By
Chanz wins preliminary round in Next Big Star contest
Thanks to all of you who voted, By Chanz was one of the winners in the preliminary round/week 2 of
Contest 5 in the Next Big Star contest. During
the first six weeks of the contest, six competitors are reduced to four each
week. The lucky four move on to the
quarterfinals which occur in weeks 7-10 of the contest.
So in a few weeks By Chanz will enter the quarterfinals against another five
competitors who all were winners in a preliminary round, then the top three vote
getters will move into the semifinals during weeks 11 and 12.
We will send out another e-mail alert when By
Chanz receives notice that their video will again be posted on the Next Big
Star web site. Thanks again for
your support and your vote!
By Chanz invited to perform at Reston Festival
On
Sunday July 15, 2001 at 1:30 PM, By Chanz
will perform at the Reston Festival. Entertainment
organizer, Cheri Edwards, thanked the group for its application and is looking
forward to their performance. Come
out and see By Chanz in July! For
more information about the festival call 703-471-6405
x 4550
By Chanz Wins Sterling's Battle of the Bands Contest!
On Friday June 29th, from 7:00-11:00 PM, By Chanz competed against
seven other bands in the Sterling Community Center's "Battle of the
Bands" contest. By Chanz received 248 out of a possible 300
points to win the contest. As the first place winner, By Chanz
received a $150.00 gift certificate from Melodee Music and the opportunity to
perform at the Sterling Festival in October 2001.
By
Chanz performs in Philly
Beginning
with the new a cappella song, We
are By Chanz, the Ashburn, VA-based teen female vocal group showcased
its talent for other musicians and record industry representatives during the
Philadelphia Music Conference (PMC) on June 14, 2001 at 12:00 noon.
By Chanz performed other
original songs written and recorded by the members of the vocal group including
What, What Did I Say?,
Beat of Your Heart, and I
Can’t Breathe. They
received rousing applause after finishing each song.
PMC provided a huge stage which included a professional light show that
occurred during the By Chanz
performance.
A
representative from Jive Records wanted to pass on a copy of the group’s CD to
his friend and manager of the Backstreet
Boys. And an EPIC/Sony A&R
representative requested that a copy of the group’s CD be mailed to him for
review.
Loudoun Showcase a Smash!
The
three members of By Chanz performed
for an enthusiastic crowd at the Loudoun Country Day School to raise funds for
their showcase at the Philadelphia Music Conference. Friends and family members came to see the performance and
send By Chanz to Philly.
After performing the original songs they intended to perform in
Philadelphia, the group sang a few cover tunes and then invited members of the
audience to come up on the stage and sing the final song, Britney Spears’
Oops…I Did It Again
along with them.
LAX
Splash 2001 Performances a Huge Success!
By Chanz
performed four sets at LAX Splash 2001 MD near the famous Sheffield Recording
Studios on June 2, 2001 in Phoenix, MD.
Their performances were well attended by teen and pre-teen lacrosse
players from the east coast of the US.
To see pictures of the By Chanz performances go to the Photos
page.
By
Chanz records “Beat of Your Heart” at 21st Street Studios
The
three members of By Chanz recorded a new mix of their original song, Beat
of Your Heart at the 21st
Street Studios in Northern Virginia on June 9, 2001. The song was written by
By Chanz member Kelley Hagood, her high school chum Cori Harding, and Dennis
Balin, a Columbia, MD songwriter. Chris Davis, the guitarist for Glad,
an internationally known Christian recording group created the instrumental
track and recorded the lead vocals. He
mixed the background vocals recorded at Pearl Studios in Columbia, MD together
with the lead vocals and the track with the help of engineer, Kevin Myers.
To see pictures of the recording session go to the Photos
page.
By
Chanz records “What, What Did I Say?” at 21st Street Studios
The
three members of By Chanz recorded their newest original song, What, What Did I Say?, at
the 21st Street Studios in Northern Virginia on May 18-19, 2001.
The song was written by By Chanz
members Lauren Smallwood and Kelley Hagood.
Smallwood conceived the idea for the song and had jotted down some of the
song’s lyrics in her notebook. She
also had an idea for the melody for the song’s hook (i.e., chorus).
