Black Lab

Infobox musical artist | Name = Black Lab |

Background = group_or_band
Img_capt = Black Lab, circa 2005. Paul Durham, l; Andy Ellis, r.
© Paul Durham
Years_active = 1995 – present | Origin = Flagicon|USA Berkeley, California
Status = Active
Genre = Alternative rock
Rock | Label = None
Current_members = Paul Durham
Andy Ellis
Past_members = Michael Urbano (1996-1997)
Michael Belfer (1996-1999) Geoff Stanfield (1996-1999) Bryan Head (1997-1999) Eve Hill (2000-2003) Scotty Coogan (2000-2003)
URL = [http://www.blacklabworld.com/ blacklabworld.com]

Black Lab is an alternative rock band from Berkeley, California.

They released one album on Geffen Records, entitled "Your Body Above Me", and scored two rock radio hits in the US, "Wash It Away" in 1997 and "Time Ago" in 1998. After leaving Geffen in 1999, the band signed to Epic Records, but did not release any material, and left the label after two years.

The band is now unsigned. They have independently released an EP and three full-length albums since 2003, the latest being the 2007 remix album "Technologie". "Passion Leaves a Trace", also released in 2007, featuring the track "Mine Again" has gained significant exposure through internet media outlets. Paul Durham and Andy Ellis are currently the core members.

History

"Your Body Above Me"

Twin Falls, Idaho native Paul Durham's singing career began when he was offered a spot singing in a local youth choir.cite journal|last=Bell|first=Carrie|title=The Modern Age|journal=Billboard Magazine|volume=110|issue=4|date=1998-01-24|pages=p. 89|] After graduating from Oberlin College, Durham supported himself as a substitute teacher in the San Francisco Bay Area while fronting his acoustic band, Durham.cite web|last=Bush|first=John|url=http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:kbfrxqthldje~T1|title=Biography|publisher=Allmusic.com|accessdate=2007-04-01] Durham did not have any official releases, but some of their recorded material was released in 2004 as part of Paul Durham's solo album "Ten Million Years". Paul Durham disbanded this band in 1995, signed to Geffen Records in 1996 after attracting attention from a number of labels,cite journal|last=Reece|first=Doug|title=Geffen Act Black Lab Ready to Rock|journal=Billboard Magazine|volume=109|issue=38|date=1997-09-20|pages=pp. 18, 21] and hired bassist Geoff Stanfield, guitarist Michael Belfer and drummer Bryan Head to form Black Lab. The name is an amalgamation of two of the band's influences, Black Sabbath and Stereolab.cite web|url=http://www.alternativeaddiction.com/musicnews/article.asp?id=81|title=Black Lab Returns With EP|publisher=Alternative Addiction|date=2003-08-03|accessdate=2007-04-01]

Their debut album, "Your Body Above Me", co-produced by David Bianco and the band, was released on October 21, 1997 in the United States. Two singles from the album charted in the U.S., the power ballad "Time Ago" and the alternative rock hit "Wash It Away"; the album also featured the PJ Harvey-penned "All the Money in the World". The LP peaked on Billboard's Heatseekers charts at #19 in 1998,cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:kbfrxqthldje~T5|title=Billboard|publisher=Allmusic.com|accessdate=2007-04-29] and sales of the album eventually topped 120,000.cite web|url=http://www.emimusicpub.com/worldwide/artist_profile/black-lab_profile.html|title=Black Lab Artist Profile|publisher= EMI Music Publishing|accessdate=2007-04-01] Reviews of "Your Body Above Me" noted the album's dark, melodic modern rock sound, and were mixed but generally positive. The "Washington Post" called "Your Body Above Me" "moodily sumptuous",cite journal|last=Jenkins|first=Mark|title=Black Lab, "Your Body Above Me"|journal=The Washington Post|date=1998-01-02|pages=p. N14] "Guitar Player" described the music as having "drama and rhythmic urgency", [cite journal|last=Rotondi|first=James|title=Picks|journal=Guitar Player|volume=32|issue=1|date=January 1998|pages=p.107] and Allmusic.com noted the album's "brooding yet propulsive sound that's actually quite intriguing". [cite web|last=Erlewine|first=Stephen|url=http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&token=&sql=10:j9fexqyjldfe|title=Review of "Your Body Above Me"|publisher=Allmusic.com|accessdate=2007-04-29] The band subsequently toured with Days of the New, Cracker, and Our Lady Peace, [cite journal|last=Leblanc|first=Larry|title=Heatseeker Acts Break Through: Lady Peace a Hit on Columbia|journal=Billboard Magazine|volume=110|issue=6|date=1998-02-07|pages=pp. 11, 60] and were called "The American U2" by the "San Francisco Chronicle".cite web|url=http://www.ink19.com/issues/november2005/musicReviews/musicB/blackLab.html |title=Review of "See the Sun"|publisher=Ink 19|accessdate=2007-04-01] Black Lab songs were featured on soundtracks to "Can't Hardly Wait", "Varsity Blues", "Permanent Midnight", and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", and the song "Wash It Away" was also included on a charitable album, "Live in the X Lounge". Just as momentum was building on their debut, however, Geffen went out of business after being subsumed by Universal; dissatisfied with the new label arrangement, Durham moved to Los Angeles, and the band broke up in 1999.

