Local Stranger

Local Stranger was founded by James Hammontree in the mid 90's. Art Kirkendoll, virtuoso lead guitar player, and James have been friends for years. They wanted to build a music project that had a chance for lasting success. Rob Slahck, a classically trained bass player, joined Local Stranger in 2003, and with a singer/drummer the three piece band enjoyed some marginal success for over a year. In December 2004, Ron Voll was asked to join the band as a drummer. Rick Gillis entered the studio about two weeks later, and he completely blew the room away with his voice. Rick's presence inspired the phrase, "This ain't no 'bar' band". With the newly revamped line-up, the magic began to flow. Local Stranger was quickly given the opportunity to play in a few of the larger clubs, and struck gold with an appearance in Club Wars VI. As round one began, only 5 originals had been written; the show at The Grand Emporium was Local Stranger's second gig. They played well enough to secure a spot in the next round. A blistering Semi-Finals performance netted a slot in the Finals at The Beaumont in June 2005. While Local Stranger came in 3rd, they won the praise of the General Manager of The Beaumont, which turned out to be every bit as good as winning Club Wars outright. July 2005, after only 7 months together, the four musicians entered the studio to produce their debut CD In the Shadows. The studio crew raved at Local Stranger's talent and professionalism. Recording was done over a mere 3 week period. The final mix was completed early October, and the CD was released on October 26, 2005.We ROCKED Vegas. Finishing the finals in the top 10 independent artist in the nation. Kansas City's very own Local Stranger made it to the final round in the Live Indie Rock Wars April 25 and 26, 2008. We would like to thank all of our family and friends who support us in our endeavors.We will be working in the studio on our second CD.Stay tuned. There is much more to come...