January 2, 2025 • 12 mins
New Zealand funk and reggae band LAB continues to reach the top of the charts, providing us with iconic Kiwi anthems.
The band skyrocketed through the charts with reggae funk song 'In the Air', which stayed in the top 10 for 73 weeks.
They have recently released a new single called 'Follow' and lead vocalist and guitarist Joel Shadbolt talks with Tim Beveridge.
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Speaker 1 (00:09):
You're listening to a podcast from news Talk ZEDB Follow
This and our wide range of podcast now on iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Well. Some would describe their music as the sound of
summer New Zealand. Funk and reggae. Band Lab continues to
reach the top of the charts, providing us with iconic
a kiwi anthems. Lead vocalist and guitarist Joel Shadbolt has
the talent and the popable drive in front of the
band when they skyrocketed through the charts with reggae funk
song in the Air which you were just playing a
(00:38):
clip off there, which stayed in the top ten for
seventy three weeks. The band's recently released a new single
called follow and tell us more about that. Joel Shadbolt's
with me, Joel, good morning.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
How's it going?
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Not too bad?
Speaker 1 (00:53):
Hey?
Speaker 2 (00:54):
I was listening to the in the Air which spent
a massive seventy three weeks in the top ten, and
when you listen to it to me, it instantly sounds
like a hit. Did it feel like that to you
guys when you recorded it?
Speaker 1 (01:08):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (01:08):
Look, it was one of those songs that it was
written recorded all within like a day, and it really
you know, really kind of caught us all off guard
because it's one of these songs that has quite a
nostalgic feel to it. But like in regards to it
being a successful song in the charts, it was like,
(01:30):
it doesn't even have a chorus, you know what I mean,
So it didn't really make sense. But like in regards
to how the song feels, it obviously resonated with a
lot of people, which you know, that's what music's about, right.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
So yeah, so when you were recording it, how different
How different is it at the start of the day
when you're recording a number two, what it ends up with,
What's what's the process with the band and how people
add the flavors that you might whoever wrote the song,
you know, it might not have been anticipating.
Speaker 3 (01:58):
Yeah, I guess, like each song is different, but like
in the Air was one of these songs that was
written and recorded in the same day. A lot of
songs are kind of demo first and then kind of
taken into a bigger studio and you spend the money
and record it all properly. But we're you know, at
the time, we had the luxury of being able to
write and record all at the same time in the studio,
(02:20):
so you're kind of capturing the birth of the song
in real time, if that makes sense. You know, you're
not having to go through the demo process and that.
So so that's kind of how that song came about,
you know, just jamming in a room and they're going,
all right, press record and go from there.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
We actually having a good time when you were recording
all the time? Is it always a blast of the
times when you're like, oh, okay, let's do that again. Okay,
let's do it again, Let's do it again. Okay, there
we've got it.
Speaker 3 (02:45):
Yeah. Look, man, it's some days it's amazing and other
times it's trying to get blood out of a stone.
But it's you know, in general, it's good. You know,
you have to be in the right state to be
creative for sure.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
Yeah, and you know.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
It has worked for us when we were in the studio,
it's ma time, you know, we really get get our
teeth into it and work through the night. Sometimes we
actually stay in the studio that we recorded down in Wellington.
We actually stay the night, you know, and get to
use the studio and the facilities throughout the evening, which
is you know, greatful When those creative moments do kind
(03:23):
of happen, you can be able to capture it.
Speaker 2 (03:24):
Yeah, Hey, how did you get your start in music?
At what age did you sort of think this is
something I'm really into.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
I started really young playing music, but probably I guess
like twelve thirteen years old. I started playing in pubs
a lot, and lots of covers, bands and stuff like that,
and my old man would drop me off for the gig,
picked me up at two am, and we did that
for probably seven or eight years of my life, you know.
(03:52):
So I think I knew then that I was destined
to be a musician. It was kind of all I knew.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
So we've always a vocalist? Or did you just what
came first? The vocals of the guitar.
Speaker 3 (04:04):
The guitar came first, But then I guess my mum
would probably argue that the vocals came first. I was
literally born, Apparently I came out bloody screaming. So do
you go?
Speaker 2 (04:19):
So, I mean it's a question every artiste's asked, But
who are your let's say, your early inspirations and who
you listened to a lot?
Speaker 3 (04:28):
Man, It's quite broad, but I was brought up, listened
to a lot of a lot of my mum's record collection,
which was you know, people like Joe Cocker, Van Morrison,
Steve Ray, Vaughan, BB King. She used to cook Italian
in the kitchen and crank up classical music like Pavarotti
(04:50):
and all sorts of stuff. So you know, as a kid,
I listened to a lot of that kind of stuff.
