Local 12 is a Garage Band from the D.C. Metro area. The band began as a basement jam in the 1990s and has blossomed into a solid recording and performing unit. The current lineup consists of Bill Whitman (guitar, vocals), Michael Salveson (guitar, vocals), Garth Morgan (bass), and Mark Stevens (drums). E Meritus members are Rick McGahey (bass, vocals), Rob Kennedy (keyboards), and Tom Flaherty (bass, vocals).
The band released its first album, Baby Steps, in 2019. The album features 12 original songs by Bill and Michael and is available on this site.
In 2020, the band began its second album project under very different circumstances. With the pandemic raging, the band could not get together for in-person recording sessions. Undaunted, the guys taught themselves to record their parts remotely, using Audacity recording software. Parts were recorded to click tracks and shared centrally, so each player was able to listen to the existing tracks and add his own tracks to the mix, building bit by bit into coherent songs (we hope). These raw collections of many tracks were expertly mixed and mastered by Conrad Osipowicz of Blue Room Productions.
The second album is called Data Polo, in honor of the process by which it was created. It features 12 new original songs by Bill and Michael. They range from Michael’s 3-song cycle addressing 3 stages of the pandemic to Bill’s songs about submolecular love, tech overload, and the pure joy of rock and roll. The band is proud of its work on Data Polo and hopes that listeners will find songs to make them think, smile, and dance! These tunes and the CD are also available on this site.
