Hailing from Simi Valley, California, April's Motel Room was formed in the early '90s and included singer Tom Kelly, guitarist Sam Nickell, bass player Mike Hoolihan, percussionist John Baffa, and drummer Erin Zidenberg. Signed to Epic Records' Immortal imprint, during the feeding frenzy of alternative rock bands, April's Motel Room had a bit more in common with more traditional heavy rock bands. They released Black 14 in 1994, which received generally positive reviews, but they failed to distinguish themselves from similarly styled acts of the period and made little impact on the record-buying public.