Must Love Music

BY TEGAN BURKHARD  |  PHOTOS PROVIDED BY NBC

Oklahoma City’s Chase Kerby has come a long way from his early days as a musician, spent singing in strip malls and catching up on sleep in movie theaters across state lines.

 

Ten years after touring with his first band, Chasing Paris, Kerby finds himself performing an emotional rendition of Coldplay’s “The Scientist” in front of celebrity judges, a packed auditorium and at-home viewers.

 

“It’s amazing the difference it makes when 13 million people watch you,” Kerby says.

 

Moments before taking the stage for his “The Voice” blind audition, Kerby says he could hardly believe the experience was real.

 

“Where’s Ashton Kutcher?” Kerby says. “‘Cause I feel like I’m getting punked.”

 

Yet in the midst of his performance, No Doubt front woman, Gwen Stefani, presses her button, which lands Kerby a spot on her team. After hearing opinions from Blake Shelton, Pharrell Williams and Adam Levine, Kerby trades a box of candy from his mom’s candy shop, 42nd Street Candy Co., for an official Team Gwen T-shirt.

 

After receiving an email invitation to audition, Kerby officially joined the ranks of fellow musicians like former band mate Dia Frampton. Kerby previously filled in as touring guitarist for Frampton’s band, Meg & Dia, before Frampton went on to earn second place on the first season of “The Voice.”

Yet, even if he fails to advance as far as Frampton, Kerby says he is happy with how far he has already come on “The Voice.” Kerby has already beat the mathematical odds, becoming one of 48 people to join a “The Voice” team out of the 40,000 people who auditioned for Season 9.

 

Getting Stefani to press her button was exactly the encouragement long-time musician Kerby needed after spending more than a decade working toward paying the bills with his talents in a variety of bands.

 

“I’ve had some pretty amazing feedback lately, and it’s reminded me the power of music,” Kerby says. “And it’s an important, delicate thing that I think should be handled with care.”

 

Kerby put in many a long night for his trade, from touring the country to spending nights in to give life to new songs.

 

With the ability to play multiple instruments, including bass drum, piano and guitar, songwriting seems to come naturally for Kerby.

 

After hanging up his first instrument, saxophone, Kerby started exploring lyrics and guitar. While other high school kids spent the weekends partying, Kerby stayed at home to write songs.

 

“It was like the company that I needed,” Kerby says. “It was like on Friday night, I’m writing these songs as if I was hanging out with my best friends anyways.”

 

 

Kerby eventually added band mates to the songwriting process, although sometimes the songs in his head came out fully formed with no extra input needed.

 

“Each song is kind of like that rabbit hole from Alice In Wonderland, so it kind of depends on how far into the rabbit hole I get with the song,” Kerby says. “Sometimes I haven’t ventured into it at all and we go through it as a band and a lot of times, I’m so far down the rabbit hole the band has to pull me out of it.”

 

After churning out more than 400 songs between high school and Chasing Paris, Kerby found success with his next band, The City Lives. The band garnered attention from The All-American Rejects’ guitarist, Mike Kennerty, and lead singer, Tyson Ritter. Kerby’s band signed with their new local record label, Edmond Records, before embarking on a national tour with the Rejects.

 

Kerby is quick to point out that success as a musician is gradual, however.

 

“Making it in music isn’t about one giant success,” Kerby says. “Making it in music is about a series of small successes, and each one should invigorate you to work harder and harder and harder.”

 

Despite their newfound success, Kerby says he and his band mates eventually had to part ways because of creative differences.

 

“I felt like I needed to venture out,” Kerby says. “I didn’t want to be caught in a dead end of creativity. I needed space to grow.”

From there, Kerby formed Defining Times, giving him the chance to experiment with other genres. It was during these years that Kerby says he fell into a bout of depression and questioned his decision to continue exploring music.

 

“I sincerely had to remind myself that I’m a fan of music before I ever played it and before I ever wrote it, so there really is this genuine love for music,” Kerby says.

 

Kerby sets a more encouraging tone for his current band, Chase Kerby and the Villains. Every band member must love music and avoid cynical attitudes, a recipe that takes Kerby back to his early days as a musician.

 

“It’s almost as if you do it out of a purity for what it is,” Kerby says of his first years as a musician. “You’re not jaded yet, there’s no cynicism. There’s an innocence to it.”

 

No matter what the outcome of his “The Voice” experience, Kerby hopes to keep following new leads and possibilities.

 

“Every opportunity is a doorway to another opportunity,” Kerby says. “And you just have to be able to capitalize on that and take advantage of the situation in the best ways possible.”