Unwritten Law

Infobox musical artist
Name = Unwritten Law


Img_capt =
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Background = group_or_band
Origin = San Diego, California, U.S.
Genre = Rock, post-grunge, alternative rock, pop punk [cite web
last =Bush
first =John
authorlink =
coauthors =
title =Unwritten Law biography
work =Allmusic
publisher =
date =
url =http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:fvfoxq8gldde
format =
doi =
accessdate =2007-06-24 ]
Years_active = 1990–present
Label = Red Eye, Epic, Interscope, Lava, Abydos, Suburban Noize
Associated_acts =
URL = [http://www.unwrittenlaw.com/ Unwrittenlaw.com]
Current_members = Scott Russo
Steve Morris
Pat "PK" Kim
Tony Palermo
Past_members = John Bell
Wade Youman
Rob Brewer

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 "best of" album entitled "The Hit List", released January 2, 2007.

Band History

Formation

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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.

elf-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

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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 "" 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 February 2008 it was announced that Palermo had joined Papa Roach permanently.Fact|date=March 2008 Meanwhile, Unwritten Law filmed a live DVD at the Key Club in Hollywood, California in March 2008. [cite web

last =
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
title =We're back! Live DVD Shoot March 7th @ the Key Club in Hollywood, CA!!
work =unwrittenlaw.com
publisher =
date =
url =http://www.unwrittenlaw.com/news.php
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accessdate =2008-02-11 ]

Recently, according to Amazon.com, the CD/DVD set will be released on 30th September 2008.

Band members

Live albums

Official bootlegs

Videography

Music videos

Video releases

Music in film and video games

Several of Unwritten Law's songs have been included in the soundtracks of films and video games. "Cailin" is used in the soundtrack of the movie "Coyote Ugly" (2000), in which the band appears performing the song. [cite web
last =
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
title =Soundtracks for Coyote Ugly (2000)
work =Internet Movie Database
publisher =
date =
url =http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0200550/soundtrack
format =
doi =
accessdate =2007-09-06 ] [cite web
last =
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
title =Full Cast and Crew for Coyote Ugly (2000)
work =Internet Movie Database
publisher =
date =
url =http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0200550/fullcredits#cast
format =
doi =
accessdate =2007-09-06 ] "Get Up" is preloaded onto Xbox 360 premium pack hard drives and is also used in the trailer for the game "Indigo Prophecy". "Celebration Song" is used in ' and "MX vs. ATV Unleashed", while "F.I.G.H.T." is used in "Burnout Revenge" and '. [cite web
last =
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
title =Game Credits for Need for Speed: Underground 2
work =Moby Games
publisher =
date =
url =http://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/need-for-speed-underground-2/credits
format =
doi =
accessdate =2007-09-07 ] [cite web
last =
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
title =Game Credits for MX vs. ATV Unleashed
work =Moby Games
publisher =
date =
url =http://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/mx-vs-atv-unleashed/credits
format =
doi =
accessdate =2007-09-07 ]

References

External links

* [http://www.unwrittenlaw.com/ Official website]
* [http://www.myspace.com/unwrittenlaw Official Myspace profile]