In The Family

Keyboardist Stacy, her brother Weston (drums), and sisters Sherri and Chauntelle (guitars and vocals) share the same last name. The fifth member, bassist Jonathan Wilson, is a longtime family friend. According to Stacy, the four siblings began their musical explorations together while growing up in tiny Tyler, Texas. She wrote the band’s first song when she was eight and still playing mostly guitar. Since there were already multiple guitar players in the band, Stacy switched to piano, and the rest is history. She picked out Beatles songs and other classics on the family’s antique upright piano and began writing on the instrument with her older sister Sherri, with whom she co-writes the band’s often-dreamy music. Though some are quick to peg Eisley as a teen sensation, their cohesive songwriting and grasp of melody and harmony belie their relatively young ages. In regard to their songwriting methods, Stacy says “It just depends on the song, but we pretty much write it all at the same time. Sometimes you pick out chords and a melody and then write lyrics, but it’s different every time.”

Lyrically, the band is far beyond typical teen angst or puppy love, choosing instead to delve into fantastic imagery of mermaid-entwined shrubbery and bats with butterfly wings. When asked about their influences, Stacy replies, “Sherry and I read a lot of science fiction; Ray Bradbury, C.S. Lewis. And we’re big Harry Potter fans! We’re always reading one of the books.” The family’s home schooling and relative social isolation enabled them to develop their views and thoughts more independently and creatively. “We grew up in a small town and didn’t go to school, so we didn’t have relationships to talk about in our music. So we just reached for what was out there.”

Writing lyrics in an isolated situation, the band began conjuring the mystic storylines and characters for their songs out of a more altruistic artistry, inspired less by precedent than what their developing minds were enchanted with. As Stacy puts it “We took the world in as we saw it and went from there.” And “there” is a beautiful place.

Underneath the fantastical allegories, many of the lyrics do in fact reflect on relationships and some of the “you and I” story lines that pop songs are often built on. Stacy is candid about their origin, saying they’re more generalized rather than being about anyone in particular. “We didn’t really have lots of outside relationships,” she says. “We had ourselves. I don’t think the lyrics are about anyone specific. A couple of them could be.” So, no ex-boyfriend heartache to fuel the songs? “I never had a serious boyfriend,” she says. “Which is good because I really don’t have time and I would be distracted. This way, I can develop who I am. And being on the road with family, you’re never lonely.”

At 17, Stacy is still schooling, though she’s doing it by correspondence, finishing her homework on the road and sending it in to be graded. When asked if she feels like she’s missed out on the whole school experience, Stacy shrugs. “I guess I wouldn’t know,” she muses. “But I don’t feel this hole inside from teen angst.” Though none of the band members are schooled in music, their skills are accomplished and quite evident in the intricate arrangements and chops you hear all over Room Noises. In a way, they succeed because they’re doing things that most young songwriters wouldn’t go for because they’re so tied to the rules and theory.

Stacy agrees, and says, “That’s what people tell me. They’re like, ‘Don’t learn theory,’ because then you make little squares or whatever. But none of us have learned any theory.” Theory isn’t a bad thing, and neither is developing your own vision to create sincere music. In fact, Eisley’s music has a very optimistic feel to it, which stands out against some of pop’s more pessimistic fare. Reflecting on the band’s sound, Stacy says, “I think we’re just really honest. I would hope for that to be something uplifting for people. I think that’s a big reason of our success so far. People come up and tell us our music got them through a hard time or something, and that’s cool.”

Eisley’s success escalated when their first tour found them opening for Coldplay in 2003, which was a big jump in crowd size. Their biggest previous gig was at Cornerstone, a music festival where they started getting the attention of the music industry. They got to music attorney Michael Barber who hooked them up with showcases for a bunch of labels, of which they liked Warner Bros. the best. They immediately began recording and touring. Like most new bands, it takes time to adjust to the pressures of being on a major label. “We’ve been learning to not compromise so much because they do like to get their hands in there,” says Stacy. “It’s kind of tough sometimes but you work it out.”

Onstage, Stacy plays a Fender Rhodes straight through a DI. She usually uses an M-Audio MIDI controller to trigger Ivory off a Mac laptop, but her rig “just freaked out,” so she’s only using the Rhodes on this tour. “But I like it!” she says. “You can focus on one instrument and it’s cool.” Though she loved the piano sounds in Ivory, her controller wasn’t weighted, so she doesn’t miss it too much. She feels comfortable onstage even if at times it’s still a bit nerve-wracking being the target of thousands of eyes while singing and playing. Stacy is learning to cope with the spotlight as she matures on the road. “I still (get stage fright) sometimes,” she says. “Not exactly fear of the crowd, just insecurities. It’s not easy to go up there and be in front of people; you just have to focus on what you’re doing and what you’re about and tell your tale.”

As the band toured this year, they worked on new songs and Stacy estimated they had about 19 new tunes to choose from when they reached the studio. “We try to write on tour, but it’s kind of difficult because you’re always moving,” she says. “There’s no way to just say ‘I’m inspired’ and start working on something.” With so many new songs written already, one wonders how many songs they’d have without the distractions of the road. Musically and lyrically, she feels the new music is a linear progression from their previous material. “It’s definitely more mature and has more character,” she says. “It’s hard to describe. It’s more honest than Room Noises. We’ve met so many people since the last record. It has lot more to do with relationships. We wrote those songs when we were way young.”

Eisley’s plan is to start demoing in January and finalize the songs for their next full-length record. Being a female-fronted band in the music business is not as common as in the Lilith Fair days, though Stacy doesn’t feel limited by her gender. “I’m just kinda doing what I do,” she shrugs. “I didn’t have a lot of female role models growing up. Of course, there were the Judds. We learned a lot of harmonies from them. And my mom is an amazing singer. I wasn’t so much into Tori Amos and Sara McLaughlin, though I think they’re incredibly talented.” When asked who her favorite songwriter is, she chooses Thom Yorke of Radiohead as someone who has inspired her to achieve her own voice and sound. And as she makes her way through the rigors of building a band and a career, she seems into it for the long haul. No matter how tough the music business can be, Stacy doesn’t see herself quitting any time soon. “I can’t imagine doing anything else at all,” she says with a grin. And we’re sure their burgeoning fan base would be glad to hear it.