Singer-songwriter Ben Union has made waves on Tacoma’s music scene for the past several months with a style he calls “progressive funk-rock,” a blend of fiery guitar licks, infectious pop hooks and rump-shaking grooves that first caught my attention at this year’s Art on the Ave festival.
Union, the stage name of Tacoma musician Ben Mira, will share a bill with local pop band Doxology and Tacoma rockers Roman Holiday Saturday night at Jazzbones. And that seemed like a good excuse to catch up with this up-and-coming talent and pick his brain.
We met for a pint at the Hub, a stone’s throw from his band’s practice space in downtown Tacoma. And Union, 23, traced his formative musical experiences back to age 7 and his dad’s church in Adelaide, Australia.
“There was a drummer in church, and he broke sticks every time he played, so I was into that,” Union said. “I said, ‘I wanna be a drummer.’ And I had natural rhythm and a natural ability, so it kind of came easy.”
With little formal training, he picked up keyboards, harmonica and, his weapon of choice, guitar.
And during the dozen years he’s lived in the Northwest the styles he’s dabbled in range from acoustic pop-rock songs he played at local coffee shops as a teen to the more groove-oriented material he started writing three years ago.
“We started the whole (live) Ben Union music thing back in, like, August ’08,” he said. “We had our first gig ever on the Chihuly Bridge. I think it was a Friday, Saturday night on the Chihuly Bridge, and we just jammed out there. We called up our friends and put out a tip jar, and it kind of took off from there.”
Since then, his fan base has grown thanks to a few high profile gigs, including a spot at this summer’s Taste of Tacoma, and regular appearances at Jazzbones, the Hub and other local hot spots.
Union’s band Saturday will feature little brother Jared Mira on drums, Israel Hickey on guitar and Josh Stull on bass. Expect high energy and lots of playful crowd interaction.
“I love to interact with people,” the amiable Union said. “I love to interact with fans. I think that’s the best part about the music and being in the music scene in Tacoma the last year is meeting the people. I have some hard-core fans. I’m picking up some new ones here and there.”
Our interview eventually relocated to practice, and I had the camera rolling. So if you’ve never seen Union, get a taste before you check him out live on Tacoma Rock City, blog.thenewstribune.com/tacomarockcity.
BONUS TRACKS
• Promoter Matt Eklund’s Artifakt team has put together a promising alt hip-hop/electronic bill together at Jazzbones. Seattle’s Mad Rad headlines tonight, but all eyes will be on Tacoma’s Nasty Left, a group playing its first show since rapper Daniel Cline, aka D-Child, also of Biznautics fame, died of cancer this summer; www.jazzbones.com.
• It appears owner Jeff Call has secured all of his permits and worked out the bugs at his new South Tacoma Way nightclub and pizza joint, the Stonegate. Keep your fingers crossed. It doesn’t hurt having one of T-town’s premiere party bands, the Fun Police, celebrating the release of its new album there tonight. The disc is complimentary with the $6 cover charge, by the way, and Olympia indie-rockers Brotherhood of the Black Squirrel will add support; www.stonegaterocks.com.
• Tacoma garage-rock pioneers the Fabulous Wailers, the last band to headline a CD release party over at the Stonegate, will headline another album release party for its new joint “Rooster Rock,” this time Thursday night at the Swiss Pub; www.theswisspub.com.
• The Missionary Position – fronted by South Sounder Jeff Angell, of Post Stardom Depression fame – will bring bluesy swagger to Doyle’s that same night; www.doylespublichouse.com.
Ernest A. Jasmin: 253-274-7389
ernest.jasmin@thenewstribune.com
See the show
What: Ben Union in concert, with Doxology and Roman Holiday
When: 8 p.m. Saturday
Where: Jazzbones, 2803 Sixth Ave., Tacoma
Tickets, information: $7, 253-396-9169 or www.jazzbones.com
JOIN THE DISCUSSION | Register here
We welcome comments. Please keep them civil, short and to the point. ALL CAPS, spam, obscene, profane, abusive and off topic comments will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be blocked. Thanks for taking part — and abiding by these simple rules. A thorough explanation of rules of conduct can be found in our Terms of Service. If you have any questions, including why your comment may not be showing immediately after you submit it, be sure to visit the commenting FAQ.