Hagood added to Smallwood’s lyrics to create the song’s two verses
and also enhanced the chorus. They
were ready to record the song, but Hagood felt the song was missing something, a
pre-chorus. She quickly penned one
after the rough instrumental track was created by Chris Davis, the guitarist for
Glad,
an internationally known Christian recording group. Then By Chanz
recorded the lead and background vocals as well as the rap break with Davis’
help. Sarah Luhrs, the third member
of By Chanz, added several
stratospheric rifs which only she could do and also contributed backgrounds to
the song’s chorus. The song was
mixed with the help of engineer, Kevin Myers on May 23, 2001.
Hagood Accepted at Numerous Schools of Music
By Chanz founding member, Kelley Hagood, recently learned that she was
accepted by several schools of music including the Berklee School of Music in
Boston, James Madison University School of Music, Western Oregon University, and
Minnesota State University at Moorhead. However, instead of attending a music
school Hagood has decided to attend Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU)
near Nashville as a recording industry major in the College of Mass
Communications. "Instead of a music degree, I'll graduate with a degree in
business. That should allow me to be taken more seriously by other music
industry professionals," said Hagood. "This major allows me to wed my
love of music and performing with a good foundation in the music business and an
overview of recording industry technology," she said. "I will still be
able to perform as part of the Music College ensembles, while taking courses in
songwriting, management, music publishing, recording contracts, and A&R.
I'll also get some hands on experience behind a recording console. This major
should give me the right mix of experience for a long-term career in the music
industry," said Hagood. However, she is hoping By Chanz takes off
and she can postpone college for a year. "I'd rather be on the road touring
with By Chanz," she said.
Clouds Dampen Leesburg Flower Festival Show
Rain showers cut in half the By Chanz show at the Leesburg Flower & Garden Festival on
Saturday April 21st.
After delivering rousing renditions of Mandy Moore’s Candy, Dream’s He
Loves You Not, and the Backstreet Boy’s Everybody (Backstreets Back), By
Chanz sang original tunes Beat
of Your Heart and I
Can’t Breathe before the clouds began to pour.
The rain continued throughout the rest of the time allotted for the By Chanz show and the Loudoun Dance Company took the stage after the
rain had stopped.
Sully CASA Kids Dance to By Chanz’ Music
Four of the members of By Chanz performed two 40-minute sets for the kids in the Sully
Elementary School CASA program on Friday April 20. By the end of the second song By Chanz had the kids on their feet and dancing to the music of
their favorite teen pop stars. Songs
like TLC’s No Scrubs proved to be too contagious for even the most reserved
kid to sit still. During the break
between sets, By Chanz had a pizza
party with the kids. A good time
was had by all.
By Chanz
member Wins Loudoun Arts Council Award
Kelley
Hagood, a senior at Broad Run High School, won second place in the vocal
category of the Loudoun Arts Council Excellence
in the Arts Awards competition. She
performed an original song she had written entitled I
Can't Breathe. The judges for the arts council were very impressed with
her writing and delivery of the song.
Hagood is the founding member of By
Chanz, the teen female vocal group that sings pop music laced with a tinge
of R&B. By Chanz
will be performing I Can't Breathe at the Leesburg Flower and Garden Festival on
April 21, 2001 at 1:00 PM. To learn
more about Loudoun Arts Council Award click
here.
By Chanz Performed to Packed House at the Upper Room of Leesburg
On Saturday March 24th, By Chanz performed to a packed house at the Upper Room of Leesburg.
Overcoming numerous obstacles, By
Chanz performed several original songs written by members of the group
including Beat
of Your Heart and I
Can’t Breathe written by Kelley Hagood and Forget About You written
by Amanda Szott. .
Technical difficulties prevented the group from offering a debut of the song, The
Way I Feel Tonight written by the talented local pop songwriter, Todd
Wright, of the Excentrics. However, By Chanz
will debut this song at the Leesburg Flower & Garden Festival on April 21st.
LAX
Girl
Tickles Officials' Fancy
By Chanz
recently learned that its first cassette single, LAX Girl was selected as a semi-finalist in The
Great American Song Contest. Released
in January 2000, the song tells the story of a girl’s lacrosse game from the
player’s perspective. It captures
the passion, intensity and excitement of lacrosse game. LAX
Girl was the first song ever recorded about lacrosse.
