Two years ago, pop rock band Eisley performed regularly at a
small coffeehouse in Tyler, Texas. This past spring, after
releasing only one EP, Eisley played in front of 12,000 fans at the
Hollywood Bowl when they opened for Coldplay’s “A Rush
of Blood to the Head” tour.
Although its rise to fame seems to have occurred almost
overnight, it actually took Eisley four years of insatiable passion
and dedication under unusual circumstances to make a name for
itself.
Growing up in the tiny town of Tyler without cable television
drove Chauntelle DuPree and her sister Sherri to look for
alternative forms of amusement. They soon turned to music,
composing simple melodies on guitars.
Not wanting to be left out of the fun, Stacy DuPree begged her
sisters to let her participate. When they refused, Stacy wrote a
song of her own, which eventually led to her recruitment to the
band. Soon afterward, their brother, Weston DuPree, and friend
Jonathan Wilson added drums and bass to the girls’ vocals,
guitars and keyboard.
“We never just decided “˜Hey, let’s start a
band,'” said Weston DuPree, now 17. “It just kind
of happened. I guess we’ve always been serious about it
because we’ve always just loved playing music.”
Eisley possesses an expansive sound, rich with vocal
harmonization, which is difficult to characterize, but occasionally
reflects the influence of The Beatles. Lyrically, Eisley paints
rich, visual imagery for its listeners with frequent references to
nature and fantasy.
Surprisingly, most of these mature themes are penned by the now
15-year-old Stacy DuPree, the youngest member of Eisley, who gets
most of her inspiration from reading books.
Perhaps Eisley’s most unique quality is its sense of
camaraderie, apparent in their live shows and even in their
recorded music. They share a special familial bond which keeps them
united in their musical vision.
“We were all raised homeschooled, so we were together 24/7
since we were born,” said Weston DuPree. “We’re
all like each others’ best friends. It’s really easy to
work together. I think we all love being in a band together as a
family; we wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Eisley shows no signs of slowing and is currently pursuing more
new projects than ever before. After receiving critical acclaim for
their first EP, “Laughing City,” Eisley returned to the
recording studio to produce a second EP, “Marvelous
Things,” due in stores on Dec. 3.
“All the songs off of “˜Marvelous Things’ are
mostly all new songs,” said DuPree. “I wouldn’t
say the writing’s different ““ it still sounds like
Eisley ““ but I think our writing has matured since we wrote
the songs off of “˜Laughing City.'”
After completing its current tour with Brand New, Eisley plans
on heading back into a studio for several months to record the
group’s first LP.
Although many young songwriting artists and bands similar to
Eisley have recently been signed to record labels, Eisley remain
optimistic it will stand out among the rest.
“I don’t really worry about being pigeonholed as a
“˜young, singer-songwriter’ type band– we just like
playing music,” said DuPree. “That’s just what
we’re doing, and I guess that’s what got us to where we
are. I don’t really think trends are bad. I mean, I know
there’s lot of young bands starting to play music, but I
think it’s awesome.”
Eisley performs at the House of Blues tonight. Tickets are
$13 at www.ticketmaster.com.