He Is We is an

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and sub ...

band from

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, Washington, Olympia, and northwest of Mount ...

, fronted by lead singer, Rachel Taylor.

Career

2008–2011: Formation and early years

Rachel Taylor and Trevor Kelly met while working at Ted Brown Music Company, a music store in their hometown of

. Rachel and Trevor were the founding duo that comprised He Is We. The touring members initially included Harrison Allen (drums), Carman Kubanda (guitar), and Aaron Campbell (keyboard/guitar). Later, Jake Randle (bass guitar) replaced Aaron Campbell. He Is We initially relied on social networking, using websites such as Myspace and

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

. In 2009, they were named

PureVolume PureVolume (formerly Unborn Media) was a website for uploading and streaming of music files, the first independently run of its type. PureVolume was created by Unborn Media, Inc; Mitchell Pavao; Brett Woitunski; and Nate Hudson, all from the Univer ...

's number one unsigned band of the year. This online presence and the release of an album of old demos in February 2010 led to their signing with

Universal Motown Records Universal Motown Records was an American record label that operated as a division of Universal Motown Republic Group. It was the contemporary incarnation of the legendary Motown Records label, and the "urban" half of UMG, although there were some ...

. Prior to the release of ''

My Forever ''My Forever'' is the debut album by the indie pop band He Is We. Aaron Gillespie also worked on this album. Critical reception Corey Apar of AllMusic said He is We "set the bar pretty high on their debut album", praising Rachel Taylor's vocals ...

'', He Is We toured with

The Rocket Summer The Rocket Summer is the solo-project of Bryce Avary, a multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, and record producer based in Dallas–Fort Worth, Texas. He writes and produces every song on his records, and plays every instrument on them. H ...

. Their debut album ''

'' hit number 6 on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

''s Heatseekers Album Charts. On their website, He Is We says that the start of the band came from "the idea that someone who you pass everyday can influence the rest of your life ... and you would never know."

2012–2017: Lineup changes, She Is We, and other releases

In early 2012, Rachel Taylor was diagnosed with

ankylosing spondylitis Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a type of arthritis characterized by long-term inflammation of the joints of the spine typically where the spine joins the pelvis. Occasionally areas affected may include other joints such as the shoulders or hip ...

, and Stevie Scott filled in for the remainder of the tour. Despite being officially replaced by Scott in August, and having stated "Walking away from the label would mean that I would be walking away from the He Is We name but I would regain my freedom to be me. I would regain my ability to connect with you fans 100% with my words. I wouldn't feel like I can only release what THEY want me to. I could be the soul that longs to escape this dreary vessel.", she returned to the band at the end of October 2012, while Trevor Kelly departed to form his own band. After Kelly left with Stevie Scott in 2012, Rachel continued to pursue the project herself. She said that she planned to release new music and tour in 2013. In 2013, their song "All About Us", with

Aaron Gillespie Aaron Roderick Gillespie (born July 18, 1983) is an American musician, best known for being the original and current drummer and clean vocalist for the metalcore band Underoath and the lead singer and rhythm guitarist for the alternative rock ...

, was included on '' The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones'' soundtrack. Despite rumors surfaced of her changing the name of He Is We and moving in a new direction, she insisted that the rumors were completely untrue and she would do no such thing. However, on June 23, 2014, Rachel Taylor broke away as a solo artist with her debut EP, ''Come Alive''. In August 2015, Taylor announced she was launching "a He Is We 2.0" with Adamm Mitchell entitled She Is We. On October 22, 2015, She Is We released their first single "Boomerang" and announced that their debut album ''War'' would be available for pre-order on October 23, 2015. It was released by

Vanguard Records Vanguard Recording Society is an American record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York City. It was a primarily classical label at its peak in the 1950s and 1960s, but also has a catalogue of recordings by a n ...

on March 18, 2016. ''War'' was made available to stream prior to release on Billboard's website on March 11, 2016. In August 2016, Taylor announced that she had reunited with bandmate Trevor Kelly and that they were writing new songs. In September 2016, Taylor and Kelly announced that they would be touring together. In August 2017, touring members McBride, Mitchell and Chamberlain left the band and in September 2017, touring guitarist Macy Santa Maria accused Taylor of sexually assaulting her. Taylor responded with her own statement, denying that a sexual assault had occurred and alleging that Santa Maria's statement mischaracterized her actions and the nature of sexual assault. Following Santa Maria's allegations, He Is We were removed as support for

Secondhand Serenade Secondhand Serenade is an American rock band, led by vocalist, pianist and guitarist John Vesely. Vesely has released four studio albums to date under the name Secondhand Serenade. The name can also refer to John Vesely alone. His debut album us ...

