Jail is a
pretty strange place to resurrect a band but that's where Nate Lawler was
'residing' when he decided it was time to put back the pieces of his life.
Perhaps a little perspective is needed...
It was early 2000, Lawler was young, successful, and
the frontman/songwriter for the Orange County-based punk band Death on
Wednesday. They were up-and-comers, touring with the likes of Social
Distortion, Unwritten Law and Face To Face. The group was selling out
decent-sized venues, had an active fan base and a couple of records under their
belt. They were courted by all of the majors – Virgin, Capitol, Nitro to name
but a few – but ended up going with an indie label on a handshake deal. Lawler
wasn't fond of paperwork and as a result, he didn't see much paperwork in
return. No royalty statements, no checks, nothing despite the fact their songs
were used for TV, feature films, and video. The label ended up going bankrupt
and Lawler went on a bender.
Lost in a fog of alcohol and drugs, Lawler went off
the deep end for a spell. He even spent a little time in the slammer for his
bad-boy behavior. But it was there where he found sobriety and rediscovered his
passion for music. After a stint in rehab, Lawler put his life in order and
resurrected Death on Wednesday after an eight-year hiatus. He also sued the
defunct label for lost royalties and ownership of his masters. He whiffed on
royalties, but got back his catalog. He's lucky and knows it.
“If I could do it all over again, sure I would do some
things different. Who wouldn’t?” Lawler says today. “But that’s what life is
about. Learning from the mistakes and growing as a person. Everything I’ve done
and gone through – good and bad – have made me who I am today. I have no
regrets.”
But that was then and this is now. Lawler tested the
Death on Wednesday waters and has discovered a fierce loyal and growing fan
base that not only remembered the band and their cool tunes, but have waited
patiently for new material. Lawler's rebooted band includes Kevin Clark on
bass; Hunter Zinkil on lead guitar and Joel Ronomoe on drums.
Lawler says he feels fortunate he and the band are
getting a second chance.
“There were some really dark times that I went through
and now to be on the other end of it really makes me appreciate the important
things in life,” Lawler said. “Music is such a gift and a release for me, and I
lost sight of that for a while. ”
Death on Wednesday now has a clear vision and are
re-releasing material from their first two albums on Wes Geer's Chanl Records –
a song a week – on Wednesdays. Each song will stream on their YouTube channel
for 24 hours, after which fans can purchase on iTunes. Revenue from those songs
will help fund the band's new album, appropriately titled No Regrets. No Regrets is
scheduled for a fall release, with the first single (and Death on Wednesday’s
first new song in years) ready in early May.
For more information about Death on Wednesday, visit
the band's Facebook and Twitter pages:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DeathOnWed
Media inquiries:
Chanl Records/Wes Geer
wes@chanlrecords.com
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