Plus One
Long before Plus One's 143/Atlantic Records debut, The Promise, was in the can, or before one note of their music had been heard on a radio station, a veritable "who's who" of pop music insiders was eager to work with these five talented young men.
Not that Plus One is looking to ride on coattails to fame. They've just learned early-on what too many artists take an entire career to discover that success, of any kind, is never a simple function of individual effort, but is first and always a product of collaboration. Plus One realized that no one succeeds alone-in life, in music, and certainly not in faith-and therefore the quality of their success would depend on the kind of people they surrounded themselves with. So, from the beginning, they've sought nothing but the best, including co-producer of The Promise, 143 Records CEO and 14-time Grammy Award winning songwriter and producer David Foster (Celine Dion, Faith Hill, Toni Braxton).
The all-star production team also includes Buster & Shavoni (Kirk Franklin, Prince of Egypt soundtrack), Dow and Brad (LFO), Chris Farren (Deana Carter, Kevin Sharp), Rodney Jerkins (Whitney Houston, Brian McKnight, Brandy and Monica), Robbie Nevil (Jessica Simpson, Brandy, Monica), Joe P. (Tatyana Ali, Zoe Girl), Phil Sillas (Melrose Place, Party of Five), Bradley Spalter (kci & jojo, Babyface) and Eric Foster White (Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys).
If, as the saying goes, we are known by the company we keep, Plus One already has a brilliant reputation.
"Guys with good voices are a dime a dozen in LA," says Florida native Nathan Walters, the oldest member of Plus One at the ripe age of 22. "But chemistry… that's another story. Plus One works because we are not just five guys singing next to each other-we've worked our socks off from the beginning to connect, to click."
"Exactly," adds 18-year-old Sacramento native Nate Cole. "We have to become more than just five good singers. Our job is to become one great group, to find that path through hard work and lots of time together to those moments when we're genuinely together when we sing."
To reach that goal, the guys have committed to nearly a year of non-stop preparation, rehearsing, researching, recording, serving, praying and even living together. Since then, their life has become a veritable mobile college dorm-first in San Francisco, then LA, and now in Nashville-except that no one ever gets to cut class, they don't get weekends off, and when they jump on a plane to Nashville for the weekend, it's not for Spring Break. This fall, when everyone will be heading back to school, these five guys will be heading off to a different kind of classroom-a 60-city tour with Myrrh Records/Sony Discos artist Jaci Velasquez.
"I knew making this record would be hard work," says 20-year-old Gabe Combs, Plus One's instrumental and songwriting Renaissance man, "As we got into this, we realized that what we were doing-what we had been called together to do-would take everything we have. I guess that's why we know it's worth doing."
In the process, the guys have learned to play off each other's strengths, and balance each other's weaknesses, as they worked together to grow as a group and as men.
"In some ways we're very different," adds 19 year old Jeremy Mhire, of Springfield, MO. "but it's our differences that make us interesting-as friends and as a group. I'm learning how we each bring something special to everything we do, and that it's the ways we differ that allows us to be more than just ordinary."
The connection-and commitment-between the guys is clear on The Promise. There's a playfulness and attentiveness in Plus One's vocal interplay that simply can't be manufactured in a studio. Songs like "My Life," with its funky backbeat, and the first single, "Written On My Heart," showcase the group's intricate harmonies and youthful take on life.
"These guys really hear each other, really listen to each other when they sing," says producer David Foster, who signed the group to 143 Records/Atlantic Records literally days after their first auditions. "Individually, they're all incredibly talented, but they've learned that as vocalists, they're even better together. There's wisdom there."
There's more to a band than just camaraderie. There has to be substance to the songs to justify the audience's time. Plus One knew this too, and set out from their first moment together on a dual quest to find the perfect songs and to stretch themselves as people.
For this reason the songs on Plus One's debut, (eventually culled from a roster of a who's who list of songwriters including Phil Sillas, Stephanie Lewis, Dan Muckala, Ty Lacey, Eric Foster White and Reed Vertelney), cover the gamut of everything that you might expect from a bunch of friends at the edge of adulthood. Songs full of fun and romance, hopes, dreams and the highest yearnings and ambitions find their way on the disc. There are songs about friendship and faithfulness, like "My Friend," and mostly, there are songs such as "Run to You" and the melodic title cut, "The Promise," that get to the heart of the matter for the guys-their faith in God.
Plus One even adds their own songwriting chops to the mix, with "Be," a cut that reflects the constancy of friendship and God's love. Written by Nate Cole, Gabe Combs and Nathan Walters, along with veterans Ty Lacey, Bradley Spalter and Michael Norfleet, the ballad is the first collective songwriting contribution, showing the promise of things to come.
But for all the care given to the sound of The Promise, more has been taken with the collaborative project that was the integrity of the guys themselves. From the first day of rehearsals, they made a commitment to be marked as much by service as by sound. While in San Francisco, the guys volunteered a couple of times a week at a center for homeless families. And last September, they began an ongoing partnership with Habitat for Humanity, participating in a week-long, 20-house "racial reconciliation" blitz build in Selma, Ala., where they worked side-by-side with veterans of that city's civil rights movement.
"That experience put some things in perspective for us," says Nate. "Seeing the need right here in America-and experiencing how we could help-that was amazing."
"Working next to people who worked with Dr. King, people who sacrificed so much for their freedom or the freedom of others… it was overwhelming," adds Gabe.
The work with Habitat is part of an intentional strategy on the part of the band to expand their experience and their vision of ministry.
"Anyone can sing about God," says Jason Perry, the youngest member of the group at age 17, "but we knew that until we had something to say with our lives, our songs would be empty."
"We are so committed to sharing our faith in our music," offers Jeremy, "but our faith tells us that it's better to love our neighbor than lecture them. If you listen more than you speak, you can get a lot done sometimes. The main thing is that you don't have to preach-just show love, acceptance and tolerance. Our audiences have heard all about Jesus-what they really need is to see him."
"That's really what Plus One is about," adds Nate. "The 'One' in our name-the One who more than just us, more than our songwriters and even our producers-our prayer is that anyone who pays attention to anything we do, be it our music or our lives, will know exactly who that is.
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