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FamilyChristian.com Exclusive Interview
Talking By The Tree
After four years of traveling independently, the members of By The Tree have released their first national album, Invade My Soul. We spoke with Chuck Dennie, Kevin Rhoads and Aaron Blaton at length about who they are, where they've been and the difference between worship and entertainment.

Chuck Dennie and Kevin Rhoads are being billed as Christian music's odd couple. The moniker rings true when you meet the two songwriters fronting By The Tree. Chuck is the serious thinker who weighs his words before speaking. Kevin is…well…comparisons to Woody Harrelson have been made! In addition to his shiny head, showy clothes and charismatic stage presence, Kevin can usually be found freestyle rapping during the band's set. Personalities aside, the two roommates are bonded by a desire to use their music to continue the ministry they started as Young Life leaders. Aaron Blanton (formerly of Sonicflood) and Ben Davis round out the band and City on a Hill's Steve Hindalong lent his considerable production talent. The debut has already begun to invade radio with the hitbound singles "Walk" and "Reveal." FamilyChristian.com sat down with Chuck, Kevin and Aaron to talk about the band, songwriting and the meaning of worship.

FamilyChristian.com: We'll start with the obligatory question. How did you come up with the name By The Tree?

Chuck: We got By The Tree [from] Romans 5. It talks about [how] we are birthed into sin through the tree of life, with Adam and Eve, and then by the tree of the cross we have forgiveness and redemption.

FamilyChristian.com: You and Kevin met through Young Life. Were you guys involved as leaders or were you campers?

Chuck: We were both campers but we didn't know each other at that time. He was from Fort Myers Beach, Florida, and I was in Fort Worth, Texas. We both went to Young Life camps and were part of Young Life meetings. And then we both went to college and became leaders. I was a leader for three years and so was Kevin. We both helped out with music and stuff. We met at a work week at Frontier Ranch in Colorado.

Kevin: Chuck was singing. I was singing. We were all sitting around a campfire and that's how it all started.

FamilyChristian.com: Let's move on to introductions. What can you tell me about Aaron.

Chuck: Aaron is a guy that you can learn a lot from because he was in Sonicflood. It's helped us a ton. The way that they did things on a national level helps us know what it takes to be a national band. At [Gospel Music Association Week], he would [tell] us, "This is what you do here." We've learned a lot from Aaron on both sides, musically and relationship—wise with people, knowing how to do this whole Christian music thing.

[Musically,] a lot of it's been his style of drumming. I think that it inspires us when we play. It's different than we've ever had. It's something that kind of gels. The friendship that we've had is kind of weird because we've known him for five months and we're all best friends already.

Kevin: He's real solid. When he first got into the band we didn't know if he could drum. We just had him move in with us. And so the first show, Chuck and I were like, "Please be a good drummer, man."

He listens to tons of music that Chuck will never listen to and I will, so he is like the bridge between [us]. Chuck and I have absolutely no musical similarities whatsoever and Aaron is right in the middle. He's also a great singer. He's a good guitar player.

FamilyChristian.com: Let's move on to Chuck.

Aaron: I love Chuck. We know each other [through a] mutual friend at [the] studio. He said, "Hey man, these guys are looking for a drummer" so I called Chuck and he said, "Why don't we meet tomorrow?" I came down to the studio. He was recording his vocals so I went into the control room and was listening and hanging out. They'd already done the music and Chuck was singing over top of it. The music part of it was really awesome to hear. It was refreshing and very new sounding-thought-out and produced well. Then Chuck starts singing and he's got this great, cool, rock-and-roll voice. Come to find out later he's only been singing [for] five years, six years maybe, and that just blew me away because I think his voice is really cool.

After that, he met with me a little bit and he was just real honest about where he wanted to go [and] what he wanted to do with this band. He said, "Here's what we can do. What can you do?" It was just flat out. He was real, and more than anything else I thought, "This guy's real. I know I can trust what he says" just by talking for 20 minutes. I was sold at that point. He's not trying to put up a front or be fake. I've learned a lot about the depth of realness from Chuck because in every situation he takes the best road.

Kevin: I've learned a lot from these guys. They're really great. They really build me up and they really challenge me spiritually. They're great edifiers. They're always encouraging. If you're down, they're always there to pick you up. We always have each other's backs. I think the most important thing in a band is that everybody really cares about the other people and respects what they have to say and treats them with the same dignity they would their mother or their grandmother. That happens a lot in this band-lots of mutual respect.

Other than that, musically, I've learned a lot. Chuck taught me how to be able to enjoy a song that only has three or four chords in it, maybe two, because it used to have to be really complicated for me. Chuck got me into hard rock and roll. When I was growing up I used to listen to more hardcore [rap] stuff. I came away from that and got into the whole folk movement. And then Chuck brought me back, [listening] to rock and roll on the radio.

They're great guys. We're all best friends. We love each other to death. These are real talented guys. Chuck's a great singer. He's a good songwriter. The reason I came back in the band is because he started writing really cool songs.

