UNWRITTEN LAW guitarist Steve Morris doesn't even know what day it is when the interview gets started. Everything has been a blur for the 25-year-old Southern California native as the band finishes up two months of touring in support of their latest album, "Elva."
COURTESY OF INTERSCOPE RECORDS
The band that plays together fights together. Unwritten Law members use violence to settle their differences. From left, Pat Kim, Wade Youman, Scott Russo, Rob Brewer and Steve Morris.
In concert: Unwritten Law with local opening band Hellbound Hounds
Where: World Cafe, 1130 N. Nimitz Highway
When: 7 p.m. tomorrow; doors open at 6 p.m.
Tickets: $17.50, all ages
Call: 591-4450 or 526-4400 to order tickets by phone
By Jason Genegabus
jason@starbulletin.comBut mention their gig at World Cafe tomorrow and Morris' memory comes back real quick. "We get there Monday night," he said from an Australia hotel room last Saturday. "I was just going to sit my ass on the beach and surf and fish and snorkel and do all the Hawaii tourist stuff. We've got a bunch of friends there, too, so it's cool; we just go to their houses and kick it, and they take us to places that tourists don't know about, so I'm really looking forward to it."
Morris and fellow members Rob Brewer, Pat Kim, Scott Russo and Wade Youman return to the islands a different band from the one that played here a few times during the '90s. With four albums (1995's "Blue Room," 1996's "Oz Factor," 1998's "Unwritten Law" and "Elva") under their belts and over a decade of street credibility on the San Diego punk scene, Unwritten Law's self-described "'90s rock and roll" has finally propelled the group into mainstream stardom with their lead single "Seein' Red."
"It's cool to be where we're at, even though we're still beating our heads against the ground a little bit," Morris said. "As you get older, it's a cliché, but you mature; that's just what happens. By being around so long and just knowing what we're capable of ... we go up there with confidence and say, 'We're gonna tear this place apart' instead of going, 'I hope this goes well.'"
One thing that hasn't changed about the guys is their willingness to settle the group's differences with violence. Over the years, band members have visited emergency rooms with cuts, broken ribs, dislocated shoulders and other injuries suffered while brawling with each other.
"I think that's part of being in a band for so long," Morris said with a laugh. "The glory is f---ing gone, you know what I mean? We're not even friends any more -- we're like brothers. So we fight and argue like brothers, and then we make up and go do our job.
"We were never really good at talking, but who is? It's the only way we know how to get our aggressions out," he said.
Tomorrow's Honolulu show will be Unwritten Law's last concert for a month or so while the group recharges its batteries and gets ready to head back into the studio. The four-year gap between their 1998 self-titled album and this year's "Elva" was a bit too long for the band's liking, according to Morris.
"I think we're going to go in and start another record so we don't lag," he said. "We've got a two-week run in December, but November is pretty much going to be just hanging out and writing stuff.
"And we're definitely going to throw some curveballs in there, for sure."
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