A lot of South American, sorry not South American, like
Southern American blues and roots music, so bands like the
Almond Brothers and Leonard Skinned and all that kind of
sound too, So you could say, definitely a lot of
Americana and blues American music.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
I'm dying to ask you whether there's any classical music
that influences what you're doing.
Speaker 3 (05:18):
But oh, for sure, for sure. I mean if you
listen to songs like on our earlier albums and then
like album four, I think the album after in the
year Album four has got a lot of strings and
a lot of classical kind of influence in it. For sure.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
When did you, guys think, when did you when did
you have this awareness that you were going to be
a band that was going to be successful for the
long haul.
Speaker 3 (05:46):
I think we kind of, you know, when we when
we met, when I met Brad Cora and his brother Stu.
You know, Brad's The more I've got to know Brad
over the years and the more I understand him as a person,
and he's such a driven person. And when I when
I first met him, we discussed like, you know, okay,
what's the goal for this? You know, and he was
(06:08):
just you know, aiming for the moon in regards to
what he wanted to achieve with the spand and that
was back when I was living with my mum. He
was flatting, you know, we you know, we didn't have nothing,
but you know what I mean, we're early days of
trying to have a crack at this thing, and we
were aiming really really high. And yeah, I think from
(06:28):
then we started jamming, and that's when I knew I
was in with the right people and there was a
chemistry that built over time. There was an initial chemistry
for sure, but then obviously that matured and the more
we jammed together and the more we wrote together as musicians,
that that kind of blossomed into what you guys see now.
Speaker 2 (06:48):
Hey, Joel, tell us about the festival season that's coming up.
What your summer tour?
Speaker 3 (06:53):
Yeah, man, we're hitting the road in January, playing three
big shows around New Zealand. We're playing in topaort Frey
and Taranaki, kind of three weekends in a row, eleventh
of January, eighteenth of January, and then yeah, the following
week en after that.
Speaker 2 (07:13):
What are you Are there any particular favorite festivals of
destinations that you either enjoy or ones that you'd really
love to do.
Speaker 3 (07:20):
Yeah, look the ones we're playing this summer, for sure,
it's going to be kind of nostalgia. One of the
first festivals we ever did with LAB was actually done
in Topoul, so that was opening for it was like
the Black Seeds and a bunch of New Zealand roots
reggae bands and we were the first band on kind
of thing. There was maybe like three thousand people there,
(07:44):
you know, and this time we're going back headlining our
own show and there were probably about ten thousand people.
So that's going to be quite cool. And it's a
beautiful venue there. And also Tatannuki at the Bowl of Brooklyn's.
You know, that's listened to the iconic venue in this country
and some of the greats have played there and been
lucky lucky enough to play that quite a few times now.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
So, hey, what in terms of your success, what really
the one feed the other. In terms of the recordings,
albums fared the live gigs or were you sort of
more organically the live gigs sort of led into people
look listening to your music online.
Speaker 3 (08:20):
Yeah, Look, we we did a lot of a lot
of live shows in those first few summers that we
started as a band. It was focusing on first and
foremost becoming a good live act because at the end
of the day, that's what sells the product. And if
you can't, if you can't pull it off live, then
you know, there goes a lot of things. So we
(08:45):
definitely focus on that first, and then the songwriting was
just swimming away in the background, and then eventually we
kind of honed the craft of becoming a studio style
band as well. And it's a total different hat that
you have to wear in the studios, so you have
to it's very hard to do both at the same time.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
But do you sort of do you try and keep
as accurately as pop to your recorded stuff, or is
there deliberately a different vibe to the way you perform
me live.
Speaker 3 (09:14):
Yeah, we definitely change the style of the songs live.
Sometimes we do, you know, extended versions and you know,
raging guitar solos and saxophone solos and all sorts of stuff.
You know, you've got to bring in those elements to
keep it fun and interesting. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
Do you remember any particular gig that stands out in
terms of, you know, you wander out and there's this
crowd that just goes wild for you and you're like, oh,
well is this for us? Wow?
Speaker 3 (09:40):
Yeah, I think the first time we one of the
first times we headlined One Love festival that was certainly
a pinch yourself moment. There's a big reggae festival here
in the Bay a plenty that you know, twenty thousand
people chanting La B, So that was that was a
special moment. And also, yeah, actually the Bowl of Brooklyn's
like the first time we sold that out and that
(10:01):
was just like crazy to walk out to that. So
there's been some special moments in between as well. But yeah,
those two come.
