The Grand Rapids rock band headlines Friday night’s free Local Spins Live show at Rockford Brewing, and judging by their track record, fans can expect a scorching, high-energy affair.
Blame the bus driver.
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As a freshman at Grand Rapids’ West Catholic High School, Joe Bockheim’s schoolbus driver regularly cranked up a tape of Led Zeppelin’s classic 1971 album, “Led Zeppelin IV.”
And that, ladies and gentlemen, was all she wrote.
“That was literally my introduction to Led Zeppelin. She was awesome,” the guitarist and singer recalls. “I specifically remember ‘Black Dog,’ just the structure of the song was like nothing I had ever heard before. Just the raw power. I was blown away. It made my freshman year a little less unbearable, knowing I could get that at least once a week. It just made my morning.”
It also made Bockheim pick up the guitar, and years later, form The Legal Immigrants upon returning to Grand Rapids after playing football for Central Michigan University.
With influences ranging from The Rolling Stones and The Beatles to The Black Keys and White Stripes, The Legal Immigrants have made waves on Grand Rapids area stages since late 2012, when they released a self-titled debut album that was recorded in a basement.
The name of the band “just kind of came to me,” says Bockheim, aka Rockheim. “It’s sort of an ode to all the people that started this country by risking it all and crossing an ocean with nothing but a dream.”
Bockheim, drummer Tony Lubenow and lead guitarist Trevor Reidsma now are at work on their sophomore recording, with hopes of completing it at Tommy Schichtel’s all-analog Goon Lagoon studio this summer and releasing it in the fall.
“We’re trying to crawl out of the basement for this next one,” quips Bockheim, whose soulful, impassioned vocals propel the band through amped-up performances which he describes as “high-energy rock ’n’ roll” with a fair amount of recklessness on stage as they churn out catchy original material.
ROCKING ROCKFORD BREWING WITH JESSE RAY & THE CAROLINA CATFISH
That will be on display Friday night when The Legal Immigrants headline the first Local Spins Live show ever held at Rockford Brewing Co. in downtown Rockford.
Another ultra-hyper act, Jesse Ray & The Carolina Catfish, will open the free show, which will include Local Spins T-shirt and sticker giveaways, beer discounts, a 50-50 raffle benefiting Access of West Michigan and other specials. The show begins at 8 p.m.; read more about it in this Local Spins story.
Bockheim and Reidsma offered up just a hint of their inspired approach on Wednesday when they performed an acoustic version of a new song, “Folk Yes,” on Local Spins Live on News Talk 1340 AM (WJRW). Check out a podcast of the show here, with a video of that exclusive performance below.
“I have no idea how it works,” Bockheim says of his songwriting. “I don’t push it. When it comes, it comes. If you hear something in your head, you try to put it to guitar and try to find some meaning for it.”
MATURITY, BROADER APPEAL AND FINDING ‘SOMETHING TO LAUGH ABOUT’
What he does know is that band members have matured as musicians and writers over the past two years. “Without intentionally trying to reach a broader audience, I think it is. Some of the songs feel like they may have more mass appeal,” Bockheim offers.
Although the band currently is seeking a new bassist, original member Mike Nawara has been filling in at live shows for now.
Bockheim credits much of the band’s growth and heightened musical synergy to the addition of Reidsma, who joined The Legal Immigrants about a year ago. “I’ve been playing guitar since I was six years old,” says Reidsma, who graduated from high school in Middleville. “I was influenced by my dad who was in a band since I was 2.”
As Bockheim puts it, “If you’ve got all four people who’ve bought into the same thing, first of all, you sound way better, and two, you can get through the awful shows, which still exist. When you’ve got people that you really get along with, it makes even those shows fun. You can always find something to laugh about on the way home if nothing else.”
On the other hand, band members expect Friday night’s Local Spins Live show at Rockford Brewing to be a jam-packed, one-of-a-kind highlight to savor.
And that, Bockheim vows, means one thing for sure: “It’s gonna be sweaty.”
For more about The Legal Immigrants, visit their Facebook page.
Email John Sinkevics at jsinkevics@gmail.com.
Copyright 2014, Spins on Music