Chip Banks

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) – One of the year’s big music and entertainment events will be taking place this week in Austin, Texas.

Charles “DJ Chip Banks” Colvin from Youngstown will be a part of the event.

The event is The Famous South by Southwest Entertainment Festival in Austin, Texas.

He will spend the event doing what he loves — DJing for thousands.

He got the gig by meeting people at the same event last year.

“Last year I went and the festival blew my mind. It was a great experience,” Colvin said. “I networked with a lot of people. What a lot of people don’t know is I auditioned for a couple tours while I was down there. I didn’t land those gigs but I made some good contacts.”

Last year, Colvin attended the event and worked for unofficial Southwest events — this year it’s official.

“On Thursday, I’ll be DJing a day party with Hip Hop Weekly Magazine and then on Friday I’ll be at a couple different events and will also be playing in a charity basketball game with good music. That’s through Deaf Jam Recording,” Colvin said. “On Saturday, it’s the big event that I got. It’s called Respect the DJ Juice and it’s at the Bugalow in Austin, Texas.”

Colvin said this will be one of the biggest events he’s attended — it is for most DJs.

“I’ve been practicing all month gearing up for it because it’s a lot of eyes on you. A lot of corporate people — a lot of people that can get your foot in the entertainment business.” - Stan Boney

Charles “ChipBanks” Colvin is a Youngstown State University student in his senior year, a local radio host and a nationwide DJ.

While he is an information technology major student here at YSU, he said music has always been his passion. It all started in sixth grade when he started playing the drums in band. Then in seventh grade he auditioned for the Warren Junior Military Band.

“The bad thing was I didn’t know how to read music, so I kind of faked it like I knew how to read it, but I had no clue,” Colvin said.

He passed the audition and played in the band for five summers, traveling all over the country.

Being in the Warren Junior Military Band introduced Colvin to classic music and playing drums, which grew his love for making music.


It wasn’t until his sophomore year in college that he began DJing, throwing concerts and doing party promotions.

“I never thought I would be a DJ,” Colvin said. “We had this huge party one night, and we booked this DJ from Cleveland. Well, he caught a flat tire, and he couldn’t make it, and they’re like ‘yo you gotta DJ,’ so I did.”

Colvin has DJed in places like Las Vegas and Mexico. He has also DJed for corporate events for places like McDonalds and even for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Locally, he has worked weddings, parties and nightclubs. He has done events at the Covelli Centre, at The Deyor Performing Arts Center and on the YSU campus.

“For me to be able to open up the doors and do the things that I’ve done here in this small town is a big deal to me,” Colvin said.

On Oct. 9 and Oct. 23, he will take his talents to Pittsburgh once again to DJ for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Colvin said the Arias Agency, an American insurance company, is the reason he will be DJing for the team.

Colvin didn’t stop his music career at DJing. Sept. 24 will mark the one-year anniversary that Colvin has been a radio host for Star 94.7.

According to Colvin, getting to DJ on the radio is a pinnacle career point. Colvin’s show was rated as the number one highest rated show on air in this area during his first quarter, according to Nielsen, a worldwide ratings company.

Skip Bednarczyk, who is the owner of the local radio station, says Colvin is a very ambitious and passionate entrepreneur.

“One of the things I like best about working with him is that he knows what he wants and isn’t afraid to work for it,” Bednarczyk said.

Clarence Jennings, a friend of Colvin’s for the past 20 years, agrees that Colvin is a hard worker.

“Chip is driven by success, and he works hard at everything he does,” Jennings said.

Jennings, who is the executive director of Sunrise Assisted Living, met Colvin when they were in third grade and have been friends ever since. Jennings was around during the “basement music” days, where they would create a studio in his mother’s basement to be able to work on music.

“He has always had music around him, whether he was making beats, producing or DJing,” Jennings said. “Music is about 90 percent of his life, and it paid off for him.”

According to Jennings, Colvin is also very involved with the community and always willing and wanting to work with local artists.

Colvin’s radio show is on 94.7 FM on Saturday nights from 7 p.m. to midnight. - Jennifer Rodriguez

Youngstown State University senior Charles Colvin of Youngstown certainly knows how to use two turntables and a microphone.

Better known by his DJ name, “ChipBanks,” the Information Technology major has his own local R&B radio program, airing 10 p.m. to midnight Saturdays on YTown Broadcasting’s Star 94.7. He says Nielson has given the show high rankings in its time slot.