"See the Sun"

In 2000, Paul Durham re-formed Black Lab with an alternate lineup after Epic Records expressed an interest in releasing a second album from the band. The band was quiet until 2002, which saw the release of "Learn to Crawl" on the "Spider-Man" soundtrack, with a band consisting of Paul Durham, Andy Ellis, bassist Eve Hill and drummer Scotty Coogan. The electronic-flavored result was described as "tightly spun, highly melodic rock" by "Rolling Stone".

After a series of delays, Black Lab asked to be released from Epic; legal problems with the record label ensued, but the band won the rights to the master recordings of the material they had been working on.cite web|last=Quillen|first=Shay|url=http://www.mercurynews.com/search/ci_5486470|title=Podcasters Aim to Push Song to Top of iTunes Chart|publisher="San Jose Mercury News"|date=2007-03-21|accessdate=2007-04-01] While searching for a new label, the band self-released a six-song EP in 2003, first online and then on CD, which featured "Learn to Crawl" and the single "See the Sun". However, the planned second full-length, called "See the Sun", wouldn't see light until 2005, after the band decided on an independent release.cite web|url=http://www.alternativeaddiction.com/musicnews/article.asp?id=430|title=Black Lab Releases "See the Sun"|publisher=Alternative Addiction|date=2005-07-02|accessdate=2007-04-01] "See the Sun" did not receive any mainstream press coverage, but online reviews noted the band's turn toward increasing use of keyboards and synthesizers to introduce and underlay tracks, describing it as "startling, but in a good way". [cite web|last=Harrington|first=Adam|title="See the Sun" Review|publisher=Whisperin and Hollerin|url=http://www.whisperinandhollerin.com/reviews/review.asp?id=3286|accessdate=2007-05-17] The band benefited heavily from promotion from online rock site Alternative Addiction, who included the track "Lonely Boy" on one of its compilations, regularly reports on the band's music, and places them in heavy rotation on its internet radio station.cite web|url=http://www.alternativeaddiction.com/musicnews/article.asp?id=764|title=Black Lab to Release New Album|publisher=Alternative Addiction|date=2006-12-30|accessdate=2007-04-01] cite web|url=http://www.alternativeaddiction.com/musicnews/article.asp?id=277|title=Black Lab to be Featured on the Addiction Vol. 4|publisher=Alternative Addiction|date=2004-08-08|accessdate=2007-04-01]

After leaving the major labels, Black Lab essentially ceased touring, fearing that a self-booked and promoted national tour would not be cost-effective. [cite web|url=http://www.alternativeaddiction.com/interviews/blacklab.asp|title=An Evening With... Black Lab|publisher=Alternative Addiction|date=2005|accessdate=2007-04-30] They maintained a relationship with fans via their website and MP3 of the Month Club, through which users were able to subscribe to monthly tracks of new content, such as soundtrack songs, unreleased works, and insights into the band's songwriting process.

"Passion Leaves a Trace" and other projects

Early in 2006, Durham and a few of his old friends reacquainted to record as a side project, called Cake or Death. This band, featuring Kristin Kelly, Joshua Leavitt and Olya Mokina, have recorded one full-length self-titled LP. [cite web|url=http://www.alternativeaddiction.com/musicnews/article.asp?id=581|title=Paul Durham Releases Side Project|publisher=Alternative Addiction|date=2006-03-19|accessdate=2007-04-30] At the end of October 2006, Paul also announced that a special "Director's Cut" edition of "Your Body Above Me" was being released. The rerelease contained two songs originally recorded for the album, extended cuts of several songs, new liner notes and photos. [cite web|url=http://www.alternativeaddiction.com/musicnews/article.asp?id=737|title=Black Lab to Re-Release "Your Body Above Me"|publisher=Alternative Addiction|date=2006-11-05|accessdate=2007-04-30] A third Black Lab album, entitled "Passion Leaves a Trace", was released on January 16, 2007. The track "This Night" was featured on the promotional advertisement for the sixth series of "The Shield"; tracks from this album were also featured in CBS's "Numb3rs", ABC's "6 Degrees" and the films "The Benchwarmers" and "Lovewrecked".

