Unwritten Law @ Marquee Theatre

When life gives you lemons, they say, make lemonade. But sometimes life throws you a double-fudge chocolate cake. That's sorta what happened to heavy-rock outfit Unwritten Law. In 2002, just after the mainstream success of their single "Seein' Red," the five-piece (now four-piece) band from Poway, California, was asked to record an episode of VH1's Music in High Places. (In case you forgot, it was a show where musicians were taken to picturesque natural settings to perform. It was referred to as, "National Geographic for the MTV and VH1 generation.") Here's the icing on that proverbial cake: Rumor has it they were asked by mistake: The network meant to contact local heroes Jimmy Eat World but somehow got in touch with Unwritten Law. Their performance from Yellowstone National Park was then released as an album and DVD, and the track "Rest of My Life" got serious radio play. Nine years later, the band is on the road, gearing up for summer's Warped Tour, and is set to release its sixth studio album, Swan, at the end of this month. Talk about learning how to roll with the punches.