STILLWATER, Okla. — Chance Anderson knew he wanted to pursue music when he saw one of his favorite bands live.

“I grew up around music,” said Anderson. “I’ve always had music in my family and stuff, but I went to a (Cross Canadian) Ragweed concert when I was 15 and I saw Cody Canada up there and I was like, ‘Man, that’s what I want to do.’”

The 23-year-old who was born in Chickasha said he’s been playing for seven to eight years and has been performing at clubs half as long.

The Chance Anderson Band came together through Anderson and Reid Schindler. The two met at a Cross Canadian Ragweed show in Grand Prairie, Texas, when they were both in high school. But before forming the Chance Anderson band, the two, with help from friends, formed another band.

“Me and Reid, when we were in high school, we were in a band together called The Greedless Band and we were like 17 or 18 years old, so we had kind of a little band together,” said Anderson. “We kind of split up after a year or two and I did my own thing and Reid came to school here at OSU and I went down to Dallas and did the acoustic thing for a couple of years. I ended up coming back up here and we kind of hooked back up and he knew some friends who played and I had a couple friends who played, so we just kind of put it together.”

The band includes Anderson, lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Schindler, guitar, Chris Munson, lead guitar, Eric Wulz, bass and vocals, and Colby Bunch, drums. Anderson said the band is looking forward to releasing first record “This Town” in April.

“We’ve been working a long time on it and it’s come along great and we’re real excited about it,” said Anderson.

Anderson said the songs from the album have been written at different points of his life.

“Yeah, there’s 10 tracks on it and I’ve written these songs over the course of, you know, some of them I wrote when I was in high school and some of them I’ve written in the past year, so there’s a big variety of music on it,” said Anderson.

Among his favorite cuts: “245 Miles,” which he wrote while living in Dallas; while his fiance, Alisa, lived in Stillwater.

“ ... I met her in Stillwater when I was playing up here and I kind of wrote it about me making the trip up here all the time to come see her and eventually we fell in love and we’re engaged and that’s a big favorite of mine,” said Anderson.

He said Stillwater is a favorite city.

“Man, I love it up here,” said Anderson. “It’s cool. There’s a lot of great musicians. I’ve made a lot of friends here and it’s been great.”

And through the band’s successes, Anderson and crew have been able to play with those who inspired him to pursue music.

“We’ve had the privilege to play with a lot of guys we’ve grown up listening to and loving, so it’s been really cool,” said Anderson.

He names Kevin Fowler, Jack Ingram, Reckless Kelly and Stoney Larue. Anderson said his band has played in Texas, Kansas, Arkansas and, of course, back home in Oklahoma. He said the band’s live show appeals to all ages.

“We play a lot of oldies and it’s kind of cool because in our show I feel like we can appeal to a younger crowd and an older crowd,” said Anderson. “We really just like to get up there and have fun and I think it comes out in our live show that we’re a bunch of 22-year-old guys having a good time.”

While hoping to tour regionally and play to sellout crowds, Anderson said he would like to inspire someone the way he was inspired.

“Someday, it would be great if like a 15-year-old came to my show,” he said, “like I went to Ragweed’s show and I inspired someone to pick up the guitar and play music.”

Could Anderson see himself doing anything else?

“I don’t know what else I would do,” he said. “I mean, I’ve always wanted to do this. When I was in high school, I knew I was going to do this. When I graduated high school, I just dove right into it. I moved down to Dallas with some family of mine and I just did it. It’s the only thing I know. I can’t imagine doing anything else at all.”

Anderson performs in Stilly Studio at www.stwnewspress.com.

For more information on the Chance Anderson Band, visit www.chanceandersonmusic.com or check them out on Facebook and MySpace.