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Unwritten Law

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For other uses, see Unwritten Law (disambiguation).
Unwritten Law
Unwritten Law in 2011
Unwritten Law in 2011
Background information
OriginPoway, California, United States
Genres
Years active1990–present
Labels
Members
  • Scott Russo
  • Jonny Grill
  • Chris Lewis
  • Scotty Mac
  • Wade Youman
Past members
Websiteunwrittenlawofficial.com

Unwritten Law is an American punk rock band formed in 1990 in Poway, California by drummer Wade Youman. The band has undergone multiple line-up changes, with Youman the sole remaining original member – however, he has left the group twice in its three-decade history. They are best known for their singles "Seein' Red" and "Save Me (Wake Up Call)," both of which peaked in the top 5 in the US Modern Rock charts and the former topping it. The band have also toured extensively both nationally and internationally, most notably as part of the Warped Tour. The band has released seven full-length studio albums to date; their most recent, The Hum, was released in 2022.[2]

History

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Formation and early years (1990–1994)

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Unwritten Law was formed in Poway, California by Wade Youman back in the mid 1980s when he was twelve years old.[3] The band's first lineup was Youman on drums, Chris Mussey on vocals, Matt Rathje on guitar, and Craig Winters on bass, Youman described the early incarnations of the group as "kind of Punk, Clashy, and Bauhausy",[4][5] A number of players came and went throughout the early years, by 1992 the lineup coalesced to include Youman, Rob Brewer on guitar, Jeff Brehm on bass, and vocalist Scott Russo, who joined the band after doing an impromptu performance of Fugazi's Waiting Room at a house party. They released their first cassette demo on September 9, 1992, known as Six Song Demo.[6] The lineup changed when Brehm left and was replaced by John Bell, with this lineup the band recorded and released the 7" vinyl single Blurr in 1993, which was released by local label Red Eye Records, Steve Morris was then recruited on second guitar,[7] Unwritten Law quickly established themselves in the prolific San Diego music scene of the early 1990s that also included groups such as Blink-182, Agent 51, Buck-O-Nine, Sprung Monkey, One by One, Drive Like Jehu, and Rocket from the Crypt.

In 1994 the band recorded their first album, Blue Room, which 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.

Major label signing, Oz Factor (1995–1996)

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Blue Room attracted the attention of major labels, the band, having distribution problems, left Red Eye Records and signed a recording contract with Epic Records.[8][9] Their second album, Oz Factor[10] 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.

Interscope Records, Self-Titled Album (1997–1999)

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By the summer of 1997 bassist John Bell had left the band. Pivit bassist Micah Albao joined them in Seattle for the recording of their next album.[11] Pat "PK" Kim, formerly of Sprung Monkey, would join as their new permanent bass player.[12][13]

While the band was in the studio, they were dropped by Epic, and had signed to Interscope Records after Tom Whalley heard the recordings[14][13] their third album, Unwritten Law would be released in June 1998. The singles "Lonesome," "Cailin," and "Teenage Suicide" became minor hits on rock radio stations.[13] 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.

Elva, Music in High Places (2000–2003)

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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.[15] 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 No. 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[16][17] and signed to Lava Records, who released Music in High Places as an album.[18] 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.

Here's to the Mourning (2004–2005)

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In March 2004, it was announced that Youman was ejected from the band due to personal and professional issues,[19][20][5] Youman released a statement through his website addressing his departure from the band,[21] In a 2014 interview with DyingScene, Youman would call the split devastating:

We were just really hateful towards each other. At that time, me and Scott couldn’t even look at each other because we hated each other so much. It was the same way with Rob at the time. But the label pretty much came in and said “look, you guys have to pick one of these members or the fucking record deal is done

Me and Scott just couldn’t see these things out. We couldn’t even look at each other. So the band decided to let me go[22].

Youman would go on to play in various groups, including The Rattlesnake Aces, Demasiado,[23] Underminded,[24] and Black President.[25]

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)",[14] which reached No. 5 on US modern rock charts. This was followed by the single "She Says". The band's song Celebration Song was featured in the soundtracks of Need For Speed: Underground 2 and MX vs. ATV Unleashed.

In November 2004, the group was banned from CBGB's New York. New York has strict indoor smoking laws. Scott was smoking on stage and his monitors were turned off. Later in the show he lit up again and the lights were turned off. The band continued to play in the dark and Scott continued to smoke.[14][26][27]

In March 2005 guitarist Rob Brewer was fired from Unwritten Law after a physical altercation on stage with Russo during a performance at the House of Blues in Anaheim, California. Russo and the other band members collectively decided to remove Brewer from the band. 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.[28]

Best of Compilation, Live and Lawless and Swan (2006–2012)

