Local Weatherman is at a magical stage for a music artist. Just off of the tail of their three-show tour around the Northeast, the Harvard Crimson spoke with frontman Fritz Ortman. Ortman reminisced on the shows from his home in New York City, riding the energy wave from the previous weekend.

At their Boston show at O’Brien’s Pub, a bar in Allston with a commitment to nurturing rising live bands, Local Weatherman shared the bill with Berklee-based band Sophie’s Body and the Boston crew Today Junior. Ortman channels the energy from intimate shows like these to adapt old music to upcoming performances.

Ortman channels the energy from intimate shows like these to adapt old music to upcoming performances. By Courtesy of Esther Shpigelman

“It definitely is inspiring how we make music and what we want to get out of our live shows,” Ortman said.

“There was a while where like, some of the songs were low-key one after low-key one. And I like going to shows and being at shows where it's like high energy.”

This desire is shaped by Ortman’s childhood, soundtracked by his dad’s favorite bands like Black Flag and Minor Threat. Even before his teenage years, Ortman was surrounded by the greats of punk and hardcore music.

“The thing that I love the most about that kind of music is like going to those shows. And like having people like jumping off stage and crazy stuff.”

“The thing that I love the most about that kind of music is like going to those shows. And like having people like jumping off stage and crazy stuff.” By Courtesy of Esther Shpigelman

An ideal Local Weatherman show for Ortman would be full of that electric sincerity, a mutual exchange of sweat from band to crowd. This shapes the vision for Local Weatherman’s newest work.

“I feel like the next recording that we do is going to slot nicely into how we play those songs live now,” Ortman said.

“The cohesive idea would be I would just want to make more songs that are fun to play live, and are fast and get people involved in moving.”

As Ortman writes this new, high energy music, his lyrical inspiration has developed as a product of the lifestyle changes that occur between adolescence and young adulthood.

“What I was going through at the time was going to college and being on my own and being an adult for the first time. So a lot of the songs reference being an adult, and employment or whatever.”

Ortman’s day-to-day life as a creative in New York City’s lively indie rock scene does serve as inspiration for his writing.

Ortman’s day-to-day life as a creative in New York City’s lively indie rock scene does serve as inspiration for his writing. By Courtesy of Esther Shpigelman

“There are so many bands in New York right now that are doing all sorts of cool stuff. And I feel like that is new out of when everyone was cooped up for a year and a half. People came out of that and wanted to play loud guitar again,” Ortman said.

“And so there are a lot of great bands right now.”

Ortman emphasizes the vitality of physical proximity to an artist’s creative spark. For him, that’s home.

“I live in a neighborhood where I pass by people I know all the time. So it is kind of just like being on a campus,” he said.

“I'm going to do my thing. You're going to do your thing. I'll see you in like two days.”

He points out that college is a space ripe for this condition of inspiration. ​​Their recent show in Burlington, Vermont — home to the University of Vermont — was packed with college kids, inspiring Ortman’s interest in the creative spark that thrives in a college sphere. Ortman advises college students to take advantage of this magical time in life.

“Find a place on campus that you can have shows and develop your own scene of your friends and and stuff,” he said.

“Just build a community of people who are into music and supporting [bands], and going to shows, and going out in the city and checking out what bands are playing.”

“Just build a community of people who are into music and supporting [bands], and going to shows, and going out in the city and checking out what bands are playing.” By Courtesy of Esther Shpigelman

Local Weatherman wants fresh new bands to listen to and perform with, and he knows young people are the ones to ask. The next crowd that’s lucky enough to see Local Weatherman live should bask in the energy knowing that these shows are just what they’ve been working towards.

—Staff writer Asha M. Khurana can be reached at asha.khurana@thecrimson.com.