FamilyChristian.com: You came back to the band? Did you leave the band?

Kevin: Yeah, I actually left the band for awhile but I kept coming back and Chuck would be working in the studio on a new song. The first one was "Reveal" and I said, "Wow, man, that's a cool song." And then a couple months later he was working on the song "Invade My Soul." I [thought], "What a cool song!" It was easy to want to come back to the band when it was time because being able to play songs you enjoy is a pretty important part of wanting to be in a band.

Aaron: I was really impressed by the songs. After I heard the record I was blown away by this guy. He's 24 years old and he's writing like he's 40. He's writing from a deep place. I really respect his writing and his ability to tap into that.

FamilyChristian.com: Let's talk about Kevin.

Aaron: Kevin and I, we really get along as far as [the] total comic aspects [of our personalities], if nothing else. But as I got to really know Kevin, I got to see a very deep person in him as well. This boy, if he doesn't have music, his heart stops. That's how he lives and breathes. I really believe that if there were no music in the world, Kevin would die. He's a great musician. He's really talented at what he does. Kev's actually a really great songwriter as well. He writes some very cool, catchy songs. I've gotten to know both of these guys very well and I'm more happy now than I've probably ever been musically and relationally.

Chuck: I think it's hard for us to talk about each other because we're so close. I think we've often struggled with how to define our relationship. I think the best way to describe it is that we're more like brothers than we are best friends. I think best friends are like guys that hang out together and on Friday night [are] the first guys [you] call. But Kevin and I have had this relationship where we've been forced to be together every day for the last four years. We've been through everything together. We've been through times in the band where it's been really rough financially. We've been through times spiritually where it's been really rough. Times musically it's been rough. Times where we didn't have good shows. Times we had great shows. And I think that's a lot like brothers would do. That's the best way I can define Kevin. Kevin and I are direct opposites but we, for some reason, have only had three fights, I think.

Kevin: We've had two out-loud fights.

Chuck: Two out-loud fights and one just dumb fight. We get along great. For whatever reason God put us together and these are my friends in life, the guys I choose to share my time with.

But as far as who Kevin is, he's so many parts it's definitely hard to explain. People are drawn to him. His personality is real charismatic. I think that if Kevin was honest with himself, one of the main things that he feels he does in life is bring joy to people and bring love to people. When you see Kevin in an atmosphere of people he doesn't even know, they're smiling and happy. He's a true entertainer at heart but for the right reasons. It's amazing. I've grown to love that about Kevin. He's always making things happier for us and more enjoyable. He's an amazing guy. There's so many different parts of him it's hard to grasp all of them.

On a musical level, when Kevin started getting serious about being in By The Tree, I was confused why I was on the same stage with this guy. He plays every instrument in the world [and] he's great at all of them. In Fort Worth and Dallas, the circle of friends I was in, everybody looked up to him. I remember the first time I saw him, I [thought], "Man, this guy's a legend musically." So musically, that's kind of how he is to me. I'm fortunate enough to have a guy like this play with me.

I wrote this album because Kevin was out of the band when we first started. But one of the most exciting things I'm looking forward to is the [next] album because Kevin will be involved in the writing process equally as much as I will. He's actually a much better songwriter than me. When we come together, I think it will be really cool [to see] what happens.

FamilyChristian.com: Kevin, how many instruments do you really play?

Kevin: It always gets bigger and bigger. One time someone came up to me and said, "I heard you play 37 instruments." I play the guitar, harmonica, piano, accordion, tin whistle, mandolin, bass. That's about it. I'm not real good at most of those.

Chuck: That's a lie. Kevin Rhoads is great at every instrument he plays. It's amazing that he plays them the way he does.

Kevin: I would love to play the violin. That's my dream. I bought one and I just need to get some rosin and [then] I'm going to start working with it.

Invade My Soul by By The Tree

FamilyChristian.com: Are you pretty natural, then? You can pick something up and figure it out?

Kevin: I'm not Mozart. I sometimes feel like Good Will Hunting, like the professor who's great at math and stuff but he knows there's this guy out there who just picks it up. You never know which one you are.

FamilyChristian.com: Who would you say are your musical influences?

Kevin: Mine are Joni Mitchell, Beethoven, Tschaikovsky and Bob Dylan.

Chuck: I am Switchfoot's biggest fan. I love Switchfoot. Big Delirious fan. Love Jars of Clay. Really love Delirious because of their hearts. I feel close to what they do, worship-wise. I love pop-rock music. I'm real big into the Third Eye Blind, Vertical Horizon thing. I like a lot of other bands like Supergrass and Superdrag. That's where Kevin and I are once again the odd couple!

Kevin: We are very different, like right now in our CD player is Dvorak's New World. It's a classical piece. It's a beautiful piece. It's very slow but every note is just so inspired. It's an easy song for a listener who doesn't listen to classical music to follow.

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