From the historic New Daisy Theatre to the now-deceased Skate Park of Memphis in Cordova, many bands in the local scene got their start in high school by going to shows and making friends. For the post-hardcore band Yet., the story is a bit different.
The band is the combined effort of brothers Jeremy and Nick Griffin, Shawn Jenkins, Jeffrey Birkholz and sophomore University of Memphis computer science major Josh Dunning. While other high school students were entering battle of the band competitions, they were leading worship at East Win Christian Church, which became the foundation for their friendships and the music they make today.
"I came about six years ago and started getting active in the youth group," said 19-year-old Jeffrey Birkholz, who plays drums for Yet. "That's how we all met."
In the midst of playing in the worship band at church, four of the five members of Yet.'s current lineup were also playing in another group that "wasn't working" according to guitarist Nick Griffin. They would write music, but never played any shows. The group fell apart, and the friends eventually began writing new songs.
The former band featured a female vocalist, but they hadn't found someone to do vocals over the new material they began writing. Griffin was surprised when his younger brother, Jeremy, offered to do vocals for the band.
"We went up to East Win with our gear and I started playing through some songs I had been writing," Griffin said. "He came up with some lyrics he had written, and he kinda started screaming, and it was so cool. It just worked out so well. Really came together."
After that rehearsal, Yet. was born. The name is short, sweet, and to the point - just three letters followed by a period. It was pulled from the lyrics of a song by the band Switchfoot, but to the friends, the name is a symbol of the hope that they aim to express in their songs.
"There is plenty of music out there that acknowledges that stuff sucks sometimes," Griffin said. "But we feel like there are solutions to those problems and there are things to hope for, and that's kinda always been our goal with music, and that's what we've always wanted people to take away from it. There is always an ultimate end goal of hoping that just kind of presents itself to people."
It has been nearly a year and a half since the band had their first practice. In June of 2012, they released an EP called "Chaos & Old Night," five songs inspired by Jon Krakauer's non-fiction account of Christopher McCandless, "Into the Wild," and John Green's fiction novel "Paper Towns".
It's about the "hatred of materialism in the world," according to Griffin. "He just wanted to acknowledge of all of that and the chaos and dark feelings it brings around."
The band has not only come a long way since that release, but they have come a long way since their days leading worship at East Win Christian Church. While the band's message of hope may coincide with the church's message, don't call them a Christian band - but rather, "Christians in a band."
Watching Yet. play a live show is much different than worshiping at a church service. Sweaty bodies pile on the backs of each other, some rush the stage, but everyone screams vocalist Jeremy Griffin's lyrics back in his face.
"During a Christian worship set, the most people do is raise their hands," Birkholz said. "To go from people putting their hand up in the air to seeing people's entire bodies up in the air is a complete turn around."
With the summer approaching, Yet. has big plans. On top of recording a 15-track full-length record, the band is hitting the road and going on a weeklong tour with local pop-punk band Midway.
"They are all really genuine guys," said Hunter Cole Davidson, who plays guitar in Midway. "I personally think they are a great band, one of the better post-hardcore bands around, and definitely deserve to be heard."
On July 13, you can catch their set at "Stage Dive to Save Lives: A Benefit for St. Jude," which will take place at Minglewood Hall, features nine other bands, and is $10 at the door.
For more information visit facebook.com/yetperiod.
