Four Westhampton Beach Graduates Find Success As Local Band

On most summer weekends, after spending their days lifeguarding at the local beach, fishing in Moriches Bay or waiting tables in Westhampton Beach, Luke Nilsson, Luke Jurow, Aiden Kravitz and Aidan Marsicovetere can be found belting out rock ’n’ roll tunes, with little bits of funk, folk and blues, all around the East End.

In two years, the group, dubbed Local Motion, went from playing about four shows a season, to, this year, playing almost 50. Now, in their third summer, the four friends, all in their early 20s, just released their first single, “Sticky Situation,” on Spotify and have plans to release an EP by the end of the summer.

“It’s fun to have the music kind of be a primary source of income now, because you can call it a job, but it’s so enjoyable that it doesn’t feel like I’m going to work,” said Mr. Jurow, the lead guitarist. “Honestly, it’s kind of a dream come true just right there.”

The band had their first gig together almost two years ago to the day. Mr. Nilsson, the band’s lead vocalist, and Mr. Marsicovetere, the drummer, played a set at the Mill Roadhouse in Westhampton Beach just before closing, and, just like that, they were offered a spot at the popular restaurant. Local Motion was formed when Mr. Kravitz, who plays bass, and Mr. Jurow came on board.

Since then, they’ve been making music and jamming together each year from May through August. Now, they’re known around town as a “Beatle-esque jam band,” with songs that sound like a mix of John Mayer and Jack Johnson.

The four musicians all graduated from Westhampton Beach High School, Mr. Nilsson and Mr. Marsicovetere in 2011, and Mr. Jurow and Mr. Kravitz in 2014, and credit much of their success to the basic principles and fundamentals that they learned in high school.

“When we meet up and jam and stuff, or have musical ideas, the fundamentals were instilled in us by the same handful of teachers, so it makes our band work,” Mr. Nilsson said. “It’s just four friends that are just hanging out and being creative and expressive. It’s very liberating for me.”

Just this month, they had their biggest gig to date when they landed a spot at the Great South Bay Music Festival in Patchogue.

After playing at the WEHM Real Band Battle, a competition between local musicians that is hosted by local radio station WEHM 92.9 FM and 96.9 FM, they were invited to participate in the festival.

“It’s the biggest festival on Long Island,” said Mr. Nilsson, of East Moriches. “They gave us a time slot and then we just played and it was sweet. So in two years, we went from playing at the Mill Roadhouse, to playing at the Great South Bay Music Festival, so it’s pretty cool for us”

Unlike their routine shows at the Mill Roadhouse, Dune Deck Beach Club and Starr Boggs in Westhampton Beach and Bobbique and 89 North Music Venue in Patchogue, the festival, which was their most legitimate show to date, attracted a different crowd of people and exposed them to a different venue.

“To be able to play these gigs where people are really listening for the sake of the music and the artistry, as opposed to the ambiance and the effect of having a band, is probably the best part,” Mr. Jurow said. “At a lot of these restaurants and bar gigs, people kind of just want to dance”

Their experiences playing in local eateries, however, is what got them exposure and experience, Mr. Marsicovetere of East Quogue said, because it gives them the opportunity to “work on our original music and find our sound, and that’s pretty exciting.”

“We play so much, and I think it’s a special thing, because it gives you so much opportunity to experiment,” Mr. Jurow of Westhampton Beach agreed.

At all of their shows, they play all of their original 10 songs, and sometimes even write songs on the spot. Their music, which they describe as being both modern and lighthearted, at times brings in hundreds of people, both young and old.

Local Motion will release their songs on all major platforms within the next few months and they plan on playing music around Westhampton Beach through October.

The next step, they said, is to bring their music west, to New York City, and possibly even go on tour sometime soon.

“That’s definitely our goal,” Mr. Jurow said. “The only way to manifest it is to believe in it.”