Local band competes to open Chesney tour
By John Benson
The band could win $25,000 and a deal with Sony BMG.
When Bullseye singer-songwriter Wendy Wills wrote the song “Cry Me a River” in her Latin class as a junior at Austintown Fitch High School, she never could have imagined one day she may have had the opportunity to sing it in front of Kenny Chesney.
However, that’s exactly what Wills, a 2000 Austintown Fitch High School graduate, is hoping to do this Memorial Day weekend. Up first is Bullseye’s “The Next Big Star Contest” performance at 9 p.m. tonight at the Hard Rock Caf in Cleveland.
If the band wins this battle of the bands event, they’ll earn an opening slot for Kenny Chesney at his “Poets Pirates Tour,” which takes place Saturday at Cleveland Browns Stadium. Also on that bill are Keith Urban, LeAnn Rimes, Sammy Hagar and Gary Allan.
“A friend told me about the ‘Next Big Star Contest,’” said Wills, 25, who just graduated from Youngstown State University with an English degree. “So we sent a demo with one original song to Cleveland radio station WGAR, and they picked 10 bands to send to music representatives, who then picked the top four. And we were one of the top four.”
The song that Bullseye — Wills (vocals), Christylee Roose (vocals), Jason Amy (bass, keyboards), Jimmy Stafford (guitar, vocals), Kenny Krzynowek (drums) and Mark Dershaw (steel guitar, harmonica, vocals) — is hoping is a bull’s-eye with Nashville music industry insiders is “Back to You By Monday,” which Wills wrote when she was 20.
So why does she think the judges picked Bullseye as one of the top four bands in the northeast Ohio competition?
“I think it’s the fact that a lot of bands have male singers, and we have two female singers,” Wills said. “Also, it’s kind of like pop-ish country, maybe it’s sort of different. So I think we have something to offer that a lot of bands don’t.”
If Bullseye wins this tonight, the band will not only open for Chesney on Saturday but also be in the running for a grand prize, which includes $25,000 and a chance to audition for Sony BMG Nashville representatives.
Though Wills has been dreaming of becoming a country star since junior high school, her travels have taken her from singing at Cedar Point’s Red Garter Saloon to performing on a Carnival cruise ship. It wasn’t until last summer when she met up with ex-Broken Arrow members to form Bullseye that she joined her first band.
The future remains uncertain for Wills, who said she’s currently entertaining the thought of teaching English abroad. Maybe Mr. Chesney can change those plans.
“I don’t know if opening for Kenny Chesney would send us to stardom, but I think we’re all excited for the opportunity,” Wills said. “So many of the guys in the band have been doing this for longer than myself, and this is just something that all of us have never gotten to do before. So we’re all really excited about it.”
She added, “Even if we don’t win, it’s just awesome we all get selected to do this. It’s great to know that one of my originals that I wrote so long ago and recorded in 2003 [got us this far]. I can’t imagine singing it in front of Kenny Chesney and 20,000 or more people. It’s just amazing to me. We’re all just really happy to be able to do this.”
XFor more information, go to myspace.com/bullseyetime. The Hard Rock Caf is located at 230 W. Huron Rd., Cleveland. Call (216) 830-ROCK.