Selected from over 900 songs submitted, the contest officials or judges
said, “ Excellent chorus section—original lyric—solid composition…This
song shows wonderful talent and potential.” Last year By
Chanz learned that their song, Beat
of Your Heart, written by
founding member Kelley Hagood had won an honorable mention award in the Grand
Slam Songwriting Contest. Congratulations to By Chanz and their manager! So
far their record is 2-0.
Penned
by By Chanz’ manager, LAX
Girl was more controversial however among the lacrosse officials’
community. Some questioned the lyrics and whether they promoted good
sportsmanship. There was even a
move among some referees and officials to censor the song. To learn more about
the song and the controversy it generated click
here.
By Chanz
Welcomes 2001 at First Night Leesburg
By
Chanz performed three shows at First Night Leesburg to help celebrate the
new year. The audiences at the 8:00
and 10:00 PM shows were packed in like sardines.
Adults stood on the sides and at the back of the Loudoun County Board of
Education auditorium while teens and children sat on the floor surrounding those
who had arrived early and were lucky enough find a chair.
By Chanz shared the venue with
the Bill Fox Band and alternated performances every other hour. By Chanz made over 350 new fans as the final minutes of the year
2000 ticked away.
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By Chanz Sends Planet Club Teens into Orbit
Cheering
fans greeted By Chanz after each of
their performances at The Planet Club,
Northern Virginia’s premiere teen nightclub on December 8th and
9th. Fans loved the familiar cover
tunes but seemed to enjoy the original songs even more.
By Chanz performed two
original songs, Beat
of Your Heart and I
Can’t Breathe, written by veteran By
Chanz member, Kelley Hagood. By
Chanz also performed a song entitled Someday
You’ll Be Mine written by the group’s manager.
Cheers, screams, and rousing applause followed the performance of each
song. To read more about The Planet
Club performances click here. On
December 9th, the By Chanz performance was followed by another
fantastic teen band, known as Random
Order. To learn more about The Planet Club, go to their web site at www.ThePlanetClub.com
By Chanz
Receives Recognition in National Songwriting Contest
Veteran
By Chanz member, Kelley Hagood, wrote
a song entitled Beat of Your Heart which
won an honorable mention in the Grand Slam Songwriting Contest sponsored by
Music Connection Magazine, a respected LA music magazine that covers the
regional music scene.
Hagood wrote the music and lyrics for the chorus and pre-chorus.
He co-writer, Cori Harding, wrote the lyrics for the song’s two versus.
Columbia, MD songwriter-producer, Dennis Balin, contributed the song’s
bridge and prepared the musical track.
Congratulations to Kelley, Cori and Dennis!
To learn more about this award-winning song click
here.
LAX Girl Tour – Feb
through June, 2000
By Chanz
completed a successful tour this past spring and summer of indoor and outdoor
sporting venues. In November of
1999 By Chanz went into the studio
and recorded what may be the first song ever about lacrosse (LAX) entitled LAX
Girl-LAX World. The song
was engineered and released in January 2000.
Beginning in February 2000 By
Chanz took their show on the road where they performed LAX
Girl live before over 2,000 lacrosse players and coaches.
They sold several hundred copies of their first cassette single.
LAX Girl was played on the AM
radio station WJFK in May and June 2000 by Gordon Boone, the host of the
lacrosse show that is broadcast after the Johns Hopkins lacrosse games.
The top two lacrosse web sites, All Lacrosse America and E-Lacrosse both ran a feature story about By Chanz and their first cassette single LAX Girl. To read these stories go to either or both www.Alllacrosseamerica.com or www.E-lacrosse.com, find the search window and type By Chanz.
LAX
Girl
can be ordered at the CD NOW web site at www.cdnow.com
or it can be ordered directly from By
Chanz by mailing a check for $4.95 made payable to By Chanz to:
By Chanz
44084 Saxony Terrace
Ashburn, VA 20147
The Baltimore Sun also featured a story about By Chanz in June 2000. To read the Sun article [click here].