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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.[29] Meanwhile, Unwritten Law, with new drummer Dylan Howard, filmed a live DVD at the Key Club in Hollywood, California in March 2008.[30] The album, titled Live and Lawless, was released September 30, 2008 through Suburban Noize Records. Unwritten Law's sixth studio album, Swan, was also released through Suburban Noize on March 29, 2011.[31][32] On January 24, 2011, Unwritten Law posted on their Myspace page the first single from their new album called "Starships and Apocalypse." They have also been confirmed to play the 2011 Warped Tour.[33]

Guitarist Steve Morris and bassist Pat Kim left Unwritten Law at the end of their Swan Tour in 2011 due to a physical altercation between Scott Russo and Morris. This was kept silent for a few months until after the band finished touring with Warped Tour, although Morris and Kim did not tour with them. Derik Envy, formerly of Red Light Sky, and Kevin Besignano, formerly of Bullets and Octane, had become the permanent replacements for Kim and Morris, respectively.[34]

On August 6, 2011, Youman got invited on stage to play C.P.K. at the Yost Theater in Santa Ana, California.[35][36], Youman would join the band onstage again in June 2012 to play Harmonic.[37]

Lineup changes, Acoustic (2013–2021)

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In 2013, Youman, returned to Unwritten Law, after reconciling with Russo. Following Youman's return, Derik Envy and Kevin Besignano both left the band, being replaced with Jonny Grill (Russo's younger brother) and Ace Von Johnson, respectively, Johnson would later be replaced by former Pivit and Fenix TX guitarist Chris Lewis.[38]

While performing at Capitol in Perth, Western Australia on 18 May 2014, the band ignored requests to stop playing after the venue's midnight curfew had passed, forcing the venue to cut the power on stage. Frontman Scott Russo and drummer Wade Youman subsequently destroyed a hired DW Collector's Series drum kit.[39]

The band released a compilation album called Acoustic on Cyber Track Records on April 1, 2016.

On June 19, 2019 drummer Wade Youman posted on Facebook that he left the band again and was replaced on drums for four shows by RJ Shankle [40] and then on January 27, 2020 Behind Crimson Eyes drummer Dan Kerby posted on Instagram that he would be filling in on drums for shows in Australia.[41] Youman returned to the band for a third time in 2021.

The Hum (2022)

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On April 29, 2022, the band played their first full performance in two years at Soma San Diego, during their set they were joined on stage by various artists, including members of P.O.D., Buck-O-Nine, Spray Allen, as well as singer Mickey Avalon, and original guitar players Rob Brewer and Steve Morris.[6][42]

The band released their seventh album, The Hum, July 29, 2022 on Cleopatra Records. It was their first album of new material in 11 years.

Band members

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Current members

  • Wade Youman – drums (1990–2004, 2013–2019, 2021–present)
  • Scott Russo – lead vocals, (1990–present), rhythm guitar (2005–2016)
  • Jonny Grill – bass, backing vocals (2013–present)
  • Chris Lewis – lead guitar, backing vocals (2014–present)
  • Scotty Mac - rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2017–present)

Former members

  • Chris Mussey – lead vocals (1990)
  • Matt Rathje – guitar (1990)
  • Craig Winters – bass (1990)
  • Jeff Brehm – bass (1990–1992)
  • John Bell – bass (1992–1997)
  • Rob Brewer – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (1990–2005)
  • Steve Morris – lead guitar, backing vocals (1990–2011)
  • Pat "PK" Kim – bass, backing vocals (1997–2011)
  • Tony Palermo – drums (2004–2008)
  • Dylan Howard – drums (2008–2013; touring musician 2007, 2016)
  • Kevin Besignano – lead guitar, backing vocals (2011–2013)
  • Derik Envy – bass, backing vocals (2011–2013)
  • Ace Von Johnson – lead guitar, backing vocals (2013–2014)

Former touring musicians

  • Ed Murphy – drums (2011)
  • Michael Land – drums (2011–2013)
  • RJ Shankle – drums (2019, 2020–2021)
  • Dan Kerby – drums (2020)

Timeline

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Discography

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Main article: Unwritten Law discography

