PROVIDENCE, R.I.--It’s nearing midnight on a freezing Tuesday evening when Unified Theory [ tickets ] takes the stage in a small club filled more with smoke than with patrons--a far cry from the previous night’s sold-out show in New York City. Thanksgiving is two days away, and many of the city’s college students--a number of whom would probably otherwise be at this show--have likely already headed out of state to beat the impending rush of holiday travelers. Undaunted, the group begins an hour-long set comprised of material from its self-titled debut.

The crowd's enthusiasm compensates for its half-capacity size. Many audience members know the songs, particularly the burgeoning hit “California.” At least as many are hearing the songs for the first time, drawn instead by what the average passerby would never guess upon peering through the club’s front doors: Unified Theory’s lineup features a pedigree that reads like a “Who’s Who” list of alt-rock.

Theoretically speaking

“We’re working for it,” said UT guitarist Christopher Thorn of the band's quest for success while sitting in a hotel lounge earlier that same night. “Obviously, we have maybe a little head start just from the past, and people are at least coming out to check us out because of that, but we’re struggling like every other band.”

The band’s past does, indeed, command attention. Both Thorn and bassist Brad Smith were members of the now-defunct Blind Melon, which disbanded following frontman Shannon Hoon's fatal drug-overdose in 1995. Drummer Dave Krusen, meanwhile, was the original skin-basher for Pearl Jam, and played on that band’s stratospherically successful debut album, “Ten.” He also manned the kit for Candlebox in the late ‘90s.

Following Hoon’s death, Thorn went on to produce records, including Krusen’s post-Pearl Jam project Diamond Star Halo, and Smith’s forthcoming solo record. It’s no surprise, then, that they--along with frontman Chris Shinn--would eventually come together to form Unified Theory.

“I was living in Seattle, and I moved back to Los Angeles [in 1998] and just started looking for something,” said Thorn. “I didn’t know whether I was going to join a band or find a singer or form my own band.”

What he ultimately found was singer-guitarist Shinn, who was, at that time, fronting a solo project called Celia Green. “I was just totally floored by his voice,” said Thorn, adding that Shinn was not initially interested in ending Celia Green. “He definitely made it very clear that he didn’t want to be the ‘new’ singer for Blind Melon. I explained to him, ‘Look, I’m not trying to repeat myself. I want to start a whole new band.’ We talked about me joining his band, but I really wanted him to meet Brad. I knew I wanted to work with Brad.”

To that end, Thorn invited Shinn to Seattle, where Smith joined the two for a low-key trial session.

“The three of us wrote ‘Passive’ and ‘Cessna’ in the first couple days,” said Thorn. “We were just sort of checking each other out. You never know if it’s going to work. You try to sit down and collaborate, which is almost sex, you know what I mean? It’s such an intimate thing to collaborate with somebody. You know how it is--either you hit it off or you don’t. And we did.”

Critical mass

Despite the trio’s early success, Unified Theory’s future quickly looked uncertain when Thorn was tapped to join Live for some 1998 tour dates.

“A lot happened within that same week that I met Chris,” Thorn recalled. “The guys from Live called and asked me to go tour with them and sort of be in their band. [Live frontman] Ed [Kowalczyk] wanted to just sing, so they wanted a guitar player. I had just met Chris, and I was like, ‘Oh, Jesus, what do I do? Do I take the easy road?’”

Rather than turn his back on his fledgling band, Thorn committed to only two weeks on the Live tour while Shinn and Smith continued to collaborate.

“Chris just lived at my house while I went off and toured with Live,” he continued. “It was good, because he and Brad got a chance to hang out and get to know each other.”

In spite of his plan to get back to work with Shinn and Smith right away, the members of Live were hoping to keep Thorn on board. The guitarist said that he was tempted, but felt so strongly about his new project that he knew what he had to do.

“I called Ed and [Live drummer] Chad [Gracey] and was just like, ‘It’s the most flattering thing, but I gotta try to do my own thing.’ And they were totally cool. But they said, ‘Well, that’s cool, but we’re getting ready to go into the studio next week because we’re all rehearsed now. We really want you to play on the record. Can you push back putting together your band to make this record with us?’ I went to Brad and Chris and I was like, ‘OK, I hate to do this. I know we’re trying to start a band here, but the guys want me to play on the record.’ And they were like, ‘You’d be a dumb-ass to not do it.’”

After his sessions with Live, Thorn returned to concentrate on Unified Theory. Drummer Dave Krusen, who was still with Candlebox at the time, was brought in to help out on a temporary basis.

“It just so happened that Dave was off tour with Candlebox at that same time, so we called him in to play on ‘Passive’ and ‘Cessna' ..." Thorn continued. “Then he left [to tour] for, like, eight months and we didn’t think we could get him in the band, because he was busy. So we auditioned all these drummers, and then he called us and said, ‘I’m not gonna stay with Candlebox.’”

Quantum leap

And so Unified Theory was born. The band recorded “Unified Theory” (Universal/3:33) and released the album in August. The group members’ collective talent is clearly evidenced on the disc, which features 12 uniformly top-notch songs that hearken back to its Blind Melon and Pearl Jam roots while simultaneously sounding new and refreshing.

With its first dozen songs in tow, Unified Theory set out on tour earlier this year. Fittingly, the group was invited in September to open a batch of dates for Live and Counting Crows during the two groups’ co-headlining tour. An opening slot with VAST followed before the band headed out on its current headlining club tour.

When asked how he feels about starting back at square one with a new group, Thorn was convincingly optimistic.

“It feels great. I don’t know if I have to tell myself that or if I truly believe it, but I truly think that it is great. It feels good to work for something--I know I sound like a dad now, that’s something a dad would say--but if someone just gives you something, you appreciate it for a few moments. When success does come--however you measure that--I feel that we will have worked for it.”

Thorn emphasized his point by recounting an experience he had when the band first hit the road for a few dates before its album was released.

“We did this tour before we got signed [to Universal]. We actually drove in Chris’ car down the West Coast and did these dates in San Francisco. I was pulling my stuff off of the stage … I hadn’t lifted my own gear in like years. I always had a crew. But I didn’t really think about it. I was just psyched to be in a good band. And some fan came up and he was just like, ‘Man, isn’t it weird that you played Woodstock [‘94] a few years ago and now you’re lifting your own gear?’ At the time, I was like, ‘You know what? I haven’t even thought about it. That was then, this is now. I got to play my guitar tonight.’"