Speaker 2 (10:08):
To must be pretty intoxicating. Does it also? Do you
feel pressure to perform or are you're just sort of
riding this wave where you're just having a great time.
You know what you're doing and the way we go.
Speaker 3 (10:18):
Yeah, Look, there's always that precie you know, like to perform.
I think, you know, the higher you get in that
world of performance, whether it be sport or music or
business or whatever, people feel those pressures and then it's
just about kind of navigating, you know, the anxiety or
whatever you get the performance anxiety and stuff. But to
(10:40):
be fair, I think I've managed to keep it at
bay and I've definitely had some moments in the past.
But I wouldn't say it's easy, because if it was,
everybody would be doing it.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
I guess the main pressure is you just want to
keep healthy, isn't it? With your voice and look after it.
Speaker 3 (10:54):
Yeah, As a vocalist, there's a lot of elements that
you have to be aware of, and it's very important
to understand how the voice works and how the body
works in regards to Yeah, health and well being as
a singer for sure, Yeah, lots of water.
Speaker 2 (11:11):
In terms of New Zealand bands, are there any that
you sort of keeping an eyron or that you're also
getting inspiration from? Yeah.
Speaker 3 (11:20):
Look, I've always been a massive Dobbin fan. Been lucky
enough to play with him and meet him a few
times and hang out. So I'm very much inspired by
him as an artist and how incredible his career has
been over the you know, over the years, seeing him
do everything from his early days right to his solo
(11:40):
career and that so I do look up to him
big time. And you know, like just our roots music community,
you know, bands like Fat Freddy's Drop and Catch a Fire, Cora,
all the bands that created the platform for bands like
us in six sixty to also flourish. You know, it's
a big it's a big family. It's a lot of
(12:02):
bands that are a part of the scene, you know,
and it's really special to be a part of.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
When you're looking to get back in the studio.
Speaker 3 (12:11):
We're actually we're just in the studio last week. We
will be back in the studio early next year as well,
but coming into Christmas, it's time to have some fun,
no time, and work on the live set for you know,
the up and coming tour.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
Good stuff. Hey man, I hope you have a great time,
and I hope the weather stays nice and fine for
you as well, because not that not that the fans
are mind day singing in the rain no, of course,
not good on your Joel. I really appreciate time, mate, Yeah,
thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (12:41):
For more from News Talk st B, listen live on
air or online, and keep our shows with you wherever
you go with our podcast on iHeartRadio
You're listening to a podcast from news Talk ZEDB Follow
This and our wide range of podcast now on iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Well. Some would describe their music as the sound of
summer New Zealand. Funk and reggae. Band Lab continues to
reach the top of the charts, providing us with iconic
a kiwi anthems. Lead vocalist and guitarist Joel Shadbolt has
the talent and the popable drive in front of the
band when they skyrocketed through the charts with reggae funk
song in the Air which you were just playing a
(00:38):
clip off there, which stayed in the top ten for
seventy three weeks. The band's recently released a new single
called follow and tell us more about that. Joel Shadbolt's
with me, Joel, good morning.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
How's it going?
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Not too bad?
Speaker 1 (00:53):
Hey?
Speaker 2 (00:54):
I was listening to the in the Air which spent
a massive seventy three weeks in the top ten, and
when you listen to it to me, it instantly sounds
like a hit. Did it feel like that to you
guys when you recorded it?
Speaker 1 (01:08):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (01:08):
Look, it was one of those songs that it was
written recorded all within like a day, and it really
you know, really kind of caught us all off guard
because it's one of these songs that has quite a
nostalgic feel to it. But like in regards to it
being a successful song in the charts, it was like,
(01:30):
it doesn't even have a chorus, you know what I mean,
So it didn't really make sense. But like in regards
to how the song feels, it obviously resonated with a
lot of people, which you know, that's what music's about, right.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
So yeah, so when you were recording it, how different
How different is it at the start of the day
when you're recording a number two, what it ends up with,
What's what's the process with the band and how people
add the flavors that you might whoever wrote the song,
you know, it might not have been anticipating.
Speaker 3 (01:58):
Yeah, I guess, like each song is different, but like
in the Air was one of these songs that was
written and recorded in the same day. A lot of
songs are kind of demo first and then kind of
taken into a bigger studio and you spend the money
and record it all properly. But we're you know, at
the time, we had the luxury of being able to
write and record all at the same time in the studio,
(02:20):
so you're kind of capturing the birth of the song
in real time, if that makes sense. You know, you're
not having to go through the demo process and that.
