What I do when I don’t drum with The Three O’Clock

Myself with Keith and Adam from The 88 covering The Kinks:

I never would thought that a project for the band I was in The Three O’Clock would take 10 years to get released but Omnivore came through big time and put out this retrospective from 81-86 not our whole career but lots of hard to find and unreleased tracks..

We Get Press … and More Press!

Part 1 of Gospel
WE GET PRESS!
NARAS calls…Talked on the panel, got more CD’s then I thought was possible, Alex Patsavas used her husband and his getaway car, and left without one CD. I am still listening, and I got hate mail for taking the time to listen, what gives kids???

Gospel Part 2
More press anyone?

Eastern Promises
Starring Viggo Mortensen and Naomi Watts
Movie of the month! Is it The Departed for 07?
Acting is great, supporting cast is superb (Jerzy Skolimowski)
There are a couple scenes that I can’t mention. Let’s just say you won’t forget them and leave it at that!

Party Shuffle AKA..what is on the home mix…Last Five…or last Eight
1. Little Girl-John Mayall with Eric Clapton Yes I get the blues…
2.The Word-The Beatles It’s Autumn,it’s time for Rubber Soul
3.Hang On To Yourself-David Bowie (Live At The BBC)
4.Green Fields (Demo)-The Good,The Bad & The Queen
5.Racing Stripe Winter-Red Heart The Ticker-A really wonderful song!
6.Be Good Baby-Jackie DeShannon Little known Fact…I do the hanclaps on this 60’s record from the UK with Jimmy Page..true…but how did I do that???
7. An Hour Before The Light-The Clientele
8.What Makes You Happy-Liz Phair
Playing now!
Queen Jane-(Live) Mott The Hoople Love MTH! Always have always will!!!

– Danny

Part 3
Party Shuffle
Jon Krop our web Guru, brought up on our quiz last month what’s playing on our Itunes/Ipod. So I thought I would let you know what is playing on my Itunes at home…no cheating warts and all…
Last 5 played on Party Shuffle

1.Pamela-The Bobby Fuller Four
2.Weddings Make me Cry-Sands
3.Baby Baby It’s You-The Yellow Balloon
4.Only You Know-Wes Cunningham
5.(Theme From) The Monkees-The Monkees
Next up…
Leave My Woman Alone-The Everly Bros

– Danny

1990s do Nissans!

Gospel Part 1
1990s do Nissans!

We thought we would show people who do not live in the U.S. what lab faves 1990s Nissan spots look like…here are a couple of the spots:

Gospel Part 2
Adam on Gray’s Anatomy

Adam Merrin of The 88, does not keep busy enough, being in the band, being the band’s point person, he also took the time to record a E.P. and landed a song on Gray’s Anatomy. Now he can rest – I doubt it! Here is the scene.

Gospel Part 3
Baby Went To Amsterdam

The lab went to SXSW, and while we were watching Peter Bjorn & John live my dog baby heard the lyric to Amsterdam, and became a instant fan…no lie…all true! Photo by Sparklesquirrel

Spin Out! Spin has given me a couple of mentions this month, first there is a nice piece on The 88.

Spin has given me a couple of mentions this month, first there is a nice piece on The 88.

February 2007

LUCKY NUMBER
WHY THE 88 ARE THE BEST BAND YOU DIDN’T KNOW YOU’D HEARD

You’d think adoration from the tanned denizens of Laguna Beach and The OC would guarantee fame for musicians on the shows’ soundtracks. Alas, not everyone is Ben Gibbard. But if you’re in a band, don’t give up: Score the right shows and you could be riding high in an apartment whose rent you paid on time.

Unless you live in L.A.’s Silverlake neighborhood, you probably don’t know the 88. But chances are you’ve heard their Kinksy tunes, like “Coming Home” or “Hide Another Mistake,” blasting in the background of Grey’s Anatomy, The OC, Weeds, Laguna Beach, How I Met Your Mother, and at least 20 other shows. “It’s tough to get on the radio,” says keyboardist Adam Merrin. “But TV licensing is an incredible way of getting the music out to people who normally wouldn’t hear it.”

Of course, the 88’s album sales haven’t exactly skyrocketed since entering Seth Cohen’s iPod, and they don’t have distribution secured for their next record. But having no major-label affiliation has proven both a bane and a boon. “If you’re on an indie label, you can’t guarantee your CDs at Best Buy,” says music marketer Danny Benair, who represents the 88 for film and TV spots. “That’s a vital opportunity missed. It’s a big step going from a band with lots of placements to Franz Ferdinand.”

