The Coats are an a cappella

A cappella

A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...

 singing group based along the west coast of the United States

West Coast of the United States

West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...

 and originated in Seattle, Washington

Seattle, Washington

Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...

. It consists of bass singer Kerry Dahlen, baritone Doug Wisness, and Jamie Dieveney and Keith Michael Anderson as second and first tenors, respectively.

History

The group was formed in 1987, while each of its four members were studying at the University of Washington

University of Washington

University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...

. They began singing unprofessionally around Seattle, at such locations as Pike Place Market

Pike Place Market

Pike Place Market is a public market overlooking the Elliott Bay waterfront in Seattle, Washington, United States. The Market opened August 17, 1907, and is one of the oldest continually operated public farmers' markets in the United States. It is a place of business for many small farmers,...

, to pay their way through college. However, their unique singing style attracted attention, and they were soon singing professionally throughout the west coast and elsewhere.

Name change

The Coats were originally known as "The Trenchcoats," but following the Columbine High School massacre

Columbine High School massacre

The Columbine High School massacre occurred on Tuesday, April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School in Columbine, an unincorporated area of Jefferson County, Colorado, United States, near Denver and Littleton. Two senior students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, embarked on a massacre, killing 12...

, they became unintentionally associated with the Trenchcoat Mafia. Numerous news reports erroneously provided the singing group's web address as that of the killers, so it was quickly simplified to their group's current name.

Discography

The Coats have released eleven albums as of December 2009:

• 1992: It Turns Me On
• 1994: Your Joy
• 1995: Exposed
• 1996: Are You Up?
• 1999: When I'm With You
• 2000: The Coats Collection
• 2000: On Christmas Time
• 2002: The Boys Are Back
• 2005: Last a Lifetime
• 2006: The Caroler - Christmas with The Coats
• 2009: The Coats - Caught On Tape

According to their site, The Coats are currently recording a twelfth album at a "secret location near Seattle." However, that quote has been on their site since 2005 prior to the release of "Last A Lifetime".