The Life Story of Justin Rock (Justin Conway)
Part 1 – Early Life
Justin Conway was born on May 25, 1965 in Boston. He was raised a normal life up until he was 4. His mother left his family when she got into an argument with his father. She sped off in her car and got into a car accident and died. His father was mad more than sad. Him and his father moved to New York City in 1970. He got very attached to the city. He grew up in Manhattan and then moved again to Brooklyn. Although Manhattan was right across the river, he still was annoyed. He remained in Brooklyn but moved apartments a lot. By 1976 on his 11th birthday, he had to move to a nice house in Bronx. Even though it was nicer he was mad because it was his 6th time moving. When he turned 12, he got his first guitar and let out his anger on it.
Part 2 – Musical Beginnings and Assassins
Justin Conway started playing punk rock and became physically strong. He started a punk rock band and was booked his first show at CBGB in Manhattan in 1979. He became a very independent person. He started getting picked on at school and ended these arguments with fistfights in which he often won. In 1979 they released their first album and went by the name "The Unsure". They were part of the Punk Rock revolution in London and New York City in the late 1970s. By 1980 and 1981 he had gained local fame for his fights and his music and even though the genre was fading away, they released a second album in 1981. He gained the stage name, Justin Rock. This is when the Assassins showed interest in him. The Unsure's second album spawned a successful tour in the area and they became very locally popular in the State of New York.
They approached him and much like his ancestor, Jason but different at the same time, said no because he said "I do not fight for the law. You can contact me but chances of me becoming an Assassin are very slim. But I will support you.". The Assassins were annoyed but accepted this deal.
Part 3 – The 1980s Missions
Justin's band started slowing down because of new wave and Synthpop. He refused to change his band's style because then it would go against punk. So his band went on a hiatus in 1982. This gave the Assassins an opportunity. In 1982 they asked him to go on missions from 1983-1986. He chose to accept. He never became a full on assassin. He refused to kill people but crippled them claimed to enjoy the missions because it made him feel very popular. One of his missions was a manager at a major record label. He tried to get Justin to sign a deal with him but he refused because it would go against punk. Then the major label tried banning Justin from music but the court called it illegal and the major label was fined. He gained fame with the Assassins but still refused to join. The Assassins started praising Justin because he stuck to his word. There was occasions where he got in trouble with the law but that was mostly because he was young (Ages 18-21). During a mission in East Bay, California in 1986, he met a women, fell in love, had a child witch is me and moved there. After the missions he restarted his music career. But the Assassins also offered him money and a mansion but he refused and wanted to live in East Bay in a small house.
Part 4 – Punk Rock Revival and Restart of Musical Career and Fighting Major Label Templars
In 1987 all of his band mates moved to the East Bay area and when the band restarted in August of 1987, they became part of the punk-rock revival in the Late 80s to the early 90s. They signed a deal with Lookout! Records in 1988 and released their third album and first album with Lookout. The Assassins contacted him once again so he could go on missions but he refused and gave them money instead. The Unsure played at 924 Gilman Street along side Sweet Children (Green Day), Operation Ivy, Rancid, and the Offspring. The Unsure gained more popularity within the bay area and played many shows in the area. They released their fourth album in 1990 and went on tour in the state of California.
While on tour in 1991, The Unsure released a live EP. This angered Justin's wife causing a divorce because she thought he cared too much about the band. Justin wrote a song about it and it became a local hit. His wife did not approve of the song but because there was no names mentioned the song was alright. I stayed with my father and thought he was doing the right thing because he loved music.
The band finished their tour and in 1992 started recording their 5th album. While recording their 5th album, Templars at Reprise Records were trying to make The Unsure sign a deal with them, a major record label, that would cause them to go against punk. They said no. Justin lead riots in East Bay and San Francisco against the major labels and unknowingly the Templars, the Assassins worst enemies. This caused them to push the release of their 5th album to 1994. The 5th album was their most successful and sold thousands. But it was not as much as Green Day's "Dookie" that sold over 14 million. But The Unsure's album was enough to get them to play shows in pubs and venues in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York City, and Boston with a minor label and not selling out.
In San Francisco on Tour, Justin met a punk woman while playing a show and took her to the local diner after the show. He found out that she supported the Assassins and started dating. They loved each other and by 1996 they got married but had no children.
Things were going well for them. But then more major label templars kept on pushing them to sign a major label and they still refused. But most of their fellow punk bands had already signed major labels. Justin started to see no future for The Unsure. In 1998 when Lookout Records was bought by a major label The Unsure broke up but said they would be back.
Part 5 - Solo Career, Reunion
Almost right after the break up of The Unsure, Justin started his independent label and started researching the Assassins and Templars. Justin started getting so interested in them that he started writing punk songs about them as a solo artist. He released his solo album in the year 2000. Both the Templars and Assassins got annoyed by the album and confronted him. He refused to stop selling the album and playing shows. So to get them even more mad he released a live album about the Assassins and Templars in 2001. Even though he was mad at both the Assassins and Templars he started hunting down Templars in the area that were corrupting the music industry between 2001-2003 but not killing them. He was known to the general public once again as a "punk hero". His fame got the Templars enraged but the Assassins were not happy either because he made it public.
Also his fame caused a unexpected "The Unsure" reunion funded by the Epitaph independent label in 2004 in remembrance of their successful 1994 album. They went on a tour just as big as the one 10 years earlier. They played a lot of their music as well as some of Justin's solo Assassin and Templar songs. The Unsure then said a statement "No man rules the world. No man rules the town. We all rule everything in the anarchy of a nation "led" by a corrupt government persuaded by two large organizations.". This enraged the Assassins and Templars even more. But this statement caused their reunion to become even more popular. Once the reunion was over people demanded that The Unsure would get back together. Justin released another solo album in 2005 and The Unsure officially got back together in 2006 under the minor label Epitaph Records.
Part 6 - The Unsure Back together to Justin Today
The Unsure released their 6th studio album in 2007. The Assassins and the Templars did not mind the release of this album. They played at 924 Gilman for the first time in 13 years. The release of the 6th album was a success because it was their first album in 13 years. The Unsure started recording another Album but decided not to release a 7th album in 2010 but instead released a compilation of demos and a live album instead. From 2010-2013 the Assassins tried to contact him but he never answered. So in 2013 the Assassins found out that Justin had been ignoring them. Justin knew that he was going to be questioned so he released The Unsure's Seventh album in 2014. Justin announced another album already and released their 8th album in the summer of 2015. The Unsure are currently on tour in California, Chicago, and New York City and are playing the clubs again. The Unsure is planning on releasing on a regular basis even with pressure from the Assassins.
Part 7 - Legacy
Even though he is still alive his legacy caused even more punk music in New York and California. The Assassins were proud of him because he stuck to all of his beliefs in music and the Assassins. He even caused me to start making music. My name is Matthew Conway and I am his son he is a great father and is incredibly talented. He is a great person and never gives up on anything. I will continue to tell the stories of more of my ancestors.