USERUNAUTHORIZED

The four piece hardcore punk act is composed of Sage, Johnny, Rooster, and Isabella. With all four members being in their early 20’s and late teens, User Unauthorized became known in the Austin underground music scene from playing countless shows since 2018. They went on a U.S. tour in 2022.

Rooster Underwood, the drummer and the youngest member of the band said, “It was our singer, Sage, and my brother, Johnny, who started it. And I had already been playing for about a year. So they brought me into it. Our guitarist, we got just a friend from my brother and Sage, Isabella.”

Despite being only seventeen, Rooster’s been in the band for about 5 years. “When I was a baby, I was on something called the Warped Tour, which was a [rock] festival in the early 2000s. I was basically born into that kind of music.” When asked about the inspiration for the way he writes music,

User Unauthorized playing a gig at Kick Butt Coffee, a popular punk venue in ATX. Image curtesy of Bensiive.

Rooster said, “I think a lot just has to do with how I grew up. The message of that straight edge hardcore, I guess another sort of subgenre of punk, has been just dealing with drug abuse and stuff like that. A band called Minor Threat, they inspired me and my brother a lot. For their message: straight edge: like no drugs, no alcohol. It’s a very family feeling because everyone in that scene is so closely related and they’re just good people.”

Influences from legendary hardcore bands like Minor Threat and Black Flag can be heard clearly from User Unauthorized’s music. Yet they added their own twist to the raw and abrasive sound of hardcore punk. “I think our lyrics are very politically infused. A lot of other Hardcore is more just talking about how they’re going to beat somebody up or whatev er it is, you know, but I think it’s more political,” said Rooster. “And I think us as people, we have such a good relationship with the band. All of us are just best friends. So when we play, we’re really having fun. And I think you can also tell that we’re really angry.”

Rooster started playing drums 6 years ago, at the age of 11. “As a teenager, you have anger, you want to just, beat something. I don’t experience that too much, but I know a lot of my peers do relate to that. You can let out a lot in your instrument, especially when writing [music],” he said. “It’s definitely good for my emotions, just being able to write music. I think it’s something that makes everyone a little more calm. For me at least, just writing and I think playing shows too. It’s such a feeling that’s indescribable to me; being seen, even if it’s one person or one hundred, watching you do what you want to do for a living or just what you love doing. It’s definitely a great feeling.”