So so that's kind of how that song came about,
you know, just jamming in a room and they're going,
all right, press record and go from there.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
We actually having a good time when you were recording
all the time? Is it always a blast of the
times when you're like, oh, okay, let's do that again. Okay,
let's do it again, Let's do it again. Okay, there
we've got it.
Speaker 3 (02:45):
Yeah. Look, man, it's some days it's amazing and other
times it's trying to get blood out of a stone.
But it's you know, in general, it's good. You know,
you have to be in the right state to be
creative for sure.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
Yeah, and you know.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
It has worked for us when we were in the studio,
it's ma time, you know, we really get get our
teeth into it and work through the night. Sometimes we
actually stay in the studio that we recorded down in Wellington.
We actually stay the night, you know, and get to
use the studio and the facilities throughout the evening, which
is you know, greatful When those creative moments do kind
(03:23):
of happen, you can be able to capture it.
Speaker 2 (03:24):
Yeah, Hey, how did you get your start in music?
At what age did you sort of think this is
something I'm really into.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
I started really young playing music, but probably I guess
like twelve thirteen years old. I started playing in pubs
a lot, and lots of covers, bands and stuff like that,
and my old man would drop me off for the gig,
picked me up at two am, and we did that
for probably seven or eight years of my life, you know.
(03:52):
So I think I knew then that I was destined
to be a musician. It was kind of all I knew.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
So we've always a vocalist? Or did you just what
came first? The vocals of the guitar.
Speaker 3 (04:04):
The guitar came first, But then I guess my mum
would probably argue that the vocals came first. I was
literally born, Apparently I came out bloody screaming. So do
you go?
Speaker 2 (04:19):
So, I mean it's a question every artiste's asked, But
who are your let's say, your early inspirations and who
you listened to a lot?
Speaker 3 (04:28):
Man, It's quite broad, but I was brought up, listened
to a lot of a lot of my mum's record collection,
which was you know, people like Joe Cocker, Van Morrison,
Steve Ray, Vaughan, BB King. She used to cook Italian
in the kitchen and crank up classical music like Pavarotti
(04:50):
and all sorts of stuff. So you know, as a kid,
I listened to a lot of that kind of stuff.
A lot of South American, sorry not South American, like
Southern American blues and roots music, so bands like the
Almond Brothers and Leonard Skinned and all that kind of
sound too, So you could say, definitely a lot of
Americana and blues American music.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
I'm dying to ask you whether there's any classical music
that influences what you're doing.
Speaker 3 (05:18):
But oh, for sure, for sure. I mean if you
listen to songs like on our earlier albums and then
like album four, I think the album after in the
year Album four has got a lot of strings and
a lot of classical kind of influence in it. For sure.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
When did you, guys think, when did you when did
you have this awareness that you were going to be
a band that was going to be successful for the
long haul.
Speaker 3 (05:46):
I think we kind of, you know, when we when
we met, when I met Brad Cora and his brother Stu.
You know, Brad's The more I've got to know Brad
over the years and the more I understand him as a person,
and he's such a driven person. And when I when
I first met him, we discussed like, you know, okay,
what's the goal for this? You know, and he was
(06:08):
just you know, aiming for the moon in regards to
what he wanted to achieve with the spand and that
was back when I was living with my mum. He
was flatting, you know, we you know, we didn't have nothing,
but you know what I mean, we're early days of
trying to have a crack at this thing, and we
were aiming really really high. And yeah, I think from
(06:28):
then we started jamming, and that's when I knew I
was in with the right people and there was a
chemistry that built over time. There was an initial chemistry
for sure, but then obviously that matured and the more
we jammed together and the more we wrote together as musicians,
that that kind of blossomed into what you guys see now.
Speaker 2 (06:48):
Hey, Joel, tell us about the festival season that's coming up.
What your summer tour?
Speaker 3 (06:53):
Yeah, man, we're hitting the road in January, playing three
big shows around New Zealand. We're playing in topaort Frey
and Taranaki, kind of three weekends in a row, eleventh
of January, eighteenth of January, and then yeah, the following
week en after that.
Speaker 2 (07:13):
What are you Are there any particular favorite festivals of
destinations that you either enjoy or ones that you'd really
love to do.
Speaker 3 (07:20):
Yeah, look the ones we're playing this summer, for sure,
it's going to be kind of nostalgia. One of the
first festivals we ever did with LAB was actually done
in Topoul, so that was opening for it was like
the Black Seeds and a bunch of New Zealand roots
reggae bands and we were the first band on kind
of thing. There was maybe like three thousand people there,
(07:44):
you know, and this time we're going back headlining our
own show and there were probably about ten thousand people.