Studio albums

References

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  1. ^ John Bush. "Unwritten Law | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-01-24.
  2. ^ "Media: Unwritten Law: 'Superbad'". Punknews.org. 2011-03-24. Retrieved 2011-03-25.
  3. ^ EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Wade Youman, drummer Unwritten Law, commdiginews, 2014-02-12
  4. ^ "Breakin' The Law: A Q&A with Wade Youman". Archived from the original on March 12, 2002. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
  5. ^ a b "Once More with feeling". www.portlandmercury.com. February 3, 2005. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
  6. ^ a b "Point Your Finger at the Singer: A Conversation with Scott Russo". ocmusicnews.com. April 22, 2022. Retrieved 2023-12-03.
  7. ^ "Biography". tripod.com. Retrieved 2023-12-03.
  8. ^ "RockNet Interview: Unwritten Law's Steve Morris". Archived from the original on May 30, 2001. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
  9. ^ "Unwritten Law The Law Pays". Archived from the original on February 18, 2001. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
  10. ^ "Unwritten Law Leave Their Mark". Mtv.com. 1996-02-15. Archived from the original on March 22, 2023. Retrieved 2023-12-03.
  11. ^ "News for July 1997..." Archived from the original on July 17, 1997. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
  12. ^ "UL News for December". Archived from the original on January 27, 1998. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
  13. ^ a b c "Unwritten Law Interview". www.inmusicwetrust.com. Retrieved 2023-11-28.
  14. ^ a b c "Unwritten Law". www.rebelnoise.com. January 3, 2005. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
  15. ^ "Mean Street Interview". Archived from the original on February 3, 2002. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
  16. ^ "Unwritten Law leaves Interscope". www.punknews.org. October 20, 2002. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
  17. ^ "Unwritten Law part ways with Interscope". www.blabbermouth.net. October 11, 2002. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
  18. ^ Billboard Vol. 114, No. 51. December 14, 2002. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
  19. ^ "Unwritten Law fires drummer; Alex Pappas not available for comment". www.punknews.org. March 11, 2004. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
  20. ^ "Drummer says Unwritten Law was Yoko'd". Archived from the original on June 7, 2004. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  21. ^ "Unwritten Newsletter #7". Archived from the original on June 14, 2004. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  22. ^ DS Interview: Wade Youman returns to Unwritten Law, DyingScene, 2014-02-14
  23. ^ "Demasiado". bandcamp.com. Retrieved 2023-12-28.
  24. ^ "Underminded shows in California, parts ways with drummer". www.punknews.org. March 12, 2006. Retrieved 2023-12-28.
  25. ^ "Greg Hetson, Charlie Paulson form Black President". www.punknews.org. November 5, 2006. Retrieved 2023-12-28.
  26. ^ "On a mission to save punk rock". spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu. January 28, 2005. Retrieved 2023-12-03.
  27. ^ "Unwritten Law evolves with music" (PDF). dailytitan.com. February 17, 2005. Retrieved 2023-12-03.
  28. ^ archive-Chris-Harris (2005-04-12). "Unwritten Law Boot Longtime Guitarist Rob Brewer". Mtv.com. Archived from the original on May 12, 2020. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
  29. ^ Shaddix, Jacoby. "Was Up!!!!". BrokenH. Retrieved 2009-06-05.
  30. ^ "We're Back! Live DVD Shoot March 7th @ the Key Club in Hollywood, CA!!". unwrittenlaw.com. Unwritten Law. Archived from the original on 2007-12-25. Retrieved 2008-02-11.
  31. ^ "Unwritten Law Joins Suburban Noize". Punknews.org. 2010-07-27. Retrieved 2010-08-02.
  32. ^ "Track By Track: Unwritten Law". Alternative Press. Archived from the original on December 9, 2011. Retrieved January 10, 2024.
  33. ^ "Vans Warped Tour / Bands / Tickets On Sale March 30th / Unwritten Law". Vanswarpedtour.com. Retrieved 2012-03-30.
  34. ^ "Alternative Press | News | Exclusive: Unwritten Law face lineup changes after physical altercation between members". Altpress.com. 2011-08-10. Retrieved 2012-03-30.
  35. ^ "Unwritten Law at the Yost on Saturday Night". www.ocweekly.com. August 8, 2011. Retrieved 2023-12-28.
  36. ^ "Unwritten Law - C.P.K. (Live) Feat. Wade Youman". www.youtube.com. August 9, 2011. Retrieved 2023-12-28.
  37. ^ "Wade youman unwritten law@ belly up 6/12". www.youtube.com. June 28, 2012. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
  38. ^ Innes, Matt. "Unwritten Law Are Still Writing Their Own Rules". scenestr - Pop Culture & Entertainment. Retrieved 2020-11-03.
  39. ^ "Watch Unwritten Law Trash Stage After Perth Set Cut Short". theMusic.com.au. Retrieved 2014-05-24.
  40. ^ "I am unfortunately being let go from unwritten law and I will not be performing at the upcoming Show in Pomona. Scott Russo has informed me that I am being replaced on drums and no longer a member of Unwritten law. I assure you I tried my best to make it work. All tho Scott is a douche bag I want to make clear I wish no harm to him or the others. Also I am in no way responsible for any madness and manifestation that may occur. I love you fans with all my heart and I will continue to bring you music. The new Fondu record featuring Daniel Lonner and Eric Sherman "Late night Episode", Eric Wilson "Sublime", Skateboard legend Danny Way & Jereme Rogers is almost finished and will be out soon. (LVX)". M.facebook.com. 2019-06-19. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
  41. ^ "DKDRUMS.COM on Instagram: "What an honour it is to be sitting in on drums for @unwrittenlawofficial on their upcoming Australian tour. Unwritten Law have been my…"". Instagram.com. 2020-01-27. Archived from the original on 2021-12-24. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
  42. ^ "Crazy Poway Kids Unwritten Law at Soma". ocmusicnews.com. May 9, 2022. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
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