By Greg Parlier

Michael Olberding, a UNF communication junior, started playing a song by one of his favorite bands on his phone and began wailing on imaginary drums. But this was no ordinary air drumming. He was hitting every beat with precision: snare, cymbal, toms and even his feet were rattling off measures of double bass flawlessly. This is the guitarist – yes, guitarist, not drummer — for the band Coming This Fall.

Flip Padilla, executive director and manager of Murray Hill Theatre, where Coming This Fall has an upcoming show, said it’s one of Jacksonville’s best bands.

“They have established themselves as a consistent top draw and always put on a polished, energetic and fun performance time and time again,” Padilla said.

Coming This Fall is set to headline a musically diverse show Jan. 28 at Murray Hill Theatre. Opening acts include: Ocean Is Theory, from Atlanta, and Embracing Goodbye, from Four Oaks, N.C.

The band is composed of five members, all with their own entities: Olberding on guitar and vocals, Cody Weston, a UNF history junior, on drums, Korey Robinson, a UNF business sophomore, on bass and vocals, Atchison, a UNF business management senior, on guitar, and lead singer Travis Maynard.

They all knew one another in high school, and when founding members Olberding and Weston started looking for bandmates, they didn’t have to look far. Olberding found Robinson in drum line, and then Robinson met Maynard in sign language class.

“I sang a country song for a class project,” Maynard said. “Korey was impressed.”

Their first show together was a High School Battle of the Bands contest, which they lost.

“We did terribly,” Olberding said, shaking his head in disgust. “We opened with a cover of Creed’s ‘Higher’ and a couple of our own and bombed.”

They didn’t give up and eventually won a Jacksonville Battle of the Bands.

The band put out its first CD in 2008, but it wasn’t until its second release in September 2009, “Claim To Fame EP,” that really broke Coming This Fall to the Jacksonville scene, Maynard said.

The band took this album all over Jacksonville, including to Murray Hill, which quickly became one of their favorite venues, the band said.

That same year, Coming This Fall jumped on the scene when they entered and won Murray Hill Theatre’s “King of the Hill,” a six-month long battle of the bands competition, Padilla said.

“Their songs are catchy and contain hooks that you find yourself humming long after the show ends,” Padilla said.

When it comes to what genre the band plays, even it is clueless.

“Some people call it pop-rock, some say punk or alternative, I like to call it radio rock,” Maynard said.

“I don’t want to call it emo,” Robinson said, “but it is heartfelt.”

Each member has a different musical background, from hardcore to country to classical and pop; Maynard used to sing choir in high school.

The one thing they can agree on is the positive lyrics and their appeal to a wide range of tastes.

“We want to play as many kinds of music as possible, so more people are inclined to listen,” Robinson said.

Coming This Fall will be releasing its third, “more mature” CD soon, entitled “Remember Me EP.”

Coming This Falls plays at Murray Hill Theatre Jan. 28. You can get tickets by e-mailing the band at comingthisfall@live.com or at mhtrocks.com. Tickets are $8 presale and $10 at the door.