HumanLab.
Huntington Beach, CA
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HumanLab. is: |
Here are some interesting facts about the band: -HumanLab. have opened for bands like Onesidezero and many more -HumanLab. features Chad Benekos on guitar. You all may know him as Chizzad formerly of (hed)p.e.
"For this band, the main thing with our music is that there�s an obvious cause behind it," says humanLab. lead guitarist Scott Pfaff. "We�ve always looked at our songs as being something bigger than each of us and bigger than the band itself. With a 5 song EP set for release in fall 2002, the Huntington Beach, California-based humanLab. presents a hard-charging rock group in the midst of a powerful artistic realization. The EP, produced by the band and taken from their forthcoming, full-length debut "humanLab.," was recorded at drummer Marco Forcone�s La�Stanza Rosa home studio with added sessions taking place at area studios in Los Angeles and Venice. Mixed in London by the renowned Mark "Spike" Stent (U2, Oasis, Madonna, Depeche Mode, Massive Attack) and engineered by Chad Bamford (Weezer, Spiritualized), the full-length will also feature additional production by the famed Michael Beinhorn (Korn, Ozzy Osbourne, Red Hot Chili Peppers) on three tracks. From such numbers as the sweeping, electric "Occasional Hypocrisy" to the stirring, dynamic "Seeing Now" as well as the alternately fluid and explosive "Stand By," the EP dramatically introduces the songwriting team of Pfaff and vocalist Mike Medlin, respectively taking on composition and lyrical duties. With vocals that alternate from a cool whisper to a warm, rounded howl and a gritty growl, Medlin fearlessly explores the deeply personal and, in the process, reveals universal themes of love, loss, and discovery. "All my lyrics are about acknowledging life, about acknowledging truth, about understanding and reach," states Mike. "The sole purpose is to share what I�ve learned through the years. I�ve been looking at those kinds of things my whole life. That�s why discovering music and getting together with these guys has been so great, as far as opening up new avenues of expression." Simultaneous to the "humanLab." 2001 recording sessions, Medlin and the band were busy at work on the album�s enhanced content, which is included in an abridged version on the EP. A collaboration between humanLab. and Austria�s Vidok � the design and production team that includes Timo Novotny and Annja Krautgasser � the sound-and-vision project features a vibrant collection of flashing photo collage, time-lapse video pieces, short films and soundtrack music by the band. A freestanding artistic statement that also acts as a complement to the album�s overall tone, the enhanced content is highlighted by original video and photography shot by Novotny (who also shot the album�s cover), Krautgasser Kelli Halverson and Mike Medlin. "The whole idea behind the enhanced CD is discovery," explains Mike, who spurred the concepts behind the multi-media pieces. "It�s like a maze in there. There�s not a lot of specific direction so you find things as you go. Everyone experiences it in a slightly different way." The story of humanLab. can be traced back some ten years, when a young Scott Pfaff was introduced by a mutual friend to Medlin � then working at a Christmas tree lot/pumpkin patch in the high desert climes of Victorville, California. "We played some songs and hit it off right away," says Scott, remembering that first meeting. "I read through some of his writings that he had typed up in a book. I knew he wasn�t really thinking about them as songs, but he had written these pieces, these poems, in a way that made for perfect lyrics. So we started hanging out and working together." The team that emerged from that fateful encounter went on to include bassist Jason Honeycutt, officially solidifying the line-up for what soon became Mother�s Dirt. "After I met Mike, I called Jason immediately because he was such a renowned player in the area and I knew he was the man for the job," says Scott. "I had played with him in a previous band, but he was older and light years ahead of everybody else." The young group rapidly found themselves writing feverishly and playing extensively around the Route 15 desert region before making a westward jump to Huntington Beach in 1995. There the band changed its name to Society�s Engine and the following year began work in earnest on their first demo. To that end, the group called on then-Drown drummer and local producer, Marco Forcone, popular on the Orange County scene as the head in-house producer/engineer at 1605 Studios. The sessions, however, effectively turned the band on its head and by 1997, each member was headed off in his own direction. In the meantime, Marco left Drown to focus on the construction and launch of his upgraded garage studio, La'Stanza Rosa.. "I practically lived in that studio for like five years," he says with a laugh. "I was a maniac. I found a little niche for myself and started recording bands like crazy." It was in 1999 that Mike approached Marco with the idea of recording a series of newly completed acoustic songs. "I hadn�t seen Marco for a couple years," says Mike, "but I stopped over to see him and he just said, �Sure, let�s do it.� We didn�t talk about money. He just invited me over to the studio and we did a session � recorded five songs right there." "I was completely blown away," remembers Marco. "Mike sang those songs for me and they really touched me like nothing I�d ever experienced. His words were so amazing, he literally made me cry while we were doing the session. I mean, I was so overwhelmed by that day that I could just not stop thinking about it." Before long, Marco had offered his services as drummer and convinced Scott to reunite with Mike. "The chemistry between Scott and Mike is so apparent to me," says Marco. "Scott�s guitar style and the ideas he�d been tackling within his music, combined with the lyrics Mike had written and his vocals � it seemed like such a natural for me. I could not let that slip away." The team � quickly enlarged to again include Jason on bass � started busily writing new material and, within weeks, had completed a powerfully crafted, self-produced four-song demo. "By the time we finished that last track on the demo, we all knew that something cool was going on," says Jason. "We were all excited about it." The excitement carried over into a revolving schedule of 12-hour writing and rehearsal sessions and humanLab. was born. "We were able to experiment without any worries with regard to studio time or any outside person getting involved so it became really personal for us," says Marco. "We could just flow and do our thing. It was like, �Yeah, come down to the house and lay it down.�" On the eve of their debut release, humanLab. remains ready to lay it down. Later this year, the band � which, as of August, includes noted SoCal guitarist and longtime friend Chad Benekos (formerly of hed pe)� is slated to perform their first-ever shows and embark on a debut tour, with dates expected to run right up to the album�s Winter, early �03 street date. "The things that motivate this band now are the same things that motivated us back in the early days of the pumpkin patch," says Scott. "That was a time of recognizing that this was something very much from the heart. It was about the truth, vulnerability � something real. That was the reason behind everything we did. And, if anything, that�s true today more than ever. That�s why we can�t wait to get out on the road and play these songs for people." |
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