 Twin Falls , Idaho native Paul Durham 's singing career began when he was offered a spot singing in a local youth choir . After graduating from Oberlin College , Durham supported himself as a substitute teacher in the San Francisco Bay Area while fronting his acoustic band , Durham . 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 , 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 . 
