Unified Theory [ tickets ] will return to the road in 2001 with a winter tour of the western U.S. that is set to kick off on Feb. 12, according to the group’s publicist. The Seattle-based rock act is touring in support of its self-titled debut album.

Released in August of last year, “Unified Theory” (3:33/Universal) features the group’s first radio single, “California.” “Wither,” the second single from the disc, was released to radio earlier this month, and was added to playlists at 25 alt-rock stations its first week out, the group’s publicist said.

Though “Wither” deals with the topic of drug abuse, the group has clarified in a press release that the tune is not about former Blind Melon [ tickets ] singer Shannon Hoon, who died of a drug overdose in 1995.

Unified Theory [ tickets ] guitarist Christopher Thorn and bassist Brad Smith were both members of the now-defunct Blind Melon, which disbanded following Hoon’s death.

"The song was poignantly inspired by a friend who was going down the same path as Shannon, but it's not directly about Shannon,” Smith said in the press release. “The message is quite haunting. Living your life around hard drugs is a dead end ... sometimes literally.”

Universal is offering “Wither” as a free download in its recently developed Bluematter digital format, according to Unified Theory’s official website.

Unified Theory’s upcoming outing is the latest leg of a headlining club tour that began in November. The group’s 2000 touring schedule also included opening stints on both the VAST tour and the Counting Crows [ tickets ]-Live [ tickets ] co-headlining tour.

Click here to read liveDaily's recent interview with Unified Theory guitarist Christopher Thorn.