Jul 05 2024, 11.05am / Features
Dani Filth dishes on how he got into horror and how he actually made Tony …
Unwritten Law have created a major fuss with their tour beginning today–fans are in a frenzy and front man Scott Russo is as overwhelmed by the positive vibes as Aussies are.
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“We’re really, really excited about it!” Hysteria added to Russo’s extensive list of tour prep duties and invited him for a Hysteria Radio Takeover, where he gave us a taste of some of the tracks that mean the most to him, music that influenced him and even a few he’s heard randomly off the bat. The stories behind Russo’s track selections are wildly centred around family, friends and favourites.
THE GROWLERS//Dull Boy
From their Chinese Fountain album , this track Russo says, attracts him with its special ghost town vibe. “They’re my favourite band,” he chuckles, “That’s why they’re in here three or four times!
“This speaks to me–I’m a huge reggae fan and you can hear reggae undertones and the band’s personalities are incredible. This is a record my girlfriend showed me–she threatened to break up with me if I didn’t listen to it! The way it sounds, it’s very organic, you can hear them developing their sound in the album. The Singer of The Strokes produced their last single, they have an original and dark off-beat vibe.”
GRINSPOON//Rail Rider
Going old school with a little Aussie flavour., “I had to choose a song for the lads, it wouldn’t’ be right if I didn’t!” Russo jokes. “This song has really resonated with me lately–it’s really slutty and naughty,. I really dig it.
“There are so many tracks to choose from–this is an old school song but it’s still completely relevant.”
CAILIN RUSSO//September Rose
“This is my baby girl,” says Russo, adding an original song by his daughter Cailin into the mix. “It’s funny because she has become successful as a model, and when she was 17 she said, “Daddy, I’m ready to sing.’ She’d given me a couple of ideas of what she wanted to sound like and I put together a couple of tracks and she came back a week later with lyrics, ready to go.
“’Daddy, the lyrics are kind of gnarly,’ she told me. So I get her on the mic, she had this really cool kind of laid back vibe to her! You’ve gotta imagine this teeny tiny blonde beach girl with this real soulful voice and these really gnarly lyrics!”
UNWRITTEN LAW// Oblivion (Acoustic)
With so many great jams in their arsenal, Russo’s reasons for choosing his band’s acoustic rendition of their well-known track are intriguing to say the least. “We recorded this a few years ago and I was like, ‘People need to hear this song.’
“People were calling me telling me it was a smash, literally a million times. Yeah, it’s a special song musically and lyrically. It creeps and grows while staying very stripped. It’s a very soulful song and for me, I wanted it to see the light of day somewhere.”
THE GROWLERS//Dope On A Rope
Back around to The Growlers, “I feel like this record in particular should be way bigger than it is,” Russo says with emphasis. “It never saw the light of the day and it’s really incredible. Every venue I go to [to see them], they’ve sold out–you either know them or you don’t. This track in particular, when I’m talking to my friends who are DJs, I’m their The Growlers PR guy!
“I think it has all the features a proper radio song should have!”
CAILIN RUSSO//Hierarchy
“Cailin signed with this super manager,” Russo begins, another track by his daughter on his selection. “People noticed she’s here–she has two or three records written and her management are leaking songs one by one–this is the second song from her debut EP.
“I wish I could play you what I have on my phone, but she wouldn’t let me. This is the second song they released last October, and both of here tracks are on Spotify. It’s pretty dope.”
UNWRITTEN LAW//Huartbreaker (Acoustic)
Russo is on a roll with his acoustic selections by Unwritten Law. “You know, we really haven’t done a lot of covers and again, this is one of those songs when I got to recording, I really like this song – I had heard in my heard how it would be laid out. This is an EDM song and I just flipped it on its head.
“If you’re gonna cover a song it’s gotta be super cool or you’ve gotta beat it!”
THE GROWLERS//I’ll Be Around
Russo’s finale for his Hysteria Radio Takeover is bestowed upong his main men, The Growlers. “I was actually in a van going to the beach, I met this girl who said The Growlers had released a new record. I listened to this track and it spoke to me–the lyrics are mean–if you listen it has this offbeat underlying rhythm to it, and that’s what I love about The Growlers. I love reggae, that’s where my heart is, and this band has found a way to modernise the music but still keeping that [reggae] undertone.”
Catch Unwritten Law Playing The Black Album In Full
Thursday 8th February – The Croxton, Melbourne
Friday 9th February – The Croxton, Melbourne
Saturday 10th February – The Croxton, Melbourne
Saturday 10th February – The Zoo, Brisbane
Sunday 11th February – Cooly Hotel, Gold Coast
Tuesday 13th February – Byron Bay Brewery, Byron Bay
Wednesday 14th February – Coffs Ex, Coffs Harbour
Thursday 15th February – Small Ballroom, Newcastle
Friday 16th February – Narrabeen RSL, Northern Beaches
Saturday 17th February – The Factory Theatre, Sydney
Sunday 18th February – Prince Of Wales, Bunbury
Tuesday 20th February – Rosemount Hotel, Perth
Wednesday 21st February – Carine Tavern, Perth
Thursday 22nd February – Fowlers, Adelaide
Friday 23rd February – Pier Bandroom, Frankston
Saturday 24th February – Narrabeen RSL, Northern Beaches
Sunday 25th February – The Zoo, Brisbane
