Black Lab

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For the dog, see Labrador Retriever.
Black Lab

Black Lab is an alternative rock band originally formed in 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 two full-length albums since 2003, the latest being 2007's Passion Leaves a Trace, whose track "Mine Again" has gained significant exposure through internet media outlets. Paul Durham (vocals, guitar, electronics) and Andy Ellis (guitar, electronics) 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.[1] After graduating from Oberlin College, Durham supported himself as a substitute teacher in the San Francisco Bay Area while fronting his acoustic band, Durham.[2] Paul Durham disbanded this band in 1995, signed to Geffen Records in 1996 after attracting attention from a number of labels,[3] and hired bassist Geoff Stanfield, guitarist Michael Belfer and drummer Bryan Head to form Black Lab.[2] The name is an amalgamation of two of the band's influences, Black Sabbath and Stereolab.[4]

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.[3] 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,[5] and sales of the album eventually topped 120,000.[6] Reviews of Your Body Above Me were mixed but generally positive; the Washington Post called it "moodily sumptuous",[7] Guitar Player described the music as having "drama and rhythmic urgency",[8] and Allmusic.com noted the album's "brooding yet propulsive sound that's actually quite intriguing".[9] The band subsequently toured with Days of the New,[1] Cracker,[7] and Our Lady Peace,[10] and were called "The American U2" by the San Francisco Chronicle.[11] Black Lab songs were featured on soundtracks to Can't Hardly Wait, Varsity Blues, Permanent Midnight, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer,[6] 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.[6]

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.[4] 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.[6]

After a series of delays, Black Lab asked to be released from Epic;[4] 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.[11][12] 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".[4] However, the planned second full-length, called See the Sun, wouldn't see light until 2005, after the band decided on an independent release.[13] 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.[4][13][14][15]

After leaving the major labels, Black Lab essentially ceased touring, fearing that a self-booked and promoted national tour would not be cost-effective.[16] 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.[17] 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.[18] 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.[14]

The band attracted media attention in March of 2007 through the campaign "Bum Rush the Charts", in which one of their songs was promoted through podcasting and blogging.[12][19] The aim of this was to harness independent media and music to promote unsigned bands and to raise money for a scholarship fund.[12] As a result of this effort, on March 22, 2007, the single "Mine Again" was purchased over 14,000 times in the United States.[20] 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.[19] “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.[21] 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.[20] The song broached the iTunes rock charts in eleven additional countries as well.[20]

Members

Current members

Past members

  • Michael Belfer - guitar (1996-1999)
  • Geoff Stanfield - bass (1996-1999)
  • Bryan Head - drums (1996-1999)
  • Eve Hill - bass (2000-2003)
  • Scotty Coogan - drums (2000-2003)
  • Michael Urbano - drums (1996)

Music

Albums

Solo and side projects

Charting singles

Year Title Chart Positions[5] Album
US Modern Rock US Mainstream Rock US Adult Top 40 US Top 40 Mainstream
1997 "Wash It Away" #13 #6 - - Your Body Above Me
1998 "Time Ago" #28 #26 #38 #37 Your Body Above Me

Soundtrack appearances

Movie/Show Title Song Title
The Benchwarmers "Good"
Blade: Trinity "This Blood"
Buffy the Vampire Slayer "Keep Myself Awake"
Can't Hardly Wait "Tell Me What to Say"
The Covenant "River of Joy" (in trailer)
Lovewrecked "Broken Heart" and "Weightless"
Permanent Midnight "Horses"
The Shield "This Night" (Season 6 promo)
Spider-Man "Learn to Crawl"
Varsity Blues "Black Eye"

References

  1. ^ a b Bell, Carrie (1998-01-24). "The Modern Age". Billboard Magazine. 110 (4): p. 89. {{cite journal}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  2. ^ a b Bush, John. "Biography". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 2007-04-01.
  3. ^ a b Reece, Doug (1997-09-20). "Geffen Act Black Lab Ready to Rock". Billboard Magazine. 109 (38): pp. 18, 21. {{cite journal}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  4. ^ a b c d e "Black Lab Returns With EP". Alternative Addiction. 2003-08-03. Retrieved 2007-04-01.
  5. ^ a b "Billboard". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 2007-04-29.
  6. ^ a b c d "Black Lab Artist Profile". EMI Music Publishing. Retrieved 2007-04-01.
  7. ^ a b Jenkins, Mark (1998-01-02). "Black Lab, Your Body Above Me". The Washington Post: p. N14. {{cite journal}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  8. ^ Rotondi, James (January 1998). "Picks". Guitar Player. 32 (1): p.107. {{cite journal}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  9. ^ Erlewine, Stephen. "Review of Your Body Above Me". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 2007-04-29.
  10. ^ Leblanc, Larry (1998-02-07). "Heatseeker Acts Break Through: Lady Peace a Hit on Columbia". Billboard Magazine. 110 (6): pp. 11, 60. {{cite journal}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  11. ^ a b "Review of See the Sun". Ink 19. Retrieved 2007-04-01.
  12. ^ a b c Quillen, Shay (2007-03-21). "Podcasters Aim to Push Song to Top of iTunes Chart". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved 2007-04-01. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  13. ^ a b "Black Lab Releases "See the Sun"". Alternative Addiction. 2005-07-02. Retrieved 2007-04-01.
  14. ^ a b "Black Lab to Release New Album". Alternative Addiction. 2006-12-30. Retrieved 2007-04-01.
  15. ^ "Black Lab to be Featured on the Addiction Vol. 4". Alternative Addiction. 2004-08-08. Retrieved 2007-04-01.
  16. ^ "An Evening With... Black Lab". Alternative Addiction. 2005. Retrieved 2007-04-30.
  17. ^ "Paul Durham Releases Side Project". Alternative Addiction. 2006-03-19. Retrieved 2007-04-30.
  18. ^ "Black Lab to Re-Release Your Body Above Me". Alternative Addiction. 2006-11-05. Retrieved 2007-04-30.
  19. ^ a b Musgrove, Mike (2007-03-22). "Crashing the Charts for Independent Music". Washington Post. Retrieved 2007-04-01. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  20. ^ a b c Musgrove, Mike (2007-03-27). "Bum Rush the Charts: More Numbers". Washington Post I.T. Retrieved 2007-04-01. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  21. ^ Quillen, Shay (2007-03-26). "Black Lab's "Mine Again" Breaks iTunes Top 100". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved 2007-04-01. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)

External links

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