By the Tree
Encyclopedia
By the Tree is a two-time Dove Award-winning contemporary Christian
rock group
.
By the Tree was founded in Weatherford, Texas
in 1997 by Chuck Dennie and Bala Boyd.
As with most aspiring musical groups, By the Tree got their start playing a series of small venue
s — predominantly churches — throughout the southern
and southwestern
United States. Their near-constant touring
cultivated a sizeable fan base.
In 1999 they released two independent, self-produced
CDs
, which they sold at their concerts. By 2001, these two CDs had sold a combined 30,000 units, which more than recouped their production costs, and additionally brought them to the attention of the Gospel
music industry.
The band eventually signed with Fervent Records
, part of the BMG
music publishing company. Their first national U.S.
commercial
recording was Invade My Soul. The album
charted
in the Billboard Top 40 in the Contemporary Christian and Independent categories. The album eventually went on to win two Dove Awards: The album itself won Best Modern Rock/Alternative Album, and the album's title track won Best Recorded Song.
The band has gone through numerous lineup changes since signing with Fervent. [(Singer)]/[(guitarist)] Aaron Blanton joined the group prior to the recording of Invade My Soul, replacing Samuel McKern as the drummer. Chuck Dennie remained lead vocalist and guitarist until 2005. Bassist
Ben Davis joined in 2002 for the recording of These Days. Original member Kevin Rhoads left the band shortly after the release of These Days and was replaced by Charlie Goddard, who left the band in 2003 to join Jeff Deyo's
band.
By the Tree has released four albums under the Fervent label, and they remain one of the more popular acts in Contemporary Christian music.
Chuck Dennie lived in Edmond, OK with his wife Joanne, he is on staff at the multi-campus church known as LifeChurch.tv and was a worship pastor at their North West OKC campus until April of 2010. He is now resides in Tennessee and is the campus pastor of the church's Indian Lake location.
Contemporary Christian music
Contemporary Christian music is a genre of modern popular music which is lyrically focused on matters concerned with the Christian faith...
rock group
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
.
Overview
Weatherford, Texas
Weatherford is a city in Parker County, Texas, United States, and a western suburb of Fort Worth. The population was 19,000 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Parker County and is part of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.-Geography:...
in 1997 by Chuck Dennie and Bala Boyd.
As with most aspiring musical groups, By the Tree got their start playing a series of small venue
Music venue
A music venue is any location used for a concert or musical performance. Music venues range in size and location, from an outdoor bandshell or bandstand or a concert hall to an indoor sports stadium. Typically, different types of venues host different genres of music...
s — predominantly churches — throughout the southern
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
and southwestern
Southwestern United States
The Southwestern United States is a region defined in different ways by different sources. Broad definitions include nearly a quarter of the United States, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah...
United States. Their near-constant touring
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
cultivated a sizeable fan base.
In 1999 they released two independent, self-produced
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
CDs
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
, which they sold at their concerts. By 2001, these two CDs had sold a combined 30,000 units, which more than recouped their production costs, and additionally brought them to the attention of the Gospel
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
music industry.
The band eventually signed with Fervent Records
Fervent Records
Fervent Records is a Contemporary Christian record label based in Nashville, Tennessee. Fervent was bought by Word Records in 2005.-Current Artists:* BarlowGirl* Big Daddy Weave* Chris August* Francesca Battistelli* Group 1 Crew* Sidewalk Prophets...
, part of the BMG
BMG
Bertelsmann Music Group, , was a division of Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Japan's Sony Corporation of America on October 1, 2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann...
music publishing company. Their first national U.S.
National (distribution)
National is an adjective used to describe a product or publication that is distributed throughout an entire nation, e.g., a national magazine. It implies that the item is available for purchase or access anywhere in the country...
commercial
Commerce
While business refers to the value-creating activities of an organization for profit, commerce means the whole system of an economy that constitutes an environment for business. The system includes legal, economic, political, social, cultural, and technological systems that are in operation in any...
recording was Invade My Soul. The album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
charted
Hit parade
A hit parade is a ranked list of the most popular recordings at a given point in time, usually determined by sales and/or airplay. The term originated in the 1930s; Billboard magazine published its first music hit parade on January 4, 1936...
in the Billboard Top 40 in the Contemporary Christian and Independent categories. The album eventually went on to win two Dove Awards: The album itself won Best Modern Rock/Alternative Album, and the album's title track won Best Recorded Song.
The band has gone through numerous lineup changes since signing with Fervent. [(Singer)]/[(guitarist)] Aaron Blanton joined the group prior to the recording of Invade My Soul, replacing Samuel McKern as the drummer. Chuck Dennie remained lead vocalist and guitarist until 2005. Bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
Ben Davis joined in 2002 for the recording of These Days. Original member Kevin Rhoads left the band shortly after the release of These Days and was replaced by Charlie Goddard, who left the band in 2003 to join Jeff Deyo's
Jeff Deyo
Jeff Deyo is an American Contemporary Christian music solo artist and worship leader. He was also the lead singer of the band SONICFLOOd from its creation in 1999 through 2000....
band.
By the Tree has released four albums under the Fervent label, and they remain one of the more popular acts in Contemporary Christian music.
Chuck Dennie lived in Edmond, OK with his wife Joanne, he is on staff at the multi-campus church known as LifeChurch.tv and was a worship pastor at their North West OKC campus until April of 2010. He is now resides in Tennessee and is the campus pastor of the church's Indian Lake location.
Current members
- Aaron Blanton (vocals/guitar)
- Ben Davis (bass/keys/vocals)
- Dustin Sauder (lead guitar/vocals)
- Eric Green (drums)
Former members
- Cameron Tucker – drums and percussion (On "Passion For Jesus '99" and "Shoot Me Down")
- David Canington – keys (On "Passion For Jesus '99" and "Shoot Me Down")
- Betsy Caswell – vocals (On "Passion For Jesus '99" and "Shoot Me Down")
- Kevin Rhoads – vocals, guitar
- Samuel McKern – drums
- Charlie Goddard – vocals, guitar
- Rocky Presley – bass
- Chuck Dennie – vocals, guitar
- Garrett Goodwin – drums
- Dan Castillo – bass
- James Putnam – bass
- Melissa Stein – vocals
Discography
- Passion For Jesus (1999) Self-produced and distributed
- Shoot Me Down (1999) Self-produced and distributed
- Invade My Soul (Fervent RecordsFervent RecordsFervent Records is a Contemporary Christian record label based in Nashville, Tennessee. Fervent was bought by Word Records in 2005.-Current Artists:* BarlowGirl* Big Daddy Weave* Chris August* Francesca Battistelli* Group 1 Crew* Sidewalk Prophets...
, 2001) U.S. Christian #35 - These Days (Fervent, 2002) U.S. Christian #17
- Root (Fervent, 2003) U.S. Christian #15
- Hold You High (Fervent, 2004)
- World On Fire (Fervent, 2006)
- Beautiful One: The Best of By The Tree (Fervent, 2007)