The band attracted media attention in March 2007 through the campaign "Bum Rush the Charts", in which one of their songs was promoted through podcasting and blogging.cite web|last=Musgrove|first=Mike|url= http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/21/AR2007032101971.html|title=Crashing the Charts for Independent Music|publisher="Washington Post"|date=2007-03-22|accessdate=2007-04-01] The aim of this was to harness independent media and music to promote unsigned bands and to raise money for a scholarship fund. As a result of this effort, on March 22, 2007, the single "Mine Again" was purchased over 14,000 times in the United States.cite web|last=Musgrove|first=Mike|url=http://blog.washingtonpost.com/posttech/2007/03/bum_rush_the_charts_more_numbe.html?nav=rss_blog|title=Bum Rush the Charts: More Numbers|publisher="Washington Post" I.T.|date=2007-03-27|accessdate=2007-04-01] The iTunes charts represent a weekly average of purchases, not just “a snapshot of the previous 24 hours’ worth of sales,” as a spokesman for Apple reported in a "Washington Post" story about the campaign. “Mine Again,” however, still cracked the top 100 songs on the U.S. chart at #99, and peaked at #11 on the U.S. rock chart.cite web|last=Quillen|first=Shay|url=http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_5524704?source=rss|title=Black Lab's "Mine Again" Breaks iTunes Top 100|publisher="San Jose Mercury News"|date=2007-03-26|accessdate=2007-04-01] The campaign had a significant international impact, selling songs in every country in which iTunes has stores and pushing "Mine Again" to #53 on the Canadian chart (#10 rock), #15 in Holland (#2 rock), and #73 in Germany (#12 rock), among others. The song broached the iTunes rock charts in eleven additional countries as well. On the PMC Top10's 2007 countdown of the top songs of the year, "Mine Again" reached #8cite web|last=Doelle|first=Chris|url=http://www.podmusiccountdown.com/archives/2008/01/pmc_top10_01040.html|title=PMC Top10 - 010408 - Top Hits of 2007!!!|publisher="PMC Top10"|date=2008-01-05|accessdate=2007-04-01] and "Broken Heart" made it to #6cite web|last=Doelle|first=Chris|url=http://www.podmusiccountdown.com/archives/2008/01/pmc_top10_01040.html|title=PMC Top10 - 010408 - Top Hits of 2007!!!|publisher="PMC Top10"|date=2008-01-05|accessdate=2007-04-01] - both had made it to #1 twice in the weekly charts.

In June 2007, Black Lab released its second album of the year, "Technologie". It is described as an album of electronica, techno-rock and remixes. It features remixes of previously released songs, several songs released on movie soundtracks and brand new material, including the band's cover of the "" theme song. On the PMC Top10's 2007 countdown of the top songs of the year, "Hole in My Heart" ranked at the #5cite web|last=Doelle|first=Chris|url=http://www.podmusiccountdown.com/archives/2008/01/pmc_top10_01040.html|title=PMC Top10 - 010408 - Top Hits of 2007!!!|publisher="PMC Top10"|date=2008-01-05|accessdate=2007-04-01] track of the year after making it to #1 three times in 2007.

Members

;Current members
*Paul Durham - lead vocals, guitar, Pro Tools
*Andy Ellis - guitar, keyboards, programming

;Past members
*Michael Belfer - guitar (1996-1999)
*Geoff Stanfield - bass guitar (1996-1999)
*Bryan Head - drums, percussion (1997-1999)
*Eve Hill - bass guitar (2000-2003)
*Scotty Coogan - drums, percussion (2000-2003)
*Michael Urbano - drums, percussion (1996-1997)

Music

Albums

*"Your Body Above Me" (Geffen, 1997-10-21)
*"I Feel Fine" (Self-released, 2003)
*"See the Sun" (Self-released, June 2005)
*"" (Self-released, October 2006)
*"Passion Leaves a Trace" (Self-released, 2007-01-16)
*"Technologie" (Self-released, June 2007)

olo and side projects

*"Ten Million Years - Songs from the Nineteen Nineties" (Paul Durham, Self-released, 2004)
*"Cake or Death" (Cake or Death, Self-released, February 2006)

Charting singles

oundtrack appearances

References

External links

* [http://www.blacklabworld.com Black Lab - Official Website]
* [http://www.myspace.com/blacklabband Black Lab's MySpace]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcQuXAf0cKc Transformers Theme Song]