Upcoming
Yesterday’s Rain is scheduled to perform at the following events:
• Rocking the Spectrum Battle of the Bands
When: 1 to 5 p.m. May 15, with Yesterday’s Rain at 2:45 p.m.
Where: Rising Fawn Equestrian Center, 9533 Old Preserve Trail, Ball Ground
Cost: Tickets are $10 and benefit autism foundations.
Online: rockingthespectrum.webs.com
• Throwdown
When: 6 p.m. May 21
Where: Element Coffee Co., 12635 Crabapple Road, Milton
Cost: Free
Online: blog.elementcoffeeco.com
Online
Chick out Yesterday's Rain at www.myspace.com/brittanysydney.
Brittany Abrams and Sydney Robinson keep their eyes and their music focused on better days ahead.
Their band, Yesterday’s Rain, performed the song “Better with Me” outside under a sunny sky on a recent afternoon that had been preceded by heavy rain.
The name is “a metaphor for what we’re all about,” said Robinson, lead singer and rhythm guitarist.
Added lead guitarist and backup vocalist Abrams: “All that bad stuff that happened yesterday, in the past, that was yesterday’s rain. This is today.”
The female acoustic guitar duo seems to have plenty of sunny days ahead.
Seniors at South Forsyth High School, the teenagers took first place at two recent battle of the band competitions.
After winning South’s battle, they were asked to participate in a May 1 competition at Alpharetta High School.
Abrams, 18, and Robinson, 17, agreed to skip their high school prom for a chance at the prizes offered at Alpharetta’s battle.
While they didn’t have big plans for prom, Abrams said playing that night meant several of their friends wouldn’t be available to support them at the contest.
Their three-song set, which included a favorite that the crowd could sing along with, earned the duo first place.
They received 50 hours of studio recording time, an appearance on Project 9-6-1 radio station and an opening spot for a larger act at a major Atlanta venue.
The two joked about their visit to the rock station, since they said their influences include the softer styles of Stevie Nicks, the Indigo Girls, Fleetwood Mac and Jon Foreman, frontman of Switchfoot.
“But we’re just really humbled that we get to play,” said Robinson, who described their style as “relatable.”
After using the studio time to record a full-length CD, the two friends will continue playing anywhere they can after they graduate.
Both plan to attend the University of West Georgia in Carrollton this fall.
Abrams said she had always wanted to attend the school.
Robinson was sold after seeing a female student strumming guitar on the campus lawn during her visit.
The duo said getting accepted at the same college was “fate,” much like the formation of their band.
Though the two had attended the same school and been friendly, it wasn’t until their first class together junior year that they “jammed.”
Abrams said she entered the music theory class not knowing anyone.
To fill a gap in her class schedule, Robinson choose music theory over physics. When she arrived, the band’s fate was sealed.
“We wouldn’t be here right now if I’d have had a fourth period,” Robinson said.
Abrams invited Robinson over to play music at her house in fall 2008. The two immediately meshed.
“We just played one song together and we were like, ‘Wow, that works. Let’s keep going,’” Abrams said.
Robinson started playing guitar about age 14 after admiring the young guitar players at her church.
Though she’d never taken voice lessons, she decided guitar was boring unless she could sing along.
Abrams started playing at 11, after her father taught her a couple chords.
Robinson had been writing songs for a few years prior to their collaboration.
One of their first songs, “Yesterday’s Rain,” became the name of the band.
Their first performance together, which came at the nursing home of Robinson’s grandfather, was “awful,” Abrams recalled with a laugh.
“By the time we were done, they were all asleep,” she said.
Robinson said the crowds started grew more lively as the two initiated what they call the “141 tour.”
Traveling to coffee shops along the state highway, the teens started to spread their sound, even holding a demo release party at Starbucks.
Yesterday’s Rain regularly appears for open mic night Wednesdays at Element Coffee Co. in nearby Milton.
Jacklyn Dowda, marketing manager for the coffee shop, said she noticed the duo playing outside The Avenue Forsyth and recruited the band for the weekly event.
“I was impressed with Brittany,” Dowda said. “She can solo and play a lot of a guitar riffs that you don’t see a lot of girls play.”
Though some of the younger performers, Abrams and Robinson are “very mature for high school students,” Dowda said.
They’ve also attracted the attention of a local artist, who requested them for her upcoming gallery event.