So that's going to be quite cool. And it's a
beautiful venue there. And also Tatannuki at the Bowl of Brooklyn's.
You know, that's listened to the iconic venue in this country
and some of the greats have played there and been
lucky lucky enough to play that quite a few times now.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
So, hey, what in terms of your success, what really
the one feed the other. In terms of the recordings,
albums fared the live gigs or were you sort of
more organically the live gigs sort of led into people
look listening to your music online.
Speaker 3 (08:20):
Yeah, Look, we we did a lot of a lot
of live shows in those first few summers that we
started as a band. It was focusing on first and
foremost becoming a good live act because at the end
of the day, that's what sells the product. And if
you can't, if you can't pull it off live, then
you know, there goes a lot of things. So we
(08:45):
definitely focus on that first, and then the songwriting was
just swimming away in the background, and then eventually we
kind of honed the craft of becoming a studio style
band as well. And it's a total different hat that
you have to wear in the studios, so you have
to it's very hard to do both at the same time.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
But do you sort of do you try and keep
as accurately as pop to your recorded stuff, or is
there deliberately a different vibe to the way you perform
me live.
Speaker 3 (09:14):
Yeah, we definitely change the style of the songs live.
Sometimes we do, you know, extended versions and you know,
raging guitar solos and saxophone solos and all sorts of stuff.
You know, you've got to bring in those elements to
keep it fun and interesting. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
Do you remember any particular gig that stands out in
terms of, you know, you wander out and there's this
crowd that just goes wild for you and you're like, oh,
well is this for us? Wow?
Speaker 3 (09:40):
Yeah, I think the first time we one of the
first times we headlined One Love festival that was certainly
a pinch yourself moment. There's a big reggae festival here
in the Bay a plenty that you know, twenty thousand
people chanting La B, So that was that was a
special moment. And also, yeah, actually the Bowl of Brooklyn's
like the first time we sold that out and that
(10:01):
was just like crazy to walk out to that. So
there's been some special moments in between as well. But yeah,
those two come.
Speaker 2 (10:08):
To must be pretty intoxicating. Does it also? Do you
feel pressure to perform or are you're just sort of
riding this wave where you're just having a great time.
You know what you're doing and the way we go.
Speaker 3 (10:18):
Yeah, Look, there's always that precie you know, like to perform.
I think, you know, the higher you get in that
world of performance, whether it be sport or music or
business or whatever, people feel those pressures and then it's
just about kind of navigating, you know, the anxiety or
whatever you get the performance anxiety and stuff. But to
(10:40):
be fair, I think I've managed to keep it at
bay and I've definitely had some moments in the past.
But I wouldn't say it's easy, because if it was,
everybody would be doing it.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
I guess the main pressure is you just want to
keep healthy, isn't it? With your voice and look after it.
Speaker 3 (10:54):
Yeah, As a vocalist, there's a lot of elements that
you have to be aware of, and it's very important
to understand how the voice works and how the body
works in regards to Yeah, health and well being as
a singer for sure, Yeah, lots of water.
Speaker 2 (11:11):
In terms of New Zealand bands, are there any that
you sort of keeping an eyron or that you're also
getting inspiration from? Yeah.
Speaker 3 (11:20):
Look, I've always been a massive Dobbin fan. Been lucky
enough to play with him and meet him a few
times and hang out. So I'm very much inspired by
him as an artist and how incredible his career has
been over the you know, over the years, seeing him
do everything from his early days right to his solo
(11:40):
career and that so I do look up to him
big time. And you know, like just our roots music community,
you know, bands like Fat Freddy's Drop and Catch a Fire, Cora,
all the bands that created the platform for bands like
us in six sixty to also flourish. You know, it's
a big it's a big family. It's a lot of
(12:02):
bands that are a part of the scene, you know,
and it's really special to be a part of.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
When you're looking to get back in the studio.
Speaker 3 (12:11):
We're actually we're just in the studio last week. We
will be back in the studio early next year as well,
but coming into Christmas, it's time to have some fun,
no time, and work on the live set for you know,
the up and coming tour.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
Good stuff. Hey man, I hope you have a great time,
and I hope the weather stays nice and fine for
you as well, because not that not that the fans
are mind day singing in the rain no, of course,
not good on your Joel. I really appreciate time, mate, Yeah,
thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (12:41):
For more from News Talk st B, listen live on
air or online, and keep our shows with you wherever
you go with our podcast on iHeartRadio
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Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.