LAW is a rock band based out of Los Angeles County, CA that was founded in 2013 in Long Beach, CA. The band consists of Jakob Nowell (Vocals), Nick Aguilar (Drums), Aidan Palacios (Guitar), and Logun Spellacy (Bass). LAW is currently based out of LA County and has been playing regular shows since 2013. They are currently writing new music and seeking to spread their message through straightforward, to-the-point, no-nonsense rock music. Their style consists of a heavy emphasis on loud, live sound with thunderous basslines, sonorous solos, furious drums and wailing vocals.

Formative Years

The founders of LAW are Jakob Nowell, Dakota Ethridge and Nick Aguilar. In early 2012, Nowell and Ethridge would begin creating music for their would-be band and began forming plans to leave their homes in San Diego to start a project in Long Beach City. After showing their early work and sharing their plans with Michael “Miguel” Happoldt, founder of Skunk Records, Happoldt would go on to assist them in their beginning endeavors. It was on March 16, 2012 that Happoldt would find himself at a Mike Watt & the Missingmen show at DiPiazza’s Restaurant and Venue in Long Beach. It was there that he noticed 15 year old drummer, Nick Aguilar, sitting in with the Missingmen. Aguilar got an email from Watt several weeks later noting that Happoldt wanted Aguilar to play drums for Nowell and Ethridge’s band. Happoldt arranged for Nowell, Ethridge and Aguilar to meet up several times and play through the material that Nowell and Ethridge had created. It was from these early sessions that LAW was formed. Nowell and Ethridge (ages 17 and 18 respectively at the time) would then move out of their homes in San Diego and move up to Long Beach to begin their new lives with 15 year old Aguilar as members of LAW.

2013; Learning the Ropes and Gaining New Hopes

LAW’s first show was at DiPiazza’s in Long Beach, CA on June 14, 2013 with Mike Watt & the Missingmen, followed one month later by a show with Perro Bravo (Michael Happoldt’s project) at the same venue. A few days later, LAW played in Ocean Beach, San Diego at the OB Block Party, and at the Malibu Inn in Malibu, CA with Perro Bravo and The Expendables.

December 8, 2013, LAW played a show with Slightly Stoopid and Perro Bravo at SOMA in San Diego, CA. This gig was a benefit for Toys For Tots, and was LAW’s first show with Slightly Stoopid.

LAW took most of this time to forge their earlier style, play gigs when possible and craft the songs that would later be on their first release.

2014; Playing Shows as the Band Still Grows

On January, 14th, 2014 Perro Bravo’s Facebook page announced Skunk Records 25th Anniversary shows. Law performed at the Observatory in Santa Ana, The Roxy in Hollywood, and Jakob made an appearance during “Carress Me Down” during the Skunk Records 25th Anniversary set at California Roots Festival in May of 2014.

Nowell, Ethridge and Aguilar continued to diligently and passionately hone their craft as musicians and devise a plan for their next steps. It was during this time that Nowell and Ethridge were introduced to guitarist and philanthropist Aidan Palacios. It was Aguilar that first introduced Palacios into the mix, the two having played in several bands before their time in LAW. After jamming with the band for only a short while the three members of LAW knew that they needed Palacios’ unique talents on their team. This marked a major turning point in the style of LAW, adding more deliberate guitar sections, blistering leads and immense new tones.

Palacios would go on to record guitar tracks on the band’s first release “Mild Lawtism” and would continue to aid in the songwriting process for future releases yet to come.

2015; A First Release for the New Four Piece

LAW, now as a four-piece, continued to play shows throughout 2015, with more frequency than before yet spent the majority of their time recording their debut release, “Mild Lawtism.” This record is an 8 song EP released via Skunk Records and produced by Mic “Dangerously” De La Torre of Long Beach band Zen Robbi. LAW played an EP release party at Clancy’s Irish Pub in Long Beach, CA on August 30, 2015 with Corn Doggy Dog & the Half LB and Better Heroes.

After solidifying their first release, LAW would continue playing shows yet opted not to tour immediately to promote their EP. This deliberate choice was due in part to internal band directional decisions but was mostly due to the bands slight dissatisfaction with the music they were producing. The band’s sound was constantly changing and they wanted to promote a record that reflected a more accurate depiction of their live sound.

The band would continue to feverishly write new material and play regular shows.

2016; A New Face and a Faster Pace

In April of 2016, Dakota Ethridge resigned from the band to pursue other musical and creative outlets. It was during this time that bassist and ex-marine Logun Spellacy would begin jamming with the band during their practices. Spellacy is the cousin of Palacios and his talent and passion for music was undeniable. It was because of this that the band would ask to have him be a permanent residing member. This marked the final phase in the early evolution of the young band. Having discovered a newer and heavier live sound with the addition of Spellacy, the band would discover a newfound confidence and would begin preparations for their first tour.

The band embarked on their first tour, a California run called the “No Fun Allowed Tour” starting in early June of 2016 and ending late July 2016. Following the end of the tour, LAW set out to record “Toxic” a 4 track EP recorded at The Compound Studio in Long Beach. This record mark a gravely significant time for LAW. The EP was their final goodbye to the stylistic choices of their past. They would seek to bury the hatchet so to speak with that style and would use the release to mark a sonic departure from “Mild Lawtism” and its contemporaries.

After releasing “Toxic” the band would spend the majority of the year doing smaller tours outside of the state, most notably in Washington, Arizona and Nevada. LAW continues to seek out show dates farther and farther from their reach in Los Angeles County. The band continues to grow stylistically and personally each and every day from working with one another. From the trials and tribulations of their indomitable friendship and the passion they have for playing honest live music, LAW has developed a new sound that is a far cry from their early work.

Currently

LAW is in the process of recording their new and unheard songs to debut their true style in a full length release. Their sound now is an experimental mix of Queens of the Stone Age, Alice in Chains and Red Hot Chili Peppers. The band is playing many shows every weekend and is seeking to expand. The band has a heavy emphasis on live sound and would ask the listener to come out to a show near them to judge for themselves.