Visibly exhausted from a long road trip and spending the night in a hotel, the members of Eisley took time to relax before their set, sipping on coffee and tea as they discussed their lives as a family band, the pressures of big record labels, and their upcoming album.
Playing Tuesday night in the Glenn Miller Ballroom, Eisley was one of four musical acts to take the stage as part of the Miramontes Festival, playing with a diverse group of musicians including Paper Bird, Danielia Cotton and DJ Rekha.
Eisley is unique in that the band is made up almost entirely of siblings. They include Sherri, Stacy, Chauntelle and Weston DuPree; their cousin Garron DuPree plays bass, and Boyd DuPree, who acts as the band’s manager and is a father to four of the members.
Although Eisley’s first record, “Room Noises,” was released in 2005, the band said they’ve been playing music together for as long as they can remember.
“It was bound to happen,” said Weston DuPree, a 23-year-old drummer for the band. “We all lived in a tiny house. Three kids lived in one room and three kids lived in another, and there was always a lot of musical influence in our house.”
Stacy DuPree, 21, who plays keyboard and is one of the lead vocalists for the band, said she agreed.
“All we knew was music, all the time,” Stacy DuPree said. “We just started writing together and it just sort of happened. We started getting asked to play at churches and youth groups, so we decided to become a band.”
Becoming a band was easier for Eisley because they were homeschooled, said the band.
“We were total homeschooled dorks, and still are,” Stacy DuPree said.
Sherri DuPree, a 26-year-old guitarist and vocalist for the band, said homeschooling was one factor that helped form the band.
“[Being homeschooled] definitely helped us facilitate what we wanted to do,” Sherri DuPree said. “We were able to go play shows and tour and do school on the road, though we never really did our schoolwork.”
While most successful bands have their share of problems, family bands are often perceived as having the most turmoil simply because the members are also related. Liam and Noel Gallagher of Oasis have carried a long sibling rivalry, while The Jackson 5 dealt with an overbearing father for a manager. Eisley—though certainly no Partridge Family—has seemed to find a balance between work and play as a family band, casting aside unnecessary drama and the pressures of work to do what they said they love together.
“There are never really any problems between us,” said Garron DuPree, 20. “I guess when we get mad we just kind of keep it to ourselves.”
Chauntelle DuPree, a 28-year-old guitarist for the band, said the atmosphere is very lax.
“No one takes anyone else serious enough to have any real drama,” Chauntelle DuPree said.
Although Eisley may not take themselves seriously, one thing the band said they do take seriously is their music. After releasing two full albums through Warner Bros. Records, Eisley recently cut ties with their label, a process which Weston DuPree said would take “about two years to tell.”
“[Warner Bros.] was never going to help us get to the next level, and we were tired of that,” Chauntelle DuPree said.
Weston DuPree said that often, record labels only pay attention to bands that they feel will take off and quickly make the label money.
Despite losing a major label, the members of Eisley said they are optimistic about the future of the band.
“I feel like, if anything, things are picking up for us,” Sherri DuPree said. “We’re doing more shows and we have festivals coming up, so we’re really happy.”
One of those festivals includes South by Southwest, a music event which takes place in Austin, Texas, March 17 through 21.
Because Eisley is currently in transition between labels, the band said there is no set release date for their newest album, but that it is completed and they hope to have it out within the year.
“I think this newest album is a lot more aggressive [lyrically], and it stems from the fact that we all went through really painful relationship issues,” Sherri DuPree said. “I think it’s kind of a snapshot of where we were in our lives at that time. If we wrote another record now, it would be completely different.”
Although relationship problems may have been an issue in the past, the members of Eisley have seemed to bounce back from their relationship woes. While the youngest member, Garron, is currently single, all other members of the band are married or engaged. Weston and Chauntelle DuPree recently married their respective counterparts in a double ceremony, Stacy DuPree is engaged to drummer Darren King of the band Mutemath, and Sherri DuPree is married to Max Bemis, lead singer of the popular pop-punk band Say Anything.
“The clouds just sort of opened up, and everything got good all at once,” Chauntelle DuPree said.
Eisley described their music-making process, and what went in to making their latest EP, “Fire Kite,” released in Oct. 2009.
“It starts out in Apple’s GarageBand and filters out to the rest of the band,” Garron DuPree said.
“Sherri and Stacy are the main songwriters,” Chauntelle DuPree said. “Sometimes they collaborate and sometimes they write separately.”
Sherri DuPree elaborated on the songwriting process.
“Generally, [Stacy and I] write separately and then bring a song to the band if we think it’s good enough,” Sherri DuPree said. “Everyone sort of writes their own part, so everyone helps shape the song in the end.”
Eisley said their musical influences include Radiohead, Bjork, Mew and The Beatles.
“We all grew up listening to The Beatles,” Weston DuPree said. “They’ve always been a pretty big foundation for us.”
Part of the fan appeal to Eisley is their constant connection with their fans. Eisley has a Facebook, a Twitter and a blog, which are all frequently updated.
“I’m the one that’s online the most,” Sherri DuPree said. “I get made fun of for it, but it’s so fun to me. I can get on my phone right now and ask a question to all these cool fans, all over the world, and they’ll answer. I think it’s the coolest thing ever.”
While Weston and Garron DuPree were quick to point out that they avoid the social networking tools all together, Sherri DuPree said she is dedicated to her unofficial job.
“I’ve built lasting friendships just through meeting people online,” Sherri DuPree said.
When Eisley finally took to the stage, opening for DJ Rekha, young and old students alike gathered to hear the indie-pop band’s unique brand of emotional storytelling.
Songs like “Invasion,” “Golly Sandra,” and “I Wasn’t Prepared,” were the most well-received songs of the night, with students singing along in unison to Stacy and Sherri DuPree. Stacy and Sherri DuPree’s uncanny ability to hit near-perfect pitches in unison contributed to a powerful, unabashed live presence.
Clever, smooth-flowing instrumentation and ironically radiant singing to sometimes somber lyrics are what sets Eisley apart from other predominate indie “chick bands.” While Emily Haines has a hauntingly beautiful voice and Jenny Lewis sings about her drug use with authority, the female vocalists of Eisley have taken a different approach, serious songs often disguised in sweet melodies or relaxing lullabies.
Despite brief feedback from Sherri DuPree’s microphone, the majority of college-aged hipsters seemed to enjoy the performance, including 21-year-old Ina Smith, who said she had come to Boulder to visit her friends and see Eisley.
“It was my first time seeing them, but I was really impressed,” Smith said. “I loved how personable they were onstage.”
After the show Eisley took time to chat with fans and sign posters before hitting the road once again, heading back home to Tyler, Texas.
Recently, Stacy DuPree covered the Fleetwood Mac song, “Silverspring,” with fiancé Darren King on guitar. In the past, Eisley has contributed vocals to Bright Eyes’ Cassadaga and Say Anything’s newest self-titled album.
When asked what prompts these often random collaborations, Stacy DuPree said simply; “It comes from our family nature, helping people out.”
Contact CU Independent Entertainment Editor Sebastian Murdock at Sebastian.murdock@colorado.edu.
