Exclusive Eisley Interview July 16, 2007

From The Crowd had the pleasure of meeting all of the members for Eisley for a fast-paced interview.  It was easy to tell that this was a family unit, as they often completed each other’s thoughts. The interview took place on their bus a few hours before their performance opening for The Fray on Monday July 16 at the Dodge Theater. 

From The Crowd: Thanks for having us today.  For our readers and those they might not yet know Eisley, go ahead and tell me your name and the instrument you play for Eisley. (From left to right in the photo)

Garron: I’m Garron, I play the Bass, and I’m the cousin

Chauntelle:  I’m Chauntelle, I’m the oldest sister and I play the guitar

Weston: Hi, I’m Weston, I play the Drums, and I’m the brother

Stacy: I’m Stacy and I play the piano, sing and write

Sherri:  I’m Sherri and I play the guitar, sing and write.

FTC: Your new CD, “Combinations” is being released on August 14th.  Why did you decide on this name for the CD?

Sherri:  We just wanted to embody what the CD sounded like.  The music was a combination and a collaboration of a lot of things.

FTC: Was there a vote, or who came up with the name?

Sherri:  I think Stacy did.  We were throwing out names and we couldn’t think of anything we liked and then we were thinking about song titles songs title, and we didn’t think one for a long time and then we were like ok that works because we were running out of time anyways.

FTC: On this record, you partnered with producer Richard Gibbs, Sherri was quoted as saying the “You wanted to work with someone that would have a fresh perspective on how to record your band.  Now that you have finished the record, looking back, how do you feel this impacted the final result?

Stacy: I think it went well.  Definitely better than the last record.  On the last record we had quite a few different producers.  It was nicer just having one person.

Sherri:  Yeah, someone who could concentrate on the whole project, not just one thing.  Rather than this person working on these three songs, and then this person working on these songs.  Richard Gibbs has worked on symphonies and he is a composer, so he was able to bring those aspects in and help our songs breathe more musically than on our last album

FTC:  If you could pick your favorite track off “Combinations”, what would it be and why?

Sherri:  Mine’s always changing.      

Weston:  There are like different favorite songs.

Garron:  Yeah, there are like different flavors. 

Weston: (Laughing) It’s not like choosing your favorite gummy bear flavor, they are so different so it’s like trying to choose your favorite candy.

Chauntelle:  That’s too hard of a question.

Stacy:  I like them all equally.

FTC: Is there any one song that you enjoy playing live more than the others?

Sherri: Invasion is really fun to play.

Weston:  Yeah.  We feel really confident playing that one live.  Some of the newer songs we’re still learning.

FTC: Forget what the media stereotypes say… how would you describe your music?

Sherri :  We always seems to fumble around on that question and answer like melodic, vintage pop and we just end up combining it into a bunch of words.  We’re a whole bunch of different things.  We do write catchy songs, so that’s pop in a sense, but it’s not bubble gum pop.

Garron: Melodic, Fairytale, Unicorn, Seahorse rock.

Weston:  I like Seahorse Rock.  (The group laughs)

FTC: Which of your songs, if any, from any of your releases, do feel is the most misinterpreted by the public or your fans?

Sherri:  I’m not sure; I mean most of our songs are pretty self-explanatory.  They aren’t super vague.  We try to write them so people can relate to them.  Like, Invasion is about the movie.

Weston:  Yeah, I think most people know that.

Sherri:  Yeah, but sometimes people still wonder what it’s about.

Stacy:  Sometimes people think it’s political and it’s about body snatchers.

Sherri: (Laughing) Yeah, we’re not that deep.

FTC:  Do you ever run into any difficult audiences? Do you sometimes have to coerce the people in the crowd into interacting with your music?  How do you handle those situations?

Weston:  That never happens to us… (The others laughing).

FTC: That seems to be a problem here with Phoenix audiences for some reason…

Sherri:  It could be because it is so hot here!

Chauntelle:  Well, we try to say something.

Garron:  We just keep it real

Sherri:  Usually, I have to do most the talking.

Chauntelle:  Well, my mic is off, usually.

Weston:  We just try to stay positive and have a positive attitude

Sherri: We just keep smiling and be real with them.  We don’t want to be like oh were cool, because were the band.

Stacy:  We just try to be ourselves on stage and people respond to that.  Because, we’re not trying to force anything onto them.

Weston.  Yeah, when you’re like “Come on everybody Woo Hoo” and people aren’t into it, it’s just stupid

Chauntelle:  When people see us for the first time, they’re kind of taking it all in and they have to think about it.

Weston:  Its great in out headlining shows because we’ll have all of these kids come to our shows and then they’ll just sort of stare at us, but they come to every show and their really big fans.  They just aren’t jumping all around, but that’s not really our type of music.

Garron:  We’ll play and think that absolutely no one gets it, but then we’ll be signing or outside for like two hours straight after a show.

FTC:  What are some of the tricks of the trade you have developed for survival while touring and some of the aspects of daily life that you sorely miss that we all too often take for granted?

Sherri:  I don’t know…  We all get along well, so it makes touring great.  We’re all really good friends; otherwise it wouldn’t be worth it.

FTC:  In that case, what simple pleasures do you miss the most from home?

Sherri: My own shower!

Chauntelle:  For me its family, I really miss seeing my daughter.

Stacy:  Yeah, family.  I mean we all still live at home, so it’s not really that much different, except there is a little more room in a house the on the bus.

Weston:  Mine would be family and Tae Kwon Do. 

Garron: Family

Weston:  (Laughing) Maybe Tae Kwon Do more than family!

Sherri:  My husband and my house.

FTC:  Which type of venue do you prefer to play in, a large arena, festival or an intimate club?

