Throwback: Plus One
Put together largely through the efforts of my friend, Mitchell Solarek (who now heads up Maximum Artist Management and represents artists like Natalie Grant, Danny Gokey and Donald Lawrence) and Atlantic Records’ desire to add a Christian boy band to their roster, Plus One was born in 1999.
Their first project, The Promise, was released in May 2000. The album went Gold and yielded two #1 singles on Christian radio, Written On My Heart and God Is In This Place. I first met the guys (and Mitchell) that summer (or possibly the summer of 2001, who can remember for sure, it was a long time ago) when we did a free concert with Plus One on the square in Marietta, GA. It was one of the biggest events ever held there. Thousands of people, many pre-teen girls, showed up and the band sold out of their The Promise CD before they finished performing the first song.
On the strength of that first project the group performed at the 2000 Democratic National Convention, performed on an ABC Christmas Eve special and did a guest spot on the series Touched By An Angel in 2001. Their second project, Obvious, was released in February 2002 and didn’t fare as well, yielding only a few minor radio singles. Shortly after wrapping the tour for the project in 2002, Jason Perry and Jeremy Mhire left the group. Plus One would release one more studio project, this time as a trio. Exodus came out in November 2003, again to a lukewarm reception. The group called it quits in 2004.
Gabe and Nate spent some time in Los Angeles, where they formed a short-lived band, Castledoor. Nate is currently living in the Fresno, CA area. Gabe was, for a time at least, involved in competitive coffee brewing, competing in the 2010 Barista Championship. Nathan never left Nashville. Jason spent some time in New York City before returning to Nashville. And Jeremy is a cross fit trainer living in Springfield, MO.
In April of 2014 three members, Gabe Combs, Nathan Walters and Jason Perry, reformed Plus One and are working on a new project. The first single, My All, is (was?) available as free download via their FaceBook page.
Here’s the video of their first single, Written On My Heart.