This month, Yesterday’s Rain will donate its time to fundraisers for northern Fulton County charities at the coffee shop and for autism at a Forsyth County event.
“Charities are a big deal for us,” Robinson said. “We want to give back as much as we can.”
For Abrams, spreading their music can be a gift in itself.
“Listening to the lyrics and the message that music can actually get across to people, it’s really amazing to me,” she said.
“It’s communicating things that you couldn’t usually say in everyday conversation.”
Their band, Yesterday’s Rain, performed the song “Better with Me” outside under a sunny sky on a recent afternoon that had been preceded by heavy rain.
The name is “a metaphor for what we’re all about,” said Robinson, lead singer and rhythm guitarist.
Added lead guitarist and backup vocalist Abrams: “All that bad stuff that happened yesterday, in the past, that was yesterday’s rain. This is today.”
The female acoustic guitar duo seems to have plenty of sunny days ahead.
Seniors at South Forsyth High School, the teenagers took first place at two recent battle of the band competitions.
After winning South’s battle, they were asked to participate in a May 1 competition at Alpharetta High School.
Abrams, 18, and Robinson, 17, agreed to skip their high school prom for a chance at the prizes offered at Alpharetta’s battle.
While they didn’t have big plans for prom, Abrams said playing that night meant several of their friends wouldn’t be available to support them at the contest.
Their three-song set, which included a favorite that the crowd could sing along with, earned the duo first place.
They received 50 hours of studio recording time, an appearance on Project 9-6-1 radio station and an opening spot for a larger act at a major Atlanta venue.
The two joked about their visit to the rock station, since they said their influences include the softer styles of Stevie Nicks, the Indigo Girls, Fleetwood Mac and Jon Foreman, frontman of Switchfoot.
“But we’re just really humbled that we get to play,” said Robinson, who described their style as “relatable.”
After using the studio time to record a full-length CD, the two friends will continue playing anywhere they can after they graduate.
Both plan to attend the University of West Georgia in Carrollton this fall.
Abrams said she had always wanted to attend the school.
Robinson was sold after seeing a female student strumming guitar on the campus lawn during her visit.
The duo said getting accepted at the same college was “fate,” much like the formation of their band.
Though the two had attended the same school and been friendly, it wasn’t until their first class together junior year that they “jammed.”
Abrams said she entered the music theory class not knowing anyone.
To fill a gap in her class schedule, Robinson choose music theory over physics. When she arrived, the band’s fate was sealed.
“We wouldn’t be here right now if I’d have had a fourth period,” Robinson said.
Abrams invited Robinson over to play music at her house in fall 2008. The two immediately meshed.
“We just played one song together and we were like, ‘Wow, that works. Let’s keep going,’” Abrams said.
Robinson started playing guitar about age 14 after admiring the young guitar players at her church.
Though she’d never taken voice lessons, she decided guitar was boring unless she could sing along.
Abrams started playing at 11, after her father taught her a couple chords.
Robinson had been writing songs for a few years prior to their collaboration.
One of their first songs, “Yesterday’s Rain,” became the name of the band.
Their first performance together, which came at the nursing home of Robinson’s grandfather, was “awful,” Abrams recalled with a laugh.
“By the time we were done, they were all asleep,” she said.
Robinson said the crowds started grew more lively as the two initiated what they call the “141 tour.”
Traveling to coffee shops along the state highway, the teens started to spread their sound, even holding a demo release party at Starbucks.
Yesterday’s Rain regularly appears for open mic night Wednesdays at Element Coffee Co. in nearby Milton.
Jacklyn Dowda, marketing manager for the coffee shop, said she noticed the duo playing outside The Avenue Forsyth and recruited the band for the weekly event.
“I was impressed with Brittany,” Dowda said. “She can solo and play a lot of a guitar riffs that you don’t see a lot of girls play.”
Though some of the younger performers, Abrams and Robinson are “very mature for high school students,” Dowda said.
They’ve also attracted the attention of a local artist, who requested them for her upcoming gallery event.
This month, Yesterday’s Rain will donate its time to fundraisers for northern Fulton County charities at the coffee shop and for autism at a Forsyth County event.
“Charities are a big deal for us,” Robinson said. “We want to give back as much as we can.”
For Abrams, spreading their music can be a gift in itself.
“Listening to the lyrics and the message that music can actually get across to people, it’s really amazing to me,” she said.
“It’s communicating things that you couldn’t usually say in everyday conversation.”