The Minnesota Music Note logoThe MinnesotaMusic Note
Bands

Band

Podcast guest

Blue Rain

Songwriting project of keyboardist Drew and guitarist Eric, who have written music together since 1986 and now have nearly 300 songs.

Blue Rain is the songwriting project of keyboardist, songwriter and engineer Drew and guitarist Eric, who met in ninth grade when Drew asked if Eric's band needed a keyboard player. The band started in high school as Public Affair and took the name Blue Rain around 1995 or 1996, picking a name that did not lock them into one genre. Their first album, Just the Beginning, came out in 1996, with a high school choir singing on the song Dreams. After a long quiet stretch, home recording tools let them take control of their sound, and starting with Second Chances in 2022 they put out an eight-song album every year through 2025. Their main sound is 1980s pop rock in the vein of Journey, Toto and Foreigner, with big choruses and harmonies, and they bring in local singers and players for each song, including Beth Norris Hill, whose first song with them was Blanket Fort.

On the Minnesota Music Note

MN Music Note - Ep22 - 40 Years, One Friendship, Hundreds of Songs: The Story Behind Blue Rain

7mo ago

Open episode page

Fun facts from the interview

  • Drew and Eric have made music together since 1986.
  • Started in high school as Public Affair; renamed Blue Rain around 1995 or 1996.
  • First album Just the Beginning (1996) featured a high school choir on the song Dreams.
  • Eric attended Berklee College of Music; Drew went to a summer session there.
  • Second Chances (2022) began a run of an eight-song album every year through 2025.
  • Nearly 300 songs written or in progress, about 60 in demo form.
  • They trade tracks by email, record singers themselves, and recut one song this year with live players in the studio.
  • Guest singers and players include Beth Norris Hill, Michelle (Spin Cycle, Line Dry), Jake Jacobs (Audio Circus), Mike Reschke and Tim Mahoney.
  • Drew: first bar band Ricochet in St. Cloud in 1995, then Freedom Station, Decade and Soul Cage; keys in Expedition, a Journey tribute, for about four years.
  • Eric: played in Skewed View and Mudcat Melby, and plays Rhythm on the Rails with Mudcat Melby each year.
PopRockGuitarKeys

Mentioned on

Beth Norris HillMusician

Something here look wrong or out of date?