We see people who rise being overtly talented in music from very young ages, picking up that violin as if it's an extension to their arm, or singing perfectly to match a professional singer. However, Robbie Pyburn, a student currently at Jakarta International School, was a subtle guitarist at heart. He tried both violin and piano when he was little, but it wasn't until High School when he realized his guitar potential after acing "Message in a Bottle" by The Police on Guitar Hero on easy difficulty.
His immediate passion for guitar attracted him to start the first band in 9th grade. He got together with Eric Stephens, another guitarist, and Arya Harsono, a bassist, to form a band called the Alternate Angle.
This band grew eventually after the first few practices to include Christian Blair on drums, and by Halloween 2007 they performed their first cover "Monster" by The Automatic
for a private party in a cafe. The momentum from this performance strengthened the band, and I joined them eventually as a keyboardist, and they brought in a singer Mauree
n Weiller briefly for a few songs.
Robbie was the core of this band, and made sure that everybody did their part. However, due to Christian Blair leaving at the end of 9th grade and me dropping out due to the increase in time I spent in traffic, the band broke up.
Of course Robbie would not let his passion of guitar leave him hanging for the rest of his High School career, and he started performing with Eric Stephens and Arya Harsono again in 10th grade for acoustic performances. Little did he know that he was on his way to becoming the school's most renowned guitarist, breaking school records that had been covered with cobwebs.
After a dozen or so of these minor performances, he became close friends with Alex Jonsson and Dalmar Jibril, whom also performed at these events occ
asionally. Eventually Robbie suggested a jam session with the three of them, with Dalmar on guitar, and Alex on percussion.
"As the jam sessions slowly continued, a vocalist was clearly becoming a necessity. We chose Katya Kamdani to be our female vocalist for a numbe
r of our songs. We realized later that a male vocalist was also required and so found Marty Borch." - Arya Harsono
The band this time had big potential, and they performed their first public performance on the rooftop of Pyburn's home for a teacher farewell party with an additional former band member rejoining them: Arya Harsono on bass.
"With the experience and the talent behind their belt, now the band needed a name. Robbie Pyburn and Nihal Mirpuri simultaneously came up with 'The Causeway', which is the main road in Pyburn's town of Burwell, UK. The
Causeway is also the bridge connecting Singa
pore and Malaysia, which strengthens the band's message of unity previewed through the multi-national members." - Alex Jonsson
Soon after the first few gigs, The Causeway felt that they were missing someone. They encountered Winnie Chen, keyboardist and back-up vocalist of Kyra's Band, and took her in for one of their own. By this time Robbie had begun
to gain a bit of fame amongst the students and teachers alike, and was invited to perform for the last day of 11th grade. Robbie knew that this performance would be the turning point, exposing them as the best band in High School, and revealing many opportunities for the band to perform in the future. Sure enough, after the performance there were already multiple requests for music at private and public gatherings alike. The band is now performing at high standards for many parties, all thanks to Robbie's efforts.
"Robbie Pyburn is the center of The Causeway. If it weren't for his efforts, the band would be nowhere near where it is currently." - Winnie Chen
