The story of Eisley is as fanciful as their music is angelic. Imagine being a teenager and putting together a band with your siblings, making a few demos that somehow end up in the hands of Coldplay, and then promptly being asked to open for the British rockers during their sold-out 2003 tour.
It's the true story of three sisters Stacy Dupree, 17; Sherri Dupree, 23; and Chauntelle Dupree, 25; their brother, Weston Dupree, 19; and a friend, Jon Wilson.
"It was crazy because it was our first tour, and we were opening for a band with an audience of thousands of people," says Sherri, calling from the road on her way to Tulsa, Okla.After returning from tour, the quintet released two EPs, Laughing City and Marvelous Things, and spent the next two years working with everyone from Rob Schnapf of Beck and Elliot Smith renown; to Michelle Branch and Sheryl Crow collaborator John Shanks; to Green Day production wizard Rob Cavallo recording their debut album for Reprise, 2005's Room Noises.
That debut led to much critical acclaim. Blender Magazine crowned them "The Next Big Thing"; Entertainment Weekly dubbed them "Band on the Brink." They won Yahoo's "Who's Next" artist, a distinction determined by fans, and they were nominated for an MTVu Woodie award.
But the accolades haven't gone to anyone's head yet. Sibling rivalry is not something the members in Eisley have had to deal with.
"Everyone gets along really well. We're all best friends," says Sherri. "We get into arguments, but it's not anything too serious."
When Wilson left the band last year to pursue other interests, the band didn't have to look far for his replacement. Eisley added their cousin, 16-year-old Garron DuPree, as bassist. They keep the road a family affair as their father Boyd manages tours for the home-schooled group from Tyler, Texas.
"Our parents, we're really good friends with them," Sherri says. "They take care of us and keep us in line so it's not a big deal."
With such a functional lifestyle, the band's sources of inspiration are a mystery.
"It can come from the mood you're in that day or a book that you read," says Sherri. "We have a new song that we wrote after reading the book 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers.' I read it first and then Stacy read it, then we wrote a song about it."
The band's new record hasn't even been recorded yet, and it's already made Alternative Press' Top 50 Most Anticipated Records of the Year for 2006.
They'll wrap up their spring tour at the Beale Street Music Festival Sunday, playing the Budweiser stage at 2 p.m. Then they'll take a little time off before going back to making music.
"In July, we go back into the studio," Sherri says. "We've written tons of new songs, we probably have the 12 songs for the next album, but we'll keep writing until it's done."
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