Unwritten Law
is an American rock band formed in 1990 in Poway, California (a suburb of San Diego) and currently recording for Suburban Noize Records. They have released seven full-length studio albums and have toured internationally, including performances on the Warped Tour. They are notable for their singles "Seein' Red" and "Save Me (Wake Up Call)," both of which entered the top 5 in the US Modern Rock charts. Their most recent release is a live album entitled Live and Lawless
, released September 30, 2008.
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UNWRITTEN LAW TICKETS
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Band History
Formation
Unwritten Law formed in
Poway, California (a suburb of
San Diego) in 1990. Original drummer Wade Youman generally takes credit for starting the band, and a number of players came and went before the lineup coalesced to include Scott Russo on
vocals, Steve Morris and Rob Brewer on
guitars, and John Bell on
bass. They released their first
cassette demo in 1992, followed by the 7" vinyl single
Blurr
in 1993. The band quickly established themselves in the prolific San Diego music scene of the early 1990s that also included groups such as
blink-182,
Buck-O-Nine,
Sprung Monkey,
Drive Like Jehu, and
Rocket from the Crypt.
Early albums
In 1994 the band recorded their first album,
Blue Room
, which was released by local label
Red Eye Records. It established their early sound of fast-paced
punk rock and gave them the opportunity to build their reputation by playing local shows in and around the San Diego area. Songs such as "CPK," "Shallow," and "Suzanne" would become favorites with local fans and would remain in their live set for years to come. The album attracted the attention of
Epic Records, who signed the band to a recording contract and re-released
Blue Room
the following year.
Their second album,
Oz Factor
, was released in 1996. The songs "Denied" and "Superman" received airplay on several southern California rock radio stations and were released as singles. Over the next year the band toured the
United States with bands such as
blink-182 and
Pennywise.
Self-titled album and tours
By 1997 Unwritten Law had signed to
Interscope Records and bassist John Bell had left the band.
Pivit bassist Micah Albao joined them in
Seattle for the recording of their self-titled album
Unwritten Law
which was released in 1998. The singles "Lonesome," "Cailin," and "Teenage Suicide" became minor hits on rock radio stations. Pat "PK" Kim, formerly of
Sprung Monkey, joined as their new permanent bass player and the band embarked on the Vans
Warped Tour, which took them across
North America,
Europe, and
Australia. In Australia the band developed an enthusiastic and dedicated following, and they would return there over the next few years and release several singles and live recordings exclusive to the country.
Mainstream popularity
The band spent a considerable amount of time recording and preparing their next release, 2002's
Elva
. The album was a stylistic change of pace, deliberately moving away from their established punk rock formula and towards a more accessible hard rock sound. The lead single "Up All Night" became somewhat popular, but it was "Seein' Red" and its accompanying
music video which brought the band their greatest success, reaching #1 on US
modern rock charts. They toured extensively in support of the album alongside bands such as
Sum 41 and
The Used.
In 2003 the band was invited by
VH1 to film an episode of the live acoustic series
Music in High Places
. The invitation happened somewhat by accident, as the station was hoping to attract
Jimmy Eat World but contacted Unwritten Law's management by mistake. The band recorded a set of acoustic performances in various locales at
Yellowstone National Park. They prepared the recordings for release as an album, but Interscope declined to release it. The band ended their contract with Interscope and signed to Lava Records, who released
Music in High Places
as an album. The performance was also released as a
DVD entitled
Live in Yellowstone
. The song "Rest of My Life" from this performance received airplay on modern rock radio stations nationwide.
Lineup changes
Shortly after the release of
Music in High Places
founding drummer Wade Youman was ejected from the band due to personal and professional issues. For the recording of their next album
Here's to the Mourning
drummers
Adrian Young of
No Doubt and Tony Palermo of
Pulley joined the band in the studio. The band got along so well with Palermo that by the time of the album's release in 2005 he had joined as their permanent drummer. Much of the lyrics on the album were co-written by singer Scott Russo's girlfriend
Aimee Allen, with whom he formed the side project
Scott & Aimee. Allen and
Linda Perry contributed to the writing of the album's lead single "Save Me (Wake Up Call)," which reached #5 on US modern rock charts. This was followed by the single "She Says."
