The Polyphonic Spree

The Polyphonic Spree
File:ThePolyphonicSpree color1.jpg
Background information
Origin	Dallas, Texas
Years active	2000-present
Members	Tim DeLaughter Mark Pirro Brian Wakeland 10-24 others
Website	http://www.thepolyphonicspree.com/

The Polyphonic Spree is a self-described "choral symphonic pop/rock" group from the Dallas, Texas area.

History

The group was founded by Tim DeLaughter and has had from 13 to 27 members. The group currently consists of 24 members ranging from vocals, to organ to tubular bells. The three original members, Tim DeLaughter, Mark Pirro and Brian Wakeland were members of the band Tripping Daisy before their guitarist Wes Berggren died in 1999. After the tragic end of Tripping Daisy, DeLaughter temporarily gave up music to run Good Records, a record shop in Dallas, Texas.

In 2000, DeLaughter, Pirro and Wakeland were asked to create a 30-minute support of Grandaddy. Rather than reforming Tripping Daisy, the three decided to explore a concept DeLaughter had of creating a modern symphonic pop-band. He wanted a symphonic sound including a live choir. Inspired by the sunny, experimental pop bands of the seventies such as Electric Light Orchestra he loved as a child, the call went out for a wide array of musicians. Gradually, the band and the new music took shape through various contacts. A half-hour of music was written and rehearsed by the 13 original members of what became The Polyphonic Spree, who began performing live.

The reaction to the fledgling band was overwhelmingly positive. The band then grew to its present size, (somewhere near 25 members) as it found a growing following of fans energized by the band's powerful stage presence. A collection of the songs from the first Spree show, along with a 10th piece entitled "A Long Day" (fully formed from 11-year-old samples of the voice of Tim DeLaughter) was recorded and, titled "The Beginning Stages of The Polyphonic Spree," distributed to skeptical venues that were reluctant to host the enormous band. Delaughter also sold home-made copies with hand-drawn artwork in Good Records. Eventually, demand for the Spree's music on CD became so great that the album saw commercial release.

The Polyphonic Spree generally consists of a 10-person choir, a pair of keyboardists, as well as a percussionist, drummer, bassist, guitarist, flautist, trumpeter, trombonist, violinist/violist, harpist, French horn player, theremin player, and an electronic effects person. Individual members and the number of musicians, however, vary, due to the flexibility necessary in travelling with such a large band. DeLaughter is musical director and contributes lead vocals.

From their inception, The Polyphonic Spree wore white robes at their live shows, giving the image of purity, hope, and happiness — an image, which, combined with the nature of their music gave many the impression that the band was a religious cult. The original idea came when DeLaughter thought that a 13 member band wearing street clothes would be too distracting. He thought of many ideas and finally took his idea of the white robes to his mother-in-law. Together they created the first robe. Later on, bands of colour were added to each robe to show identity and the creativity of the band. On recent tours promoting their second album, "Together We're Heavy," they sported multicoloured robes.

The band initially became successful in the United Kingdom. They were invited by David Bowie to support The Divine Comedy at the Royal Festival Hall in London for the 2002 Meltdown Festival.

In early 2003, they were dropped by their record label, 679 Recordings, citing "lack of record sales." Ironically, it was about this time that the band had only just begun to break into the pop-cultural scene. The song "Light and Day / Reach For the Sun" was used in a joint Volkswagen Beetle/iPod tie-in advertising campaign, appearing on nationwide television commercials. Also during this time the band were invited to be an opening act for David Bowie on his "Reality Tour."

2004 was a big year for the band. They found a new deal at Hollywood Records and released their second album, "Together We're Heavy" in Japan on June 30th, Europe on July 12th and North America on July 13th of 2004. The Polyphonic Spree was featured on the American television program Scrubs on April 20, 2004, in the episode "My Choosiest Choice of All" (3-19); and on the television program Las Vegas on November 29 2004, in the episode "Silver Star" (2-10). The Polyphonic Spree was also featured on the soundtrack of the film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind written by Charlie Kaufman, directed by Michel Gondry and starring Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet (the DVD features a film clip music video for "Light and Day").

Though reception for the band is generally positive and large crowds continue to buy tickets to see the band live, the Spree has drawn some critical derision from those who accuse the band of being "fake" and "artificially happy." Most notably, Entertainment Weekly listed "Together We're Heavy" as the second-worst album of 2004, behind American Idol washout William Hung's album, "Inspiration".

Nevertheless, the band's popularity continues to grow. In December 2004, The Polyphonic Spree performed at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert, honoring Wangari Maathai before a huge worldwide television audience.

2005 saw the release of Thumbsucker, a feature film by Mike Mills, with a score composed by Tim DeLaughter and performed by The Polyphonic Spree.

The band is currently at work on their third album at Pachyderm Recording Studio in Cannon Falls, MN. At the 2005 Holiday Extravaganza, Tim Delaughter announced the new album's title: The Fragile Army.

Discography

Albums

• The Beginning Stages of...
• Together We're Heavy
• The Fragile Army (not yet released)

Scores

• Thumbsucker

See also

• List of bands from Texas

External links

Official Sites

• The Polyphonic Spree's Official Site - The official homepage. Flash site.
• The Beginning Stages of... Official Site - Features lyrics and liner notes from The Beginning Stages of.... Flash site.
• Together We're Heavy Official Site - Features lyrics and liner notes from Together We're Heavy. Flash site.
• Quest For The Rest - A Flash game featuring members of The Polyphonic Spree and music from Together We're Heavy.
• The Fragile Army Blog - Weblog kept by band members during recording of 2006 release The Fragile Army.

Other links

• The Spreekipedia - an encyclopedia on the Polyphonic Spree.
• The Polyphonic Spree's Page at New Music Express
• Polyphonic Spree's In-Studio Performance at KEXP Radio
• Interview with Tim
• Is Polyphonic Spree a Cult? - Ask Yahoo! fields the question.