"Unionsuit was a somewhat functional group, from roughly the Winter of 1996 through Spring of 1998. The core members were Michael Poorman (drums - Age of Reason, Hot Rod Circuit, etc), Aaron Turner (guitar - Isis, Old Man Gloom, Lotus Eaters, etc), and Matt Firestone (vocals - Yarn Spinner, Fireman, Earth Crisis roadie, and Punisher of Haunted Cars). There were various bass players along the way (including Josh English of Six Going on Seven, and briefly Cast Iron Hike), but none of them ultimately stayed the course for the life span of the band, brief though it was. Also occasional vocal and performance appearances were made by Chris Mereschuck, previously of Age of Reason and later on of Isis, though in these appearances Mereschuck was often unrecognizably costumed.
A 5 song demo was recorded by Brian McTernan in 1996 and included a guest vocal spot by super hero Jacob Bannon (Converge). This was technically a Hydra Head release, but of the various different versions “released” (3 covers in all, totaling about 600-700 copies) many were done by the band themselves in small batches. The following year Unionsuit recorded (again with McTernan) a 3 song 7” entitled “Accidents Happened, which proved to be the bands final recording. This 7” was released in an edition of 1000 copies courtesy of the Second Nature Recordings company, 100 or so of which were pressed on white vinyl.
In the short lifetime of the band the borders of New England were rarely breached - most performances took place in and around Boston as well as a select few further away, including Montreal, Providence, etc. With opportunities to open for bands Like Kiss It Goodbye, Converge, Overcast, maybe Cave In And Piebald, Unionsuit usually did little more in the live setting than embarrass themselves, but had a good time none the less. The band’s final show took place at some festival in Northampton with little notice from anyone, though Unionsuit’s two biggest supporters Mark Thompson and Dan Askew feigned slight disappointment when news of the event reached their ears. To this day Mark Thompson still claims he wants to release a Unionsuit discography, but the surviving members of the band refuse to let him sully his good name with their less the sterling reputation by having their shoddy musicianship more permanently documented and disseminated. After breaking up the members quickly moved on to other projects (Isis, Hot Rod Circuit, etc.) or became male models and international drug smugglers."
download / last.fm
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