In March 2005 guitarist Rob Brewer was fired from Unwritten Law due to disputes with Russo and other band members. The band chose not to replace him and continued on as a 4-piece. They continued to tour in support of
Here's to the Mourning
across the United States as well as internationally.
Recent activity
Unwritten Law spent much of 2006 recording a "best of" album entitled
The Hit List
, which was released on January 2, 2007 by
Abydos Records. It includes 17 of the band's most popular songs, most of which were re-recorded by the current lineup, as well as 2 new songs including lead single "Shoulda Known Better." Interscope also released a "best of" compilation entitled
20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection
which includes songs from the albums
Unwritten Law
and
Elva
. On January 3, 2007 the band performed "Shoulda Known Better" on
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
. That July the band embarked on a North American tour in support of
The Hit List
, with Scott & Aimee drummer Dylan Howard filling in for roughly half the tour while Palermo stayed home with his wife, who was due to give birth.
Also during 2007, Palermo acted as fill-in touring drummer for
Papa Roach. In March 2008 it was announced that Palermo had joined Papa Roach permanently.
[1] Meanwhile, Unwritten Law, with new drummer Dylan Howard, filmed a live
DVD at the Key Club in
Hollywood, California in March 2008.
[2] The album, titled
Live and Lawless, was released September 30, 2008.
Band members
(1991 - 1998) Blue Room
Oz Factor
|
- Scott Russo - vocals
- Steve Morris - guitar
- Rob Brewer - guitar
- John Bell - bass
- Wade Youman - drums
|
(1998) Unwritten Law
(studio recording only)
|
- Scott Russo - vocals
- Steve Morris - guitar
- Rob Brewer - guitar
- Micah Albao - bass
- Wade Youman - drums
|
(1998 - 2003) Elva
Music in High Places
|
- Scott Russo - vocals
- Steve Morris - guitar
- Rob Brewer - guitar
- Pat "PK" Kim - bass
- Wade Youman - drums
|
(2005) Here's to the Mourning
|
- Scott Russo - vocals
- Steve Morris - guitar
- Rob Brewer - guitar
- Pat "PK" Kim - bass
- Tony Palermo - drums
|
(2005 - 2008) The Hit List
|
- Scott Russo - vocals
- Steve Morris - guitar
- Pat "PK" Kim - bass
- Tony Palermo - drums
|
(2008 - current) Live and Lawless
|
- Scott Russo - vocals
- Steve Morris - guitar
- Pat "PK" Kim - bass
- Dylan Howard - drums
|
Current members
- Scott Russo – vocals (1991–present)
- Steve Morris – guitar, backing vocals (1991–present)
- Pat "PK" Kim – bass, backing vocals (1998–present)
- Dylan Howard – drums (2008–present)
Past members
- John Bell – bass (1991–1998)
- Wade Youman – drums (1991–2003)
- Rob Brewer – guitar (1991–2005)
- Tony Palermo – drums (2005–2008)
Discography
Studio albums
Year
| Title
| Label
| Format
| Other information
|
1994
| Blue Room
| Red Eye
| CD/Cassette
| First album.
|
1996
| Oz Factor
| Epic
| CD
| Last album with bassist John Bell.
|
1998
| Unwritten Law
| Interscope
| CD
| First album with bassist Pat Kim.
|
2002
| Elva
| Interscope
| CD
|
|
2005
| Here's to the Mourning
| Lava
| CD
| First album with drummer Tony Palermo. Last album with guitarist Rob Brewer.
|
EPs
Year
| Title
| Label
| Format
| Other information
|
1993
| Blurr
| Red Eye
| 7" vinyl
| First single. Out of print.
|
1999
| Visit to Oz
| Interscope
| EP
| Australian tour EP. Out of print.
|
Live albums
Year
| Title
| Label
| Format
| Other information
|
2003
| Music in High Places
| Lava
| CD
| Last album with drummer Wade Youman.
