UNWOUND Announces Reunion Tour With Jared Warren On Bass

When I moved to the city of Tumwater, Washington back in 2000, I had only a spotty understanding of the greater Olympia area that I was now living in. I knew just enough about The Evergreen State College which I would be attending, I was aware that Nirvana spent some formative time in OLY, and I knew a decent amount about K Records and their roster, but I didn’t have an overwhelming familiarity with the deeper history or local culture. Kill Rock Stars was a label that I associated with Eliott Smith, Bikini Kill, and Bratmobile. I knew who Sleater Kinney was, but I was more interested in the street in Lacey, Washington that they named themselves after, because that’s where the good taco truck was located. Meanwhile, the person manning the burrito station in the College Activities Building was former KARP/future Big Business and Melvins bassist, Jared Warren. One particular project whose name I’d heard thrown around here and there was UNWOUND, but, although they seemed to command a tremendous amount of respect in the small community  — one guy I knew even had a Future Of What tattoo — I never, personally discovered how great they were until it was way too late and they no longer existed. I didn’t know that, like KARP, UNWOUND was from Tumwater and I definitely know that they were the first project to release a non-spoken word recording on Kill Rock Stars helping to change the trajectory of the label moving forward. Now, 20 years after their dissolution, it seems that the post-hardcore trio is getting back together for a small run of live dates much to the excitement of their old dedicated fanbase that misses them, as well as the rest of us who simply missed them the first time around.

UNWOUND is a band that really seemed to throw it all into their music; any critical or commercial success being less than an afterthought. Their dedication to the craft and staying true to their artistic visions may not have resulted in mansions and piles of cash, but it’s definitely left them with a legacy built on integrity, as they proved to be the kind of band that not only makes people want to start bands of their own, but inspires fans to explore what we are capable of as creative individuals. UNWOUND was the sum of the members that comprised it: Vern Rumsey‘s deep, infectious and winding bass grooves; Sara Lund‘s pummeling inventive drum work; and Justin Trosper’s powerful yet understated vocals and versatile guitar work organically shifting from beautiful distorted post-rock-esque washes of sound and screeching reverb to intricate clever math rock phrasing or aggressive punk. Whether you want to consider their raw uncompromising output as post-hardcore, noise-rock, or anything else, what makes them difficult to categorize is that their sound is always uniquely their own.

Over a series of highly inventive and exhilarating albums produced throughout the 1990s, they consistently built on, contorted, and expanded their sound into new and unexpected territory, proving to be more and more dynamic until the very end. In fact, many consider their final studio LP, Leave Turn Inside You to be their very best. For this swan song double-LP, which was recorded in the homemade studio, they brought in original drummer, Brandt Sandeno to contribute in a variety of capacities including backing vocals, mellotron harpsichord, organ, and vibraphone, as well as to share engineering and tape-operating duties with the rest of the band. Trosper also played synthesizer, Fender Rhoades, and mellotron; Rumsey played some organ; they brought in a cello player for one track; and superstar drummer, Janet Weiss (Sleater-Kinney, Quasi, Wild Flag, The Jicks) even contributed some backing vocals. This was a band that was only getting more interesting and experimenting, not one that seemed like they were ready to call it quits, but by April of 2002 it all collapsed at an artistic high point. There were more moving parts now with the expanded set up and Lund was living in Portland, but most of all, Vern recently had a child and was dealing with an excessive drinking habit.  According to Rumsey, himself, he simply wasn’t pulling his weight the way he previously and he even believed that, if he could have kept his “shit together” the band could have continued recording and touring, but he simply “lost [his] strength, unfortunately.”

A reunion for UNWOUND never seemed in the cards, but a 2012 reissue campaign by the Numero Group, including both individual albums and extensive box sets featuring rare and unreleased material, helped to increase the notoriety and substantially expand the fanbase of the group beyond what they ever achieved while they were still active. In included liner notes, all 3 members completely dismissed the idea of ever reunited. As Lund recounts, “When we put Unwound on the shelf in 2002, we never thought we’d return to the project.” When Vern Rumsey passed away in 2020, that idea seemed to all but solidify that reality. Ironically, “Covid’s isolation and Rumsey’s absence only made the idea of circling back stronger,” according to the new press release announcing a string of 7 upcoming tour dates taking place in 2023. The first official practice took place in April, 20 years to the month of their official breakup. Attempting to fill the massive crater left by the immeasurably talented Vern will be Jared Warren. As the press release claims, Warren is “arguably Vern’s original protege,” with Rumsey having produced heavily for KARP. Additionally, Rumsey and Warren both received vocal credits on a 1995 album for Sara Lund‘s other band, Witchy Poo. Beyond that, Lund contributed photography for the 1998 album, Take You Higher, by Jared‘s post-KARP project, Tight Bros From Way Back When. This is to say that, although Rumsey is no longer with us, it’s reassuring to know that his legacy is being honored with his old position placed in the (extremely capable) hands of family. To fully fill out the sound and reduce the “burden of three,” Scott Seckington has also been recruited to contribute additional guitar and keyboards. Along with Lund, Seckington is a member of Trosper‘s solo project-turned… something larger, Nocturnal Habits.

For a band with such a consistent and remarkable catalog that clearly had limitless potential, it’s a shame that more didn’t come of it, so it truly is an amazing announcement that this previously relentless touring act will be back on stage together performing these tunes. Who knows, maybe they’ll even wind up doing more than 7 dates, when all is said and done. As Justin Trosper sees it, “starting over again is a rebellious act against our failure.”

Check out the full list of tour dates below

UNWOUND TOUR DATES

Feb 3 – Seattle, WA – Showbox

Feb 6 – Portland, OR – Revolution Hall

Feb 10 – San Francisco, CA – The Regency Ballroom

Feb 14 – Los Angeles, CA – The Wiltern

Mar 7 – Chicago, IL – Thalia Hall

Mar 10 – New York, NY – Irving Plaza

Mar 15 – Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer