On Saturday, Oct. 14, I sat down with Rain Theory, a local band at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The band has come a long way since their first practices in 2022.
Joon Eom, who plays guitar in Rain Theory, is a junior computer science major. Eom discussed how he met Tom Aitken, a senior natural resource conservation major who plays guitar and bass for Rain Theory.
“My friend Liam, a.k.a DJ Tech Node, had a studio set-up in his dorm back in Grayson Hall. Tom was living with him. I was visiting the studio to see Liam one night. So I went there and watched Liam doing his thing, like usual. Tom and our friend Declan came into the dorm and Tom had a bass and I was just playing with Declan’s guitar. We were just asking questions to one another. I told Tom that I wrote songs and he said, ‘That’s cool, we should jam sometime!’ The next morning, Tom came over to my dorm and we jammed.”
A couple of weeks later, Aitken and Eom went to their friend Natalie’s dorm and met the drummer of Rain Theory, David Connell, a senior sociology major. “You should come over to Van Meter and play the drums,” is what Aitken and Eom recalled saying to Connell when they found out about his drumming skills. They spent all next semester jamming together.
“We were looking for a vocalist and we couldn’t really find the ideal person. Then we said, ‘Why don’t we just invite our friend Julia over and see what she can do!Juli a came over for a session, but there was no mic so, [we] couldn’t really hear her sing. Julia had to scream to hear her own voice. One day, Julia brought a mic, and we heard her and said, ‘That’s awesome. We’re a band now.’”
The lead singer, Julia DeRocher, was not present for the interview; She had gotten the opportunity to teach English in Italy.
As most recently-formed bands do, the band was bonding, rehearsing and jamming, but Aitken had to leave to study abroad in New Zealand. The band needed a new bassist.
“I met Joon at the East Coast Oracles House (The Ecosystem). I had heard of Tom through my current roommate,” said Darby McCullough, a senior majoring in natural resource conservation and French. “I didn’t know Julia yet. I knew someone in her Italian class who was like, ‘They need a bassist! I’ll get you in touch with Julia.’ ‘Julia invited me to this Christmas party to break the ice while Tom was still here before his study abroad.”
Soon after, McCullough was the bassist for Rain Theory.
When Aitken came back from studying abroad, the band didn’t want to kick McCullough out. So they asked Aitken to also start playing guitar.
The band’s first performance was at The Ecosystem, a fairly typical garage show with a decent crowd and lights. Aitken said he felt super nervous since it was his first time performing in front of anyone besides the band.
“I was a little less nervous than Tom. The week before, Julia was having this show with high schoolers,” Eom said. “She asked me to play guitar with her and she would sing. She told me to learn a Red Hot Chili Peppers song by tomorrow. I loved it, learned it, and did the gig in Upton. It was my first gig ever. That just got me excited for our show that was coming up. For our first show, the whole crowd was our friend group…It didn’t feel like I was playing for them, I was playing with them.”
Along with the band’s nerves, they also still had to come up with a name for the band.
Eom recalls the selection process: “It was Tom’s joke in the group chat. Every time that we had practice on Monday, it would rain. Tom would say in the group chat ‘Rain theory?’ …We did not plan for our first show, we were filling in a spot. The guy planning the show, Gabe, was making posters and said, ‘Ok, what’s your guys’ name?‘ We said, ‘Uh, we don’t have a name yet.’ He said back, ‘OK, I’ll give you guys two hours to come up with the name.’ For the next two hours, we just went through this head aching band name session and we couldn’t come up with anything … We actually performed under Rain Party at our first show,” stated Eom.
Some other ideas included Ask Around, Trench, Mental Connection, and the acronym T.E.D., referring to a ghost that was supposedly living in Connell’s room.
McCullough mentioned it still rains whenever they perform.
Rain Theory’s most recent performance was in downtown Amherst at Monkey Bar, one of their favorite shows so far.
“That was really fun. We had a two-hour set time. It was daunting, at least for me, to know that we had to fill two hours. It did not feel like two hours to me,” McCullough said. It was just so organic and we jammed. The energy was just right.”
That night, the band performed many songs they hadn’t before, including “Dugout” and “Pool House” by The Backseat Lovers and “50/50” by The Strokes. Rain Theory has a few original songs they also love to perform, including “Spoons” and “Route 62.”
The members each have different kinds of music inspirations that help give Rain Theory their own unique vibe and style when it comes to performing. “Definitely Victor Wooten, as of recent. Also, The Fearless Flyers and Cory Wong in terms of funky stuff,” Aitken said.
Eom’s taste in music seemed to change a lot throughout the years: “I actually wanted to make a death metal band. That’s why we’re having trouble finding a vocalist,” he said. “There was also a phase during the summer when I only listened to Frank Ocean. I also listened to Coldplay growing up. When we jam now, we use a lot of jazz and R&B chords.”
Rain Theory has loved the UMass music scene since the beginning, and feel lucky to be able to perform in such a vibrant community.
“There’s a lot going on every single weekend. You can always find music to go to. Everyone is so nice,” Aitken said. “There are so many people at UMass. By nature, you’re gonna have a lot of bands. I feel like that doesn’t happen in an average city or town. It’s so cool to be in this area that generates so much music.”
Rain Theory continues to perform and write new songs. Despite the absence of their lead singer, the band is settling into the transition one day at a time.
To find out more about Rain Theory, you can find their Instagram, @rain.theory.band.