|
2008
| Live and Lawless
| Suburban Noize
| CD/DVD
| First album with drummer Dylan Howard.
|
Compilation albums
Year
| Title
| Label
| Format
| Other information
|
2006
| 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection
| Interscope
| CD
| "Best of" compilation of tracks from Interscope releases Unwritten Law
and Elva
.
|
2007
| The Hit List
| Abydos
| CD
| "Best of" album including 2 new songs, new recordings of 14 previously released songs, and 3 songs from Here's to the Mourning
. Last album with drummer Tony Palermo.
|
Singles
Year
| Single
| Peak positions
| B-sides
| Album
| Label
|
US Hot 100
| US Modern Rock
|
1996
| "Lame"
| –
| –
| "Revolution"
| Oz Factor
| Epic
|
"Denied"
| –
| –
|
|
"Superman"
| –
| –
|
|
1999
| "Cailin"
| –
| 28
|
| Unwritten Law
| Interscope
|
2000
| "Lonesome"
| –
| –
| "Falling Down" (live), "Denied" (live), "CPK" (live), "Lonesome" (live)
|
2001
| "Up All Night"
| –
| 14
| "Darkside," "Baby, Baby" (demo)
| Elva
|
2002
| "Seein' Red"
| 105
| 1
| "Take Me Away," "Mean Girl (Trickbaby remix)"
|
2003
| "Rest of My Life"
| –
| 16
|
| Music in High Places
| Lava
|
2005
| "Save Me (Wake Up Call)"
| 108
| 5
| "Save Me" (radio edit), "Save Me (Reggae mix)," "Slow Dance (remix)"
| Here's to the Mourning
| WEA/Atlantic
|
"She Says"
| –
| 32
| 'Get Up (remix)," "F.I.G.H.T. (remix)"
|
Official bootlegs
Year
| Title
| Label
| Format
| Other information
|
1997
| Live in Hollyweird
| no label
| CD
| Live recording from the Palace in Hollywood. Released in a limited edition of 2,000. Out of print.
|
Non-album tracks
Year
| Title
| Label
| Song(s)
| Other information
|
1997
| Before You Were Punk
| Vagrant
| "Goody Two Shoes”
| Originally performed by Adam Ant. Features members of Buck-O-Nine on horns.
|
1999
| Short Music for Short People
| Fat Wreck Chords
| "Armageddon Singalong"
| Compilation of 101 bands playing 30-second songs.
|
2002
| Don't Make Me Pull This Thing Over
| Roadrunner
| "Take Me Away"
| Soundtrack album to MTV's Road Rules
.
|
2004
| unreleased
| no label
| "Home in Paradise"
| Used as theme song for TV series North Shore
.
|
Demos
Year
| Title
| Label
| Format
| Other information
|
1992
| Six Song Demo
| no label
| Cassette
| Recorded at Blindfold Studios. Out of print.
|
Videography
Music videos
Year
| Song
| Album
| Director
|
1996
| "Superman"
| Oz Factor
|
1998
| "Teenage Suicide"
| Unwritten Law
|
"California Sky"
| Taylor Steele & Emmett Malloy
|
"Holiday"
| Darren Doane & Ken Daurio
|
1999
| "Cailin"
| 2000
| "Lonesome"
|
2002
| "Up All Night"
| Elva
| Honey
|
"Seein' Red"
| Marc Webb
|
2003
| "Rest of My Life"
| Music in High Places
|
2005
| "Save Me (Wake Up Call)"
| Here's to the Mourning
| Brett Simon
|
"She Says"
| Jessy Terrero
|
2007
| "Shoulda Known Better"
| The Hit List
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Video releases
Year
| Title
| Label
| Format
| Content
| Other information
|
2003
| Live in Yellowstone
|
| DVD
| Complete Music in High Places
episode of acoustic recordings in Yellowstone National Park.
|
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References
- WAS UP!!!!
- We're back! Live DVD Shoot March 7th @ the Key Club in Hollywood, CA!!