YouTube Launches Towson Teens' Music Career

Experts warn of the dangers of meeting strangers online. But for Towson teens Maddie Freeman and Taylor Broom, a connection they made via YouTube may turn out to be the launching pad to a promising music career with their quickly-rising band Say Chance.

Taylor and Maddie, both 16, met as freshmen at . Quickly realizing their shared love of music—both girls describe themselves as self-taught guitar players and singers—they soon began spending a lot of time together, often with guitars in hand.

Just for fun, they posted a few videos of their music-making on YouTube. Across the country, Kelly Rosenthal saw one of the duo's videos and was intrigued.

"I had seen tens of thousands of videos on YouTube, but there was something really captivating about them. I felt like I needed to reach out to them," said 19-year-old Kelly, also a self-taught guitarist who was living in Sacramento at the time.

Kelly left a flattering comment on Maddie and Taylor's YouTube site, and a long-distance friendship was born. Soon the three teens decided to make a "split screen" video on YouTube, whereby the screen is literally split in two and viewers see Kelly playing guitar to a song that Taylor and Maddie sing. The trio liked how it turned out, and decided to meet and play in person.

The opportunity came last year on spring break. Taylor had an aunt living in Monterrey, California, a few hours from Kelly. So the Towson teens flew to California, where they met Kelly, who was attending junior college at the time.

The three spent the bulk of their spring break playing music together and making a few "live" YouTube videos. They named themselves Say Chance. By chance, some of the videos inadvertently crossed the desk of an influential industry expert. 

Pete Giberga, an independent music manager and industry veteran who signed Sara Bareilles when working for Epic Records, immediately liked what he heard of Say Chance, a trio he describes as "soulful roots meets rock."                             

Asked what about Say Chance stood out from the thousands of want-to-be musicians he comes across in his line of work, Giberga responded readily: "Their musicianship, their playing and singing ability. It's easy to spot."

Having secured Giberga as their manager and Jonathan Adelman of Paradigm Agency (which represents artists like Bruno Mars and the Black Eyed Peas) as their booking agent, Say Chance appears to be on the verge of a big break.

This Sunday night, Say Chance will open for Sara Bareilles at Rams Head Live in Baltimore to a sold-out audience. It's a move up from the , a coffee house in Towson, where they typically play to a crowd of 10 or 20.

The girls don't seem fazed by this next step. They're just excited to play together—whether to a crowd of one or a couple hundred. When I asked if they'd play me something, Say Chance needed no time to prepare.

Suddenly Kelly, who is now a permanent house guest at Taylor's West Towson home, ran to get her guitar, as Maddie and Taylor sat poised on the living room couch. Then they launched into This Far, one of the band's three original songs.

As Kelly expertly strummed and the voices of Maddie and Taylor in turn rose and fell, filling the room with a rich and soulful sound, I forgot for a moment how young these girls are. Their sideway glances and giggles between verses were my only reminders.

To hear clips from this promising new band from Towson, click here!