Biography

Canadian singer, guitarist, and keyboardist Paul Laine didn't have a very traditional childhood. In fact, by the time he was 13, he had already left home. Three years later he was earning money by performing in bars, although still underage. He went on to have a short solo career, but is probably best remembered for the work he did as a member of Danger Danger. Laine, a Vancouver native, was 18 when he cut his first demo. It contained three tunes, and drew no interest for the young artist with big dreams. He moved into management, but still hoped to find his place behind the microphone some day. Once he had put aside a little money, he did some more work on his demo and gave it another try. This time the results were only slightly better. Laine, refusing to give up, redid his demo yet again. They say the third time is the charm, and so it was. Soon there was more than one label courting him. By 1989, Laine had a contract with Elektra Records, and a backing band of his own. Members were guitarist Kenny Chaos, drummer Pat Steward, bassist Scott Brown, and keyboardist Paul Gogo. That same year brought about many firsts for Laine, including two singles, "We Are the Young" and "Dorianna," a debut album, Stick It in Your Ear, and even a music video. He also toured with an impressive bunch, including Richard Marx and Bryan Adams. Though things seemed to be going well, and the debut album was leaving store shelves quickly, there were no more solo albums by Laine. He still stayed busy in the music world, working on a number of albums and singles with other artists. The '90s found Laine serving as lead singer with drummer and percussionist Steve West and guitarist, keyboardist, and bassist Bruno Ravel in the hard rock band Danger Danger. Together the threesome completed the excellent album, Dawn. ~ Charlotte Dillon, Rovi