you’re never, you’re never gonna get it," making it a follow-up and meta reference to the “You just don’t get it” of their hit "Bound For the Floor."
  • "’Cha!’ Said the Kitty" is followed by "Son of ‘Cha!’" on the next album.
• Unreplaced Departed: When guitarist John Sparkman and bassist Matt Garcia left the band before they’d even put out an album, Local H soldiered on without them as a power duo.