's fall 2017 tour. On June 4, 2019, Rachel Taylor was found not guilty of sexual assault following a one-day trial in Jamestown, North Dakota. Taylor was found guilty of a separate disorderly conduct misdemeanor charge, which carries up to a $1,500 fine and potentially 30 days in jail. In March 2017, He is We released ''Fall out of Line'' to iTunes, which contains old demos and re-released songs. The band's "For the Runaways" tour (March and April 2017) promoted the album by focusing on older He Is We songs. Trevor Kelly did not tour with the band during the "For the Runaways" tour, with Hans Hessburg filling in on acoustic guitar.

2018–2022: ''He Is We Chapter One'' and ''Hold My Heart''

In March 2018, He is We released ''He Is We Chapter One'' digitally, which contains re-released songs. Rachel Taylor announced in February 2018 that she was back in studio and that she would release a new He Is We EP in March or April 2018. He Is We announced they would be touring with Vendetta Red in March 2018. He Is We's new EP, ''Hold My Heart'', was released on April 10, 2018. 2022-present : Treehouse He Is We's second studio album entitled ''Treehouse was released on'' 11 February 2022.

Discography

*''A Mess it Grows'' (2009) *''Old Demos'' (2009) :Track list: ::# I Wouldn't Mind ::# Blame It On The Rain (Acoustic Guitar) ::# Breathe ::# Pardon Me (Acoustic Guitar) ::# Blame It on the Rain (Acoustic) ::# Give It All ::# Happily Ever After (Acoustic) ::# Light A Way ::# Pardon Me ::# Pour Me Out ::# Too Beautiful ::# Radio :Note: Only studio recorded demos listed. *''

'' (2010) *''Acoustic/Live EP'' (2010) :Track list: ::# And Run (acoustic/live) ::# Happily Ever After (acoustic/live) ::# Everything You Do (acoustic/live) ::# Blame It on the Rain (acoustic/live) ::# All About Us (acoustic/live) ::# Prove You Wrong (acoustic/live) ::# Fall (acoustic/live) ::# Forever and Ever (acoustic Live) *''Skip To the Good Part - EP'' (2011) :Track list: :# All About Us (feat. Adam Young from

Owl City Owl City is an American electronic music project created in 2007 in Owatonna, Minnesota. It is one of several projects by singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Adam Young, who created the project while experimenting with music in his pa ...

) :# Our July In the Rain :# Tell Me :# Skip to the Good Part :# Our July In the Rain (Stripped Version) :# Prove You Wrong (Alternative Version) * ''Fall Out Of Line - EP'' (2017) :Track list: :# I Wouldn't Mind :# Breathe :# Pour Me Out :# Give It All :# Radio :# A Mess It Grows :# His Name :# The One About Indifference :# Pardon Me * ''He Is We Chapter One - EP'' (2017) :Track list: :# Light A Way :# Happily Ever After Acoustic :# Blame It On The Rain Acoustic :# Pardon Me Acoustic :# Too Beautiful * ''Hold My Heart - EP'' (2018) :Track list: :# Dear Adam :# Every Other Man :# All I Need :# To Infinity and Beyond :# Hold My Heart :# :# :# :# :# :# ° Treehouse (2022)

Compilation appearances

* ''Rockin' Romance 2'' – " Replay" (

Iyaz Keidran Jones (born 15 April 1987), better known by his stage name Iyaz, is a British Virgin Islands singer and songwriter, formerly signed with the record label Beluga Heights Records. He is known for his singles " Replay", "Solo" and " Pretty ...

cover)

References

External links

He Is We singer Rachel Taylor's new site

He Is We on Facebook

He Is We lyrics
{{Authority control Indie pop groups from Washington (state) Performing groups established in 2008 2008 establishments in Washington (state) Musical groups from Tacoma, Washington Universal Motown Records artists