Colvin also DJed two Pittsburgh Steeler corporate tailgate parties this October for Wexford, Pa.-based Arias Agencies, and he did one corporate tailgate event for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

It can be difficult to balance schoolwork and spinning the tunes. “It’s challenging at times,” he said. “I plan to graduate in December, so I have to study a lot, and also study my craft.”

Skip Bednarczyk, owner of Star 94.7 and former program director of JAMZ 101.9, has played an important role for Colvin.

In 2012, Colvin won a JAMZ DJ contest that would have entitled him to a mix show on the station, but the deal fell through when JAMZ switched to a Christian format under new owners. It was a disappointment, but Colvin would hear from Bednarczyk again with a new opportunity.

“At Star 94.7’s one-year anniversary, I sent him a congratulations email,” he said. “He wrote me back: ‘Hey, I was thinking about adding something new to the format. What do you think about coming in for a late night show?”

Colvin accepted the opportunity, and he’s now celebrating his own one-year anniversary at the station. He also continues to DJ events, where his playlist runs the gamut, from hip-hop to top 40 music and electronic dance music.

“I’ve had the great opportunity to DJ in Las Vegas and in Mexico,” he said, “and I’ll be back in Vegas this year for Halloween.”

Colvin credits his parents for encouraging his interest in music. “Cleaning up around the house, we’d always listen to music, then in junior high at Eagle Heights Academy I started playing drums. We had a little drum line.”

That experience won him a spot in the Warren Junior Military Band, and he traveled the country with the band for five years. - Jambar

A Youngstown DJ is on the list of performers at the South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas, next week.

Charles Colvin, who goes by DJ Chip Banks, will be headed to the venerable music-industry showcase where he will perform a half-dozen times. He is the only Youngstowner on the schedule this year.

The SXSW festival features thousands of rising but mostly unsigned artists, selected by record labels, booking agencies, management and public-relations firms and other industry insiders. The acts will perform in bars, clubs, parks, churches, hotels and other venues from March 12 to 18.

This will be Colvin’s second time as part of the SXSW experience, but his first as a part of the festival. He was hired by promoters last year to DJ at a few events that were not affiliated with SXSW but were peripherally involved with artists that were part of showcase performances.

Colvin – who will be in Austin March 15, 16 and 17 – has had his sights on SXSW for about seven years.

“Being involved in the music and entertainment business you hear about all the memorable surprise performances by big artists and amazing events,” he said. “Most of the new artist that break nationally get their big break by performing at SXSW.”

Colvin likens it to the NFL scouting combine, where hopefuls show what they can do in hopes of impressing teams and getting signed.

“I attended in 2017, and I networked like no other,” he said. “While I was there a few official SXSW reps had the opportunity to see me perform and contacted me for this year’s festival.”

Colvin is well-known in Youngstown-area clubs, and has performed in Las Vegas and other cities. His next local show will be March 30 in the Lemon Grove, second floor of the Knox Building (above The Federal), downtown. Colvin also has a Saturday show on local radio station Star 94.7 FM.

As the official DJ of Youngstown State University athletics, he also works the school’s volleyball games, and men’s and women’s basketball games, and is working on performing at football games next season. He sets the pace during games and gets the crowd excited by playing music during pregame warmups and timeouts.

“This is my first year [as YSU athletics DJ], and it’s been amazing,” he said. - GUY D’ASTOLFO

DJ Chip Banks, aka Charles Colvin, of Star 94.7-FM will be back in Las Vegas on Oct. 30 for the “Twisted Fantasies” Halloween costume party at Fizz Champagne Lounge inside Caesars Palace. It will be his second time DJing at the prestigious venue. He played an industry mixer there Sept. 28 and was asked to return.

The Valley resident calls it a pivotal moment in his career. He regularly DJs at places such as The Federal, Warehouse 50 and Liquid Blu, but is experiencing an increase in demand. He recently did shows in Cleveland, Washington and Indianapolis.

Banks prides himself on being a versatile disc jockey who can instantly adjust to the room.

“My primary goal is to please the crowd, no matter the demographic or genre of music,” he said. “I think my greatest skill is reading the crowd and sensing their favorites, and then keeping the energy and party vibe going.” - The Vindicator