Eisley

Eisley is a rock band from Tyler, Texas, consisting of four siblings (Chauntelle, Sherri, Stacy, and Weston DuPree) and their cousin (Garron DuPree), all of whom were born and live in Texas.

Formation

The band was formed in 1997 as Chauntelle and Sherri began working in their bedrooms on music together after being inspired by bands such as the Beatles, Jeremy Enigk, and Radiohead. Younger sister Stacy (who was then 8 years old) became frustrated over their insistence that she was too young to be a part of the band and wrote her own song without their help before she was inducted. Their brother Weston (who was then 10 years old) soon joined the band as the drummer.

Early years

Boyd and Kim Dupree, parents of the four DuPree siblings, ran a venue called Brewtones Coffee Galaxy by occupying the space of their church on days when it was not in use. Eisley, then known as the Towheads, began years of service as the house band, giving them their first exposure. At Brewtones, the band played with many other acts such as Ester Drang, Midlake, Waterdeep, and others. The band played numerous weekend shows at the venue until they became too busy with other opportunities.

The band has had an unstable bass lineup over the years. After friend Amy Whittaker left in 1998, Taylor Muse filled in as a non-member, contributing the band's first name, Moss Eisley, but soon left to continue working with his other bands, including Quiet Company. (Recently, he joined Eisley for a solo performance at Brewtones). Good friend Jonathan Wilson stepped in to become their bassist in late 2001 but decided to step down in July 2005 during their tour with Hot Hot Heat. Jon remains a good friend of the band and lives in Eisley's hometown, Tyler, Texas. He was replaced as bassist by Garron DuPree, the DuPrees' then fifteen year old cousin in 2005.

The band's name changed several times in their early years. They began as The Towheads, before changing their name to Moss Eisley, after Mos Eisley, a town in the Star Wars films. When the band signed in 2003, there were worries of legal troubles with the name. After considering "Neverland" and "Sinclair", they eventually decided just to drop the "Moss" portion of their name and became simply "Eisley." The only known printed reference to the band's Neverland name (which they officially used for approximately two weeks) can be found in an issue of the Dallas, Tx monthly music magazine Harder Beat.

Signing

After burgeoning on the Dallas scene in 2001, playing hundreds of shows throughout Texas and garnering a fan base as an indie band, Eisley was signed to Warner Bros. Records in 2003. The band won 'Best New Artist' from the Dallas Observer Music Awards in the same year. The band had some early radio success with the song "Telescope Eyes" from the Laughing City E.P. It was ranked top 25th most played song on FM 102.1 ("The Edge") in Dallas, Texas in 2003. Eisley has recorded videos for "Marvelous Things", "I Wasn't Prepared", "Telescope Eyes" (the version from Room Noises), and "Memories", which can be viewed on the official website, but largely the band's strong, steady, organic growth comes from touring and an aggressive online marketing approach.

Album

Marvelous things (2003),
Telescope Eyes E.P (2005),
Head Against The Sky E.P (2005),
Room Noises (2005),
Combinations (2007),