Jackson Free Press

Biography

Spontaneous combustion is defined as ignition without cause. SOMETHINGPOSITIVE started much the same way. Some may call it fate, others coincidence, but the guys of the band call it grace.
Rhythm guitar player, Michael Matthews, had played drums all of his life. He put down the drum sticks and picked up a guitar after being a successful drummer most of his life. There was no reason for him to leave drumming and try his hand at playing guitar. Michael showed drummer, Justin Nipper, the path to playing drums and started jamming one day with lead guitar player, Stephen Fairchild.
Two months later they met lead singer Roddy Merritt. Roddy had been singing and performing most of his life, but his musical career had not been widely accepted nor successful. His uphill battle almost caused him to abandon music. After a local youth camp; the four began leading worship for their church youth group. Worship soon became show, after show, after show and rapidly. This all happened once the band began performing DC Talk’s classic hit “Jesus Freak.” Soon the band went from leading worship to playing concerts.
The band desperately needed a fifth member to play bass. Travis White, a high school friend of Justin and Stephen, had been hanging around the band in December of 2009. Travis expressed interest in playing bass, but had never played an instrument before and was a professing atheist, while these guys were in a Christian band. Travis saw a different type of Christian he had never seen before, decided to try this all out, got a bass, and eventually accepted Christ into his life. One month later, January 28, 2010, SOMETHINGPOSITIVE took the stage in front of fifteen hundred people and took the first step into becoming the band they are today.
Four years later working with Scotty Wilbanks from Christian Music’s Third Day, internationally viewed music videos and downloads, opening for professionally known bands such as Building429, The Letter Black, and Switchfoot, a national tour, hundreds of shows, fully self sufficient, local radio play and loads of music industry attention. They are a band that looks to play and write music about something greater than themselves. “We want to help shed light into a world that grows dark with negativity.” (Lead singer Roddy Merritt) This is a band that shouldn’t exist, a band that has faced circumstances that could not be over come in four years. SOMETHINGPOSITIVE seeks to show truth and be apart of sending out a message greater than themselves.