Yet this lack of corporate bureaucracy makes the 88 attractive to television. “We’re easy to get a hold of,” says Merrin. “Danny calls me and the deal goes through the same day.”

By making anywhere from $1,000 to $25,000 per song, the 88 financed their third album entirely from licensing. “We hired a string section. We bought a van. We’re able to pay rent. We got a PlayStation to pass the time,” says Merrin. Thus, the band is poised to become a rarity in the biz – self sufficient and comfortably free from the major-label machine.

“We want a million people to hear us,” says Merrin. “That’s gonna happen even if no major picks us up. We’ll just put out records ourselves.”

by TIMOTHY GUNATILAKA

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Spin Out : part 2

Robbie Rist Listed The Quick in his ten most over looked Power Pop bands…Thanks RR!

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Gospel : part 3
More press this month! Click here to read the article.

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Gospel : part 4
natural energy lab 1927

Well, not really but the building we are in can be seen on the right. Sunset Blvd in 1927! if you see the red car turning, the three windows on Sunset is where are office is.

No wonder we have such terrible electricity in the building, it has not been updated since 1927!

– Danny

The 88 & also The Quick And Jules Bate

The 88!

Here at the lab,we are very proud of The 88, we wanted to pass on this press release by their press officer Josh Mills.
Have a look!

THE 88 SONG SELECTED FOR WORLDWIDE MICROSOFT ZUNE AD CAMPAIGN
Internet Launch of Long-Form Commercial Hits  #17 Most Viewed English Music Video, #21 Most Viewed Music Video Overall on YouTube.Com in Debut Week
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LOS ANGELES, CA (November 20, 2006) – “Nobody Cares” from the album OVER AND OVER by the Los Angeles indie buzz band The 88 (www.the88.net), is featured in a year long worldwide Television and Internet advertising campaign to introduce the Microsoft Zune digital media player to consumers.
In its debut week on YouTube, the commercial was the #17 most viewed video in the Music/English category, and #21 most viewed overall music video. It also generated a lot of Internet buzz, ranking as the #49 most discussed music-related video of the week.  By its second week on YouTube, the ad had garnered nearly 33,500 downloads, and comments posing the questions “What’s that song?” and “Who’s that band?” That band is The 88.

This is not the first time music fans have posed those questions.  Nearly every track from the band’s current release Over and Over (EMK/Mootron Records) has been heard by national audiences via licensing to film and television. “Coming Home” was the catchy tune behind retail giant Target’s Spring 2006 national television ad campaign, as well as DIRECTV’s recent commercial for the NFL’s SUNDAY TICKET.  Another track, “All ‘Cause of You”, played over the opening titles of this summer’s hit comedy YOU, ME AND DUPREE and was featured in IRA AND ABBY, an independent film which premiered at this year’s Los Angeles Film Festival.  “How Good It Can Be” will be included in film and soundtrack to the 2007 Drew Barrymore/Eric Bana drama LUCKY YOU.

The 88’s music has been featured in more than 30 television shows running gamut from network to cable, teen drama to procedural, including: GREY’S ANATOMY (ABC), NUMB3RS (CBS), THE OC (FOX), ONE TREE HILL (WB/CW), LAGUNA BEACH (MTV) and WEEDS (Showtime). The hit CBS sitcom HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER devoted an entire episode to The 88 in 2006 entitled “Best Prom Ever”, which included a speaking role for lead singer Keith Slettedahl and the band performing three songs.

Soundtracks the band has appeared on include MUSIC FROM THE OC MIX 1 (Warner Bros.) which has SoundScanned more than 300.000 records, FAILURE TO LAUNCH (Bulletproof), YOU ME AND DUPREE (Lakeshore Records), and WEEDS: MUSIC FROM THE ORIGINAL SERIES, VOL. 2 (Lion’s Gate Records). Securing these licenses is Danny Benair, founder of music marketing company Natural Energy Lab (www.naturalenergylab.com) who represents The 88 for film, television and commercial placement.

In regards to bands latest licensing coup, on November 1, Zune released a sneak-peak 90-second and one-minute version of The 88’s commercial on YouTube, entitled “Zune Picnic.” The commercial starts with the opening line of the song “Open your ears/This is a story” as the visual narrative of people picnicking in a park unfurls silently in the background.  As the song moves from its mellow acoustic vibe and bursts into a jaunty, piano-driven chorus, the picnickers laugh, eat, dance and party, all wirelessly sharing their music between each others’  Zune devices, illustrating the tagline “Welcome To The Social”.
And please welcome back The 88.