Garron:  I like theaters, like this is cool.

Stacy:  I like classy.

Weston:  Yeah, this is pretty big.

Chauntelle:  Smaller than this is good.  This is nice because this is indoors.  Amphitheaters, I just feel are so big.

Garron:  Yeah, I don’t like them

Chauntelle:  With Amphitheaters, you just don’t know what’s really going on with them because there are so big and you have people out on the grass.  It just feels weird.

Weston:  Ever since we became a band we’ve played all over the place.  We’ve done the punk rock clubs, where everyone is standing, and we’re not really a standing band.  We’re more of a sit down band.

Sherri:  I really like sitting down watching a band.

Garron:  Yeah my favorite concerts have been sitting down

FTC:  You guy started when you were all so young, now that you’re all older, how have the family dynamics influenced the music.  Are you still as close as when you first started, has touring made you closer?

Sherri:  Closer.

Stacy: Definitely closer.

Sherri:  We have to live in such a small space.

Garron:  Yeah, usually smaller than this.

Sherri:  Yeah, this is our first bus tour, so there is a lot of room.

Chauntelle:  This is just so normal for us.  We don’t even think, oh it’s kind of crowded.  You just keep your junk in your bunk.  (The others laugh)

Sherri:  I don’t really think the family aspect has changed out music.  I mean we’ve all grown older and started listening to other bands and been exposed to new things.  Just growing older has changed our music.

FTC:  We asked a few of your fans from Myspace what question they would like to have you answer and many of them would like to know how you (Chauntelle) feels singing on the record for the first time?

Chauntelle:  It was a really big step for me.  It was a really big challenge.  I had to build up the courage to do it.  So it was scary, but I really enjoyed it.  I really didn’t sing that much on the record, but gosh, I look back now and I wish I would have pushed myself a little harder to do more. 

Weston:  Richard heard her singing and told her “We’ve got to have you on this record”, so that was helpful.

Chauntelle:  Richard was really helpful, because he encouraged me.  Well, everyone did, but it helped hearing it from our producer.  It was nice to have him encourage me instead of hearing it from my family. I do look back and wish I had sang more, but…

Sherri and Stacy:  Ha there were times we had to force her into the vocal box.  She’d say “No… I don’t want to”

Sherri:  There were definitely areas on the record that needed a fresh voice.

FTC:  Do you think you’ll be singing more on tour now?

Chauntelle:  Well, I’ll be singing the parts I sang on the record.  Which will be a different type of challenge, because I have never sang on stage before and it’s really hard.  I mean its fun and after every show I do it, I think ok I can do this.

FTC:  July 24th beginning your headlining tour, why did you decide for it to be an acoustic tour?

Sherri and Stacy:  I don’t know! (Laughing)

Sherri: It’s something different and intimate for our fans.  We’re really looking forward to it.

FTC:  Another question that your Myspace fans wanted to know, was who inspired Vintage People, one thought it might have been your husband?

Sherri:  Oh no.

Weston:  Old People. (Laughing)

Sherri:  Wow, that song is so old.  No, the first verse of that song is actually from my younger sister.  When she was little she had a drawing book and had written this crazy quote in there and that is the first verse of that song.  I just thought it was amazing and used it to start the song and then the rest of the lyrics.  Sorry to disappoint anyone!

Stacy:  I really like that song, it’s really fun.  I think for a while we just wanted to write songs that were fun and happy.

FTC:  Is there any question that you wished that I had asked today or something that you’d like to share with our readers?

Sherri:  Just that I hope that they buy the record and give it a chance.  It is less adolescent than our first one, and I know some people might have thought that one was too young and girly.  This record (Combinations) is definitely more mature so I hope they give it a chance.

Stacy:  Yeah, otherwise we might be living under a bridge. (Laughing).

FTC:  Well that is all of my questions, thanks for taking the time to speak to us today and we look forward to your sophomore records release on August 14.

Eisley:  Thanks!

Eisley at the Dodge 07.16.2007

By K. Mac,  www.FromTheCrowd.com Contributer

Eisley, currently on tour with The Fray, is a family affair. The band is composed of the Dupree siblings Chauntelle, Sherri, Stacy and Weston and their cousin Garron.  Eisley, like most bands had the difficult task of finding the perfect combination of musicians. Their earlier bass players were friends of theirs, first Amy Whittaker and then Jonathan Wilson. However, with Garron now filling the bassist position, the onstage chemistry cannot be denied.

The band opened with “Memories,” one of the two songs of the evening from their 2005 debut album “Room Noises.” Someone new to their music might not know quite what to make of their eclectic sound. It catches the listener a little off-guard at first, because it is so different. However, if that listener paused for a moment and truly listened, they would realize that this difference they hear is the key to Eisley’s success.

Categorized by most people as Indie Rock, Eisley’s songs show a wide variety of beats and vocals. There are some songs which have gentler background sounds and there are also those that have strong drum beats and energetic guitar parts. In short, there is something to be found for everyone among Eisley’s works.

Perfectly at home on the stage, Eisley’s touring experience showed. They  played well, kept the show going at a good pace and interacted with the audience. About halfway through the set, the lead singer started singing a different song than the rest of her band-mates started playing. Laughing, apologizing and staring over, Eisley proved that they’re just in it to have fun.

Just before leaving the stage, Eisley played their new single “Invasion.” Recently released on iTunes®, it is by far the most popular selection of the 38 items that Eisley has available to consumers. For the first time since they hit the stage, there were a few voices around me that joined in with the lyrics. All in all, the crowd seemed to respond positively to the songs that were played in their thirty minute set, be they new songs or older tracks. If you are looking for a change of pace musically, check out their sophomore record “Combinations,” due to be released the 14th of August 2007.