Welcome the 'Mourning' with Unwritten Law
By: Frances Vanderploeg

It was three years ago that Unwritten Law's last studio album, Elva, was released. Since then life has been interesting, to say the least. There are those things that have come to be almost expected: another label change, another lineup change, another addiction. Then there's everything else, from Steve Morris dealing with bombs thrown at his front door to Rob Brewer's wife having a baby. Yeah, it's safe to say that times can be a bit hectic for these crazy Poway kids. But, it's that hectic lifestyle that fuels the music they produce so whose to complain?
Certainly not these guys. Instead, they choose to make the craziness work for them. The better part of 2004 was spent channeling that angst into their sixth album, Here's to the Mourning. It's a far cry from the punk-esque days of Blue Room, but it's still the same UL. Just older, wiser, more experienced and hoping to escape being pigeonholed into one of today's many musical genres.
"Fuck that," said Pat "PK" Kim, UL's resident bassist since 1998. "It's just rock and roll. That's what we are, that's what it's all about. We absolutely don't want to be any part of any certain sound."
Not to say they've forgotten their punk roots. Quite the contrary, they still gratefully credit those from their past that helped get them where they are today. One of the most prominent figures would be Taylor Steele. Including UL in his surf videos years ago as well as directing music videos from their self-titled album, he provided fans with their first glimpse of the band and provided the band with their first glimpse of fame.

"He, I feel, launched it for a lot of bands, like Offspring and Pennywise, Bad Religion, all those bands," Kim said. "He's a huge part of where we're at and he opened the door to a lot of stuff."
One of those doors would be their rise to the top of the San Diego punk scene in the 90's. True, they have yet to reach a level of success comparable to those they shared the scene with; bands like Blink 182, but many still credit them as one of the founding fathers.

Their beginnings in the southern California surf and skate community eventually reached mainstream with the release of "Seein' Red" from Elva, bringing them to a new level of success after spending six weeks at #1 on the modern rock charts. Sure, it didn't happen until their fourth album, but that's just fine by them.

"A lot of bands don't build up a core base so when all the sudden they're on the radio and explode huge, they never have that little base that they need to have," explains Kim. "For us, we've slowly built this loyal following. Our fans are crazy. They're absolutely the shit and they're true, they're loyal. That's why through Blue Room to Oz Factor to the [self-titled] album it took three stages of just building, building and being true and just hitting the road."

Their next single, "Up All Night," held a lot of potential. Ultimately, though, lack of lovin' from their label, Interscope, translated to lack of promotion and therefore lack of success. Eventually this resulted in their move to Lava, a smaller label who's more willing to give their bands special attention.

At that same time another opportunity presented itself, this time in the form of their live acoustic album, Music In High Places. It wasn't planned, but when MTV called accidentally proposing the idea to UL instead of their original target, Jimmy Eat World, things were set in motion. Despite their mistake, MTV decided to go ahead and have UL do the album. It's not something they plan on doing again, but they enjoyed it all the same.

"We're a band that plugs in and plays loud," Kim said. But, "it was a different medium to work with, like artists who do sculptures and paint. At the end you still get a piece of art but with different materials, and I feel that's what we achieved through playing those songs acoustically. It was a learning experience and I'm really glad we did it."

That album would end up being the last recorded by UL as we knew them. Despite the fact that everyone has been there from the first album except for PK, a series of pre-Blue Room changes fueled the idea that UL goes through members on a regular basis. Based on that, drummer Wade Youman was considered the only original member of the band left. He was also a fan favorite, so when his departure was announced in early 2004 there were a lot of people upset. No doubt, those most affected were the other members of the band.

"I really love Wade," Kim said. "He's got a genuinely great soul and he's one motherfucker that can make me laugh like no other person... But when you're behind closed doors going through stuff it changes everything. It was not something anyone in the band wanted to do at all, it just got pushed to the point where we had no choice. Either stop everything or, if we want to continue, we would have to make do without. It was a hard, hard thing to do."

Fortunately, as hard as the decision was it seems like it's paying off in the end.

"It has had a huge negative effect on us," Kim said. "It really hurt all of us. But at the same time, I feel like right now it's turned out for the best because the band's getting along the best it ever has and we're playing the best we have without him here. It's actually really fun right now."

Despite recovering from a lost band mate, the fact remained that UL had an album to record and no drummer. That's where Tony Palermo of Pulley and 10 Foot Pole came in. Brooks Wackerman (Bad Religion, Suicidal Tendencies) recommended him as a fill-in and Palermo made the band his home.

"Tony's just a guy that wants to play drums," Kim remarked. "He plays drums really great and he's just a good guy. Everything worked out."

Some fans may still be bitter about Youman's egression, but most will admit that Palermo has blended right in and done a great job. He still drums for Pulley on the side, but UL is his main obligation. His addition brings the current lineup to Kim on bass, Morris and Brewer on guitar, Palermo on drums, and Scott Russo providing the lead vocals.

After such turmoil, what's up next for the boys of UL? Releasing Mourning, of course. It's slated to drop February 2005.

"I listen to the record almost every day and I'm just stoked on it," Kim said. "I'm really excited, I think we've really put out our best record yet."

Big words for a band that's releasing their sixth album, but with so much of their personal life instilled in the music it's apparent where that feeling comes from. While it was a very personal record for all members of the band, it seems a bit more so for Russo. He's the man writing the lyrics and uses his own life, which is not the picture of perfection, as material.
"This whole album is kind of a very personal story," Kim said. "I feel Scott truly found his voice on this record and it's good for him to let things out that he needs to. Everyone will take it as they choose, but it's very personal."

Throughout the album Russo talks about everything that is his life, from his drug addictions to his girlfriend and even to Youman. Yes, most people will take it as they please, but chances are you won't have to read too deep as Russo openly lays everything on the line. Their first single, "Save Me," revolves mostly around aforementioned drug addictions. While it's currently gaining a lot of airplay, it wasn't exactly what UL had hoped to release first.

"We wanted to do 'Celebration Song,'" said Kim. "But, who's putting out the record, ya know?"
Anyone who went to their December show in Las Vegas got a treat as that was the first time the band had ever played "Save Me" together. Ever. In the studio the vocals were recorded separate from the music, and for the first part of their tour they just didn't get around to it.
"It wasn't anyone's first pick," Kim said. "But, it's the single and now that it's being played [on the radio] we have to."

Don't think they don't like "Save Me," because they do. Just not as a first single. Hopefully their next release will be one they can get a little more excited about. Of course, it'll be the label's choice in the end so we'll have to wait and see what happens.

The apathy the band is feeling towards "Save Me" as their first single just about rivals the irritation they feel toward the current state of music. They don't exactly feel inspired by what's been going on, mentioning that "a lot of soul [is] missing from music right now." While they would like to see something new, they maintain that they are not expecting to lead a music revolution.
"We're always trying something new," said Kim. But, "we're not trying to do anything except for make ourselves happy right now and have fun and play shows."

Not to say they would mind a revolution just that they don't expect to lead it. Of course, they will be around to enjoy it.

"I'm gonna play until my enthusiasm for it wears out," Kim said. "I'm very excited of what's to come and until I don't feel that I'm going to continue on."

For that enthusiasm and promise to stick around, UL, fans everywhere thank you.