ABOUT THE 88
Formed in 2001, The 88 has gained national attention without the benefit of a record deal. Aside from an almost dizzying array of awareness in a variety of major motion pictures, network television shows and advertising campaigns licensing the bands music, The 88 have received critical praise from influential publications such as SPIN Magazine, Billboard, Guitar Player, Paste, Keyboard Rolling Stone.com, the Los Angeles Times, Flaunt and many more. The band has appeared on such influential shows such as The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson, DirecTV’s hit program CD USA, The Jimmy Kimmel Show, Last Call with Carson Daly, Current TV, MTV News and Extra. The 88 has toured throughout the United States and Canada this year in support of their latest CD OVER AND OVER on bills with artists such as Matt Costa, The Flaming Lips, Rilo Kiley, The Pogues, The Elected, The Muffs and Ozma. The 88 is: Keith Slettedahl (guitar/vocals), Adam Merrin (piano), Anthony Zimmitti (drums) and Todd O’Keefe (bass).

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The Quick And Jules Bates
Our myspace friend artrouble posted this wonderful piece on his blog that we wanted to share with you. We hope you enjoy it. Jules is sadly missed. A wonderful and talented photographer who passed away in the 80’s.

Click here to view larger

The 88-Fate

Fate is a funny thing. I grew up in Panorama City, and on my block was the biggest family,at the time, in all of the San Fernando Valley, or at least it seemed that way. They would actually compete against the rest of the block in games, led by Conrad.
Fast forward I go see Supergrass at Spaceland, and as we leave I am handed a CD EP by a band, not the first or last time that has happened.

A few days later, that CD come to the surface in my car, I play it and it is a advance EP of The 88’s first record I was blown away I LOVED IT!!!

I approached the band, and have been representing them ever since, oh and yes that family in Panorama City well that was Keith Slettedahl of The 88’s family, and Conrad is his dad!

I love this band, and we have a had a great time working together. Have a look at a couple new clips with the band. | clip 1 | clip 2 |

Special to The Press-Enterprise
The 88, led by Keith Slettedahl, center, just might be the most famous unsigned band in the U.S.

The irony is that he only has his band to blame for the onslaught of questions. The 88, a lush pop-rock act in the vein of Wings led by Slettedahl’s Ray Davies-esque vocals, just might be the best-known unsigned band in America.

The group’s music has been heard on the Fox teen drama “The O.C.,” as well as the show’s soundtrack. They’ve performed on the late-night show “Jimmy Kimmel Live” and have shared the stage with Elliott Smith, Dave Grohl and The Thrills. All of this leads to the recurring line of interrogation that Slettedahl can do without.

Why has this band not been snatched up by a label?

“At this point, I can’t really speculate on that; I don’t know what it is that people are looking for,” the bespectacled singer said on the phone from his LA apartment. “When you start a band, you’re just playing for fun, and I know that if you want to make a living at it, you have to deal with things like this, but it gets old. I can see how other musicians can get derailed and caught up in the business and forget about why they started in the first place.”

It’s not that there haven’t been offers in the past. It’s just that nothing has been enticing enough to lure the group out of its do-it-yourself roots. This is a band that made a name for itself by passing out thousands of free, four-song CD samplers to promote its self-recorded debut, “Kind of Light.” One of those samplers landed in the hands of a man named Danny Benair, who happened to be involved in placing music on “The O.C.” He got the song on the show, which helped put the The 88 on the radar of a new group of fans.

“The great thing about that is it’s given us exposure to an audience made of excited kids,” Slettedahl said. “I mean who wants to play around LA for a bunch of jaded musicians? I don’t need to impress that guy.”

The band has attained enough monetary success so that only one of the members works in addition to playing in the band, which is impressive, considering that there are wives and children to worry about. The group has also started venturing outside of Southern California, and according to Slettedahl, the reception has been great.

So maybe the real question should be, “Does The 88 even need a label?”

“I’ve noticed that we tend to work a little bit harder than other bands, and there are guys in the group that are really good at following through with things,” Slettedahl said. “It’s not that we’re not open to working with a label. They would just have to prove they could do more for us than we’ve been able to do for ourselves.”

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Dangerous Men
How can I explain this movie … I could really spend an hour talking about the new Ed Wood John S. Rad, but instead, let the LA Weekly review do the talking. It is maybe the best worst movie I have seen in many years… Genius… ??? Maybe… It is appearing around LA at Midnight Movies, but have a glimpse to get a idea!!

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My Dogs

? Why? Because I can, Monte and Baby.

– Danny