California Songs Fritz's Corner High-Fiving Mf Local H

California Songs Album: Whatever Happened to P.J. Soles? (2004)
Fritz's Corner Album: Good As Dead (1996)
High-Fiving Mf Album: Good As Dead (1996)
by Local H

Whatever Happened to P.J. Soles is the fifth studio album released on April 6, 2004, on Studio E Records. It received an Australian release doubled with Alive '05 on July 16, 2007. "California Songs" and "Hey, Rita" have become staples at many of Local H's live performances. The album is Scott Lucas' favourite Local H record.

The album title references P.J. Soles, an American actress, known for her roles in John Carpenter's 1978 horror film Halloween, the 1979 musical comedy Rock N Roll High School, and Ivan Reitman's 1981 comedy Stripes.

Thanks to artists like The Beach Boys and a thriving music scene, California has been mythologized in a number of songs, as has New York City. Local H is from Zion, Illinois, which doesn't get mentioned in a lot of songs. In this track, they take aim at the arrogance of the coastal cities in the United States that act like there's nothing going on in the Midwest.

Despite the clearly anti-California and New York lyrics, the song is still very well received when the band plays this song in those states.

Lead singer Scott Lucas has called California Songs "the battle cry of the Midwest."

Fritz's Corner is the name of a bar in the band's hometown of Zion, Illinois, but it has nothing to do with this song and is never mentioned in the lyric. The song is about the boredom and frustration that can come from feeling trapped in a small town.

A track from the second Local H album, this song got modest airplay on altenative radio, but it was the track "Bound For The Floor" that lifted the band to national attention. Lead singer Scott Lucas continued to frequent Fritz's Corner long after they made their mark.

As Good as Dead is the second studio album following lackluster sales of their debut, Ham Fisted, and under pressure from their label Island Records, the band quickly returned to the studio to record their follow-up. Released on April 16, 1996.

As Good as Dead is a concept album about dead-end, small-town life based on the band's origins in Zion, Illinois. The album was positively received by critics and became an unexpected success behind its second single, "Bound for the Floor", and it ultimately sold over 320,000 copies. As Good as Dead produced three other singles: "High-Fiving MF", "Eddie Vedder", and "Fritz's Corner". It remains Local H's best-selling album to date.

In 1994, with record labels trying to capitalize on the popularity of grunge and alternative rock bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden, Local H caught the attention of Polydor Records, which was then in the process of merging with Island Records. Island released the band's debut studio album, Ham Fisted, the following year, but it sold below expectations and Island pressured the band's A&R rep, Joe Bosso, to drop them. Instead, Bosso pushed them into quickly recording a follow-up before Island could cancel their contract. Ahead of the release of As Good as Dead, frontman Scott Lucas was informed by Island that the album needed to sell at least 100,000 copies for the band to remain with the label.

As Good as Dead was released on April 16, 1996, following the lead single "High-Fiving MF", which failed to chart (for obvious lyrical content). The band, however, found greater success with the album's second single, "Bound for the Floor", which rose to No. 5 on the US Alternative Billboard Chart and No. 10 on the US Hot Mainstream Rock Billboard Chart, and propelled the album into selling over 320,000 copies and a peak of No. 147 on the Billboard 200. The songs "Eddie Vedder" and "Fritz's Corner" additionally made the Top 40 on the Alternative and Mainstream Rock Billboard Charts. Encouraged by the unexpected success of As Good as Dead, Island Records greenlit a third album, Pack Up the Cats.

There's a certain kind of bro that Local H noticed at their shows - the guy who tries to take over the mosh pit and high five everybody. Often 'roided out and with a terrible haircut, he has terrible taste in clothes and music, but for some reason likes their band. When we asked lead singer Scott Lucas what the song is about, he replied: "Assholes."

In my personal opinion, it seems an accurate representation of the Chicago I always heard about while living in the outskirts of KCK. Not surprisingly, this song got very little airplay, although it was released as a promotional single in the form of the "Kinda Clean Short Edit" and the "Squeaky Clean Short Edit." The hit from the album was the more radio-friendly "Bound For The Floor."