We Are the Union is an American

ska punk Ska punk (also spelled ska-punk) is a fusion genre that mixes ska music and punk rock music together. (sometimes spelled skacore) is a subgenre of ska punk that mixes ska with hardcore punk. Early ska punk mixed both 2 tone and ska with har ...

band from Ann Arbor, Michigan formed in 2005. The band is now based out of Michigan, California and Florida. The band has had numerous lineup changes since its inception, with vocalist/guitarist Reade Wolcott and bassist Brandon Benson as the only remaining original members. As of 2022, their live lineup often features guest horn players and touring members.

History

Early years and hiatus (2005–2013)

The band formed in August 2005 in Ann Arbor, Michigan due to members being "unhappy with the current state of

ska music Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a ...

." Their debut album, ''Who We Are'', was released in 2007. ''Who We Are'' would be followed by albums ''Great Leaps Forward'' in 2010 and ''You Can't Hide the Sun'' in 2012. In 2013, We Are the Union announced they were going on an indefinite hiatus, stating: "We've decided to take a hiatus from active status. ��We were a band. Maybe someday we will be again. We've had some amazing times, and we truly appreciate those of you who've contributed to our existence. We've never been a supercool hype band or uberpunx beardy band, so we thank each and every one of you who listened to our music over the years."

Return, ''Self Care'', and ''Ordinary Life'' (2015–present)

The band returned from hiatus in 2015, with Jer Hunter of the

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

channel Ska Tune Network joining the band on

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrat ...

. They released their fourth studio album, ''Self Care'', in 2018. Following this album release, the band appeared on Audiotree, and released new singles in 2020. In April 2021, We Are The Union announced a new album, ''Ordinary Life'', to be released on June 4, 2021 via Bad Time Records. Along with the album announcement, lead vocalist Reade Wolcott came out as a

trans woman A trans woman or a transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Trans women have a female gender identity, may experience gender dysphoria, and may Gender transitioning, transition; this process commonly includes Feminizing horm ...

, with much of the album exploring topics surrounding her transition. In The Summer of Ska 2022, We Are the Union became the "Official Band of Pride." In November 2022, drummer Brent Friedman left the band.

Influences and musical style

We Are the Union cites

Lifetime Lifetime may refer to: * Life expectancy, the length of time a person is expected to remain alive Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Lifetime (band), a rock band from New Jersey * ''Life Time'' (Rollins Band album), by Rollins Band * ...

, Kid Dynamite, Slapstick, Less Than Jake, and This Is A Standoff as influences. More recently, they have been influenced by

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 su ...

and

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

music.

Band members

Current members

* Reade Wolcott –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

, lead vocals * Brandon Benson –

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

, backing vocals * Ricky Weber – lead guitar * Jer Hunter –

, backing vocals

Former members

* Brent Friedman –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

* Matt Belanger – trombone * Tony Weinbender – unknown, possibly trombone * Jim Margle – drums * John Ryan Jr. –

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

* Trey Cook – drums * Ben Wixson – guitar *David Lackey – trombone *Barney – trombone *Daniel Ray – trombone *Charlie Held – drums *Ryan Collins- guitar *Noah Fenton- guitar *Denni Skagelera- tenor saxophone (touring member)

Discography

Adapted from

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online audio distribution platform founded in 2007 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with headquarters in Oakland, California, US. On March 2, 2022, Bandcamp ...

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...

Tumblr Tumblr (stylized as tumblr; pronounced "tumbler") is an American microblogging and social networking website founded by David Karp in 2007 and currently owned by Automattic. The service allows users to post multimedia and other content to a ...

and

Studio albums

* ''Who We Are'' (2007) * ''Great Leaps Forward'' (2010) * ''You Can't Hide The Sun'' (2012) * ''Self Care'' (2018) * ''Ordinary Life'' (2021)

Extended plays

* ''The Grow Up Or Shut Up'' EP (2006, out of print) * ''The Gun Show Must Go On'' (2009, digital only) * ''Graveyard Grins'' (2011, digital only) * ''You Can't B-Side The Sun'' (2014) * ''Keep It Down'' (2015)

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Demos

* ''The Grow Up Or Shut Up'' EP (2006, out of print)

Live albums

YouTube releases

* Dust on the Hourglass (Acoustic In-Studio) (2018)

Music videos

* This is My Life (And It's Ending One Minute At A Time) (2008) * We're Gonna Need A Bigger Boat (2012) * Call In Dead (Lyric Video, 2015) * A Better Home (Lyric Video, 2018) * Dust on the Hourglass (Acoustic In-Studio) (2018) * What's Wrong With Me? (Lyric Video, 2018) * Your Way, Your Time (2020) * Pre-Expatriate (2020) * You're Dead / Vampire Ska (2020) * I'm Working Retail For Christmas (2020) * Morbid Obsessions (2021) * Boys Will Be Girls (2021) * Make It Easy (2021)

Compilation appearances

* Fall Sampler 2012 (2012, Paper and Plastick Records) ** Features the track "Dead End" from You Can't Hide The Sun * 2013 Summer Sampler (2013, Paper and Plastick Records) ** Features the track "Dust on the Hourglass" also from You Can't Hide The Sun

References

External links

*
We Are the Union
discography at MusicBrainz {{Authority control American ska punk musical groups Musical groups from Detroit American pop punk groups Post–third wave ska groups American ska musical groups