Today, James talked to Scott Russo of Unwritten Law! The contents of said conversation in which Scott told us about the band’s new album and upcoming plans can be found below. Be on the look out for their new live album and a review of it coming your way soon!

J: Hey Scott, how are you today??

S: I’m sitting on a beach in Waikiki with some friends.

J: So what exactly has been going on in the Unwritten Law as of late?

S: We just finished an Australian tour. Beautiful people with amazing shows. Then we went to Hawaii for a couple of gigs and we’ve been on break for a few days. This is our last day here before going home to work on our new studio album which will be out in February.

J: It has been a long time since UL released an album of new material. Your last release was a greatest hits collection and this is a live disc. Both of these albums have had the same bonus song on them and though they’ve been great, I must ask – will there be new UL material coming our way in the future?

S: I think we release an album every 4 years now. We’ve been playing a lot of shows and drinking a lot of Loco Mocos [laughs]. we’re halfway through the new album and it’s going really well. We work in our own time frame and do things as we want to.

J: Well let’s get back to the record. What made you want to do a live album and could you tell us a little bit about how it came to be?

S: We wanted to record it close to home and we chose a place close to it and to our label. We had people fly in from all over the world to be on the dvd. So we chose Hollywood. We did the dvd for people who can’t make it to our shows and because everyone has a dvd and we didn’t.

J: Even though fans will now be able to see and hear your live show from their own homes, are there any tour plans?

S: We’re releasing this as a by produce between our studio album. We may play some one offs until February and then we’re going on a full tour.

J: So, I know it’s early, but what can you tell us about the new album you’re working on currently?

S: This isn’t The Black Parade or anything. We write songs. This record has us bringing it back to our roots. We started off in the punk rock scene and then went to a dirty drop D sound. This album has us going back to our roots, kinda like The Clash. We’re going to where we came from and not moving somewhere new. We don’t want to write the same thing twice and we don’t write to play Warped tour or anything – we write songs to write great music. If it has a reggae, rock, acoustic, or punk vibe, that’s how we make it. Making songs for the sake of making songs, not the scene.

J: As a fan myself, I’ve always wonder about your inspiration to all your lyrics, is it all true or do you write stories for fans to follow along with?

S: It’s all real life. Every song before Cailin was..I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life. I remember specifically writing that song and I meant it. Then everyone grabbed ahold of it, both the band and the label. I never wanted UL to record or play it, but then it just got big. I made the connection that real life made the better songs. I couldn’t write about fictitious things and hope for people to connect to it.

J: So, with that in mind, what’s the story behind the bonus track, “I Shoulda Known Better?”

S: That song comes and goes from reality. That song was written by me, Mickey Avalon, and Cisco Adler. I wrote the music and chorus and meant the chorus entirely. We had some fun with the verses. It’s about us taking a trip and trying to have fun. I’m not really trying to give Gonorrhea to anyone.

J: Why did you choose Live and Lawless for the album? Is there a story to this or just something you thought of?

S: I didn’t. someone sent us an email and asked if we liked it. I said yes. they had a lot of ideas and that’s the one we went with.

J: Unwritten Law has been around for awhile now. How have you managed to keep going and stay relevant all this time?

S: I believe it’s because we’re not fake or synthetic. I’m just trying to write a good song man. When I write a song, I present it to friends and family and see what they think. I’m not working for the scene. I think the reason Unwritten Law has remained is because we are real. I don’t shop at Hot Topic or have a Black Parade behind me [laughs]. Our secret is that we’ve never been fake or something we’re not. Our fans continue to follow us to this day because we’re real and we play a great live show. You don’t go to our shows and see a bunch of scene kids.

J: We don’t believe in final questions at UTG. We simply ask that you make a closing statement of your own to go out on. Talk about anything/anyone/or anyplace. It’s all up to you:

S: My last statement is: First and foremost, thanks for reading. Listen to music first and ask questions second. we’ll see you at the finish line.

*Written By: James Shotwell*

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James Shotwell

James Shotwell is the founder of Under The Gun Review. He loves writing about music and movies almost as much as he loves his two fat cats. He's also the co-founder of Antique Records and the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. You should probably follow him on Twitter.

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