May River Band
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SpecialtyContemporary Worship and Original Material bioAs children of missionaries growing up on a small grass airstrip in the jungles of Papua New Guinea we had no idea the plans that God had already set into motion for us. Looking back at our lives we can see how each one of us was being prepared for what has now come to be our life’s calling. Who would have known that an old piano our father had literally dragged through the jungle, would be the inspirational tool Nathan needed to begin his love for composing music. Only a few years later Ben picked up a guitar, which was so cheap it should have never been sold, and began to write his own brand of music. From these humble beginnings in a small tribe in Papua New Guinea the dream of May River was born. Years after both Nathan and Ben had developed into aspiring musicians a challenge was laid down to me. In classic sibling rivalry tone my brothers said, “Seth I bet you a million dollars you could never do anything musical.” Well we all know what happens when you tell the youngest member of a family he can’t do something. After Nathan had already learned the piano and almost every other instrument we knew of at the time, and Ben had already learned guitar, there was only one instrument left that interested me, the drums. Now we had all the pieces for a band. With the help of a few friends who could plunk out some bass notes we were ready to rock. Now keep in mind that during most of this time we were attending a small missionary boarding school where the term “Rock and Roll” was not always met with great enthusiasm. This became just one of the obstacles in our way to expanding what we knew of music and its place in Christian life. As the years went by and we got a little better, doors were opened to us to play at school functions, and even chapels from time to time. During the summer of 1995 Nathan graduated from high school and left for college in America leaving Ben and I to carry on our music without him. While Nathan was attending college, he began to get involved with the worship at our home church. Seeing first hand the explosion of music in American churches, the blurry years of learning and practicing came into focus, as the need for contemporary worship was painfully obvious in our own church. By the time Ben and I returned to the United States in 1997 Nathan had planted the seeds in our home church to bring it from strictly hymns, to a contemporary worship service. With all the brothers back together in America, May River was revived. We have been both leading our church in worship every Sunday as well as playing our own music in venues all over San Diego ever since. Our vision has been to be a light in our church as well as a light in the very dark world of the music industry. It is our goal that every person that comes into contact with May River, will see something different in us that draws them to Jesus. It has been amazing to watch what God work over the years. Doors have been opened to us that are normally closed to Christian bands, and opportunities have presented themselves that without the divine hand of God at work would have never come our way. May River would not be what it is if it weren’t for the relationship we share as brothers. The love that we have for each other has been the common bond that gives us what it takes to make music. Being as close as we are, also makes playing together fun, and we have a lot of fun. Being May River has become so much of who we are, it is hard to imagine life without seeing each other at practice, and playing at church on Sunday. We have asked many times where God is taking us in this adventure, and we are still not exactly sure. We only know that we are going to have a lot of fun finding out! TO BOOK THIS PERFORMER OR FOR MORE INFO |
