Indie rockers Native Lights will play Circle Bar on August 2nd at 10 p.m.

Hailing from Oklahoma, Native Lights is composed of Johnathon Ford on bass, Nathan Price on drums, Bryce Chambers on guitar and vocals and Philip Phillips on guitar.

Photo by Michael Cooper

In November of 2010, Native Lights set up a small-scale recording studio in a friend’s abandoned cattle auction house in Oklahoma and recorded their yet-to-be-released debut album.

“We wanted to record the album in a different space and scenario than an actual recording studio,” Ford said. “Our friend owned this abandoned cattle auction house out in Hominy Oklahoma. So I was like ‘Man, we should just go and record the record in there.’ So we went out there and checked it out and it had this feeder room… And it was the perfect room to record an album in. There were these long hallways and tile everywhere. It just had all these crazy acoustics and rooms that you could get really cool sounds in.”

Due to the dilapidated state of the building, working electricity was not readily available until the owner was able to create a power source.

“He was pulling on wires and taping shit together and at first it was kind of nerve racking because we had no electricity… how are we going to record an album?” Ford said. “But he was like ‘Oh I’ll handle it!’ and started taking stuff out of the wall and it was kind of nuts, but it worked. It was definitely guerrilla style, just going into this weird place and making it happen.”

With working electricity, Native Lights spent a week living in the abandoned cattle building, recording tracks and trying to stay warm.

“We lived in the building for that week while we recorded and we were freezing every night and every day,” Ford said. “We had a fire pit out front of the building where we would go and keep warm by. It was actually warmer outside than it was inside. So we spent a week in there and recorded night and day. It was a pretty minimal setup because these days you can record a record in your bedroom. But we are a full rock band so we had a laptop and microphones and a few compressors.”

Despite the less-than-ideal living conditions, Native Lights were pleased with the final product.

“It got pretty depressing… you’re living in this abandoned building for a week, it’s freezing… at night we just had these lamps illuminating the rooms,” Ford said. “So it got pretty dark for a while but it was totally worth it… I think we achieved something really cool the way the record sounds and I think you can hear and feel that cold and darkness in the sound of it.”

With the tracks recorded, Native Lights left the studio and for three years did not perform as Native Lights, but rather, as Unwed Sailor, a band featuring all four members of Native Lights.

“It was just life… other things happening,” Ford said. “Unwed Sailor I’ve done since 1998 and the lineup in the band is the same as Native Lights, so that kept us busy. 3 years can go by really fast if you’re not careful. Last January we were finally able to get back together and make it happen and start moving forward again.”

Now that Native Lights is again the main focus, the band is eyeing a early 2015 release for their debut album, with a national tour supporting the album. They recently spent time with renowned audio engineer Kevin Ratterman of La La Land, mixing the album.

“He’s done My Morning Jacket, Andrew Bird, Maserati, Young Widows… so he’s rad. That was great, mixing with him. I think we spent 3 days mixing at La La Land,” Ford said.

Native Lights will make their  way through the South, stopping in Fayetteville and Little Rock Arkansas, Birmingham, Alabama, New Orleans and Dallas, Texas as part of their summer tour.

Ford, who has frequently visited and performed in New Orleans, expressed his fondness for the Crescent City.

“I try to get to New Orleans as much as I possibly can,” he said. “It might be my favorite city in the States. I love it. The city has so much there in different kinds of energy, it’s almost like it chooses what it’s going to do with you that time.”

Tickets for the August 2 Circle Bar show can be purchased for $5 at the door.