Take one.

Lay down the piano track. Cue up the cello and now add the acoustic guitar.

Cut.

Take two.

More piano, a little hand drums and more guitar.

Cut.

Hum.

Black Lab thought it might be easy to make an acoustic record, but what Paul Durham and Andy Ellis realized was making an acoustic record is much more difficult than they imagined. That didn't stop Black Lab from completing Unplugged, a remarkably fresh sound that features 16 songs, 13 of the band's best songs along with three new songs in an unplugged format.

"It's not really an acoustic album, it's more of an unplugged album. There's a few moments of an electric guitar, but basically it's all acoustic instruments and yet it's not just me and Andy," Durham said. "There's a cello player on a lot of tracks, there's drums and different stuff to try and make it a much more dynamic listening experience."

The project started out as a live record, but then evolved into an acoustic/unplugged CD that does have enough different sounds that Durham labeled it "Unplugged" which was released on Nov. 29th of 2011.

"I just got together with Andy to start messing around and he came up with these outrageous piano arrangements and I was like we've got to do this," Durham said. "I thought it would be really easy with just piano and acoustic guitar, but what we found out was making an acoustic record isn't something we knew how to do. We knew how to make a big rock record, but when you just have a few instruments everything has to be so right. There's zero margin for error in terms of tone and performance and the right instrumentation so then it took a long time like everything else we do."

The project is a departure from what Black Lab has done in the past. The band formed in Nothern California and is currently based in L.A. and Montana. They released one album on Geffen Records titled, Your Body Above Me and had a pair of radio hits with "Wash it Away in 1997 and "Time Ago," in 1998.

Black Lab left Geffen in 1999, the band signed with Epic Records, but did not release any material and left the label after two years.

They are now unsigned and have independently released an EP and three full-length albums since 2003. They released Passion Leaves a Trace in 2007, a CD that featured the single "Mine Again." The band followed with  Two Strangers released in October 2010, a record that featured "The Ship Goes Down Deep," and "The Pain is Gone." Black Lab's Unplugged features more of a collaborative effort from both Durham and Ellis. Durham, who has usually had the final say on the sound,  gave up much of the control.

"It was more of an equal partnership I'd say and that was really great. When we were in the studio, we'd do 10 piano takes of a song, and he'd (Ellis) say 'how did  you like that one?' I would say 'I don't know it sounded exactly like the three ones before it, is that helpful?," Durham said with  a laugh. "He was tweaking at a level of piano performance that I'm just not inside the instrument like that. I just ran the computer and let him do his thing.  I think we just trust each other more than one of us has something to say, there's a reason why and we should just listen to it and go with it and not argue."

The project was rewarding for Black Lab, but Durham said they will be going back to what they are familiar with in the future.

"I'm kind of actually looking forward to getting back to electric, or else just really sitting down with Andy and the two of us doing something live, that was the original vision," Durham said. "We definitely want to do that at some point."

It may be difficult for Black Lab fans to see the songs performed live. There will likely be some tour dates, but those dates may only be on the West coast and will likely be a scaled down version of the band.

"We're pretty focused on this (Unplugged) for a while and we'll see what it turns into in terms of shows. I think people don't realize for us to go out and do maybe 10 weeks of dates may cost us $50,000. We might make up some of that and we might not," Durham said. "I don't have an extra $30,000 to put into playing live. I wish I did because it would be fun, but I don't. It's definitely a brutal new world and we're trying to make the most of it. I think we'll do some live web casts and stuff like that."

Whatever version you hear Black Lab, live, acoustic or rock, the hope is those who enjoy a unique sound will give it a spin.