It may shock you to come across a band with three female songwriters, but that’s exactly what Eisley is. But wait, there’s more. Eisley is comprised of four siblings - Chauntelle, Sherri, Weston, and Stacy - and one best friend, Jonathan. The youngest of these siblings, Stacy, wrote the band’s first song when she was eight.
Just what were these kids fed when they were growing up? We don’t know, but we talked to Sherri about their upcoming album, Room Noises, and what it was like growing up.
First off, where did the name Eisley come from?
It used to be Moss Eisley, a name from Star Wars, but we liked Eisley better, and we didn’t want to be pegged as being a band who stole our name from a movie, so…
Are you guys Star Wars geeks?
Nah, we’re not big Star Wars geeks either. We just liked the name.
How did you guys get into music, and what was it like growing up?
We just grew up listening to music, so whenever we started picking up guitars and drums, it was stuff that was around the house. We just kind of picked it up by ourselves. Our dad plays the guitar and the drums, so we just kind of got started on it, and started doing our own thing.
What was the first show you guys ever played together?
Jonathan, our bass player, has only been in the band for a little over two years. We first played with him at some event outside of a college. From what I remember, it was pretty bad. But before that, we had our coffee house that our parents were kind of running, so we just got started playing shows there and opening bands and stuff like that.
Can you tell us about your new album, Room Noises?
We recorded it all in L.A. with several different producers. We also recorded a song or two, in the studios where we live, so it was kind of all over the place. It was kind of a long process, and it was kind of wearisome. But it’s finally all done, and I guess it’ll be out soon. We’re excited for it because it’s our first album, and we put a lot of work into it. Most of the songs we’ve been playing for a while, so it’ll be kind of nice to get all of those onto an album so we can start all fresh.
You guys produced some tracks on this album, is that right?
We did a couple of them on a studio in our town. It was really really great. It wasn’t as great as having a producer helping and giving direction, but it was really fun doing it too. It’s like we went to a studio and did the songs by ourselves without anyone telling us how to do it.
What’s your song-writing process like?
When we first started out, Stacy and I would usually just get together. She plays the keyboard, so we’d hack something out together. Now that we’ve been doing it for awhile, we just kind of do our own thing. Then we bring it to each other and see if we like it, and kind of just bounce ideas off of each other.
So how does it feel to be coming on your first headlining tour soon?
Yeah, we’re really excited about it. It’s gonna be fun. We haven’t done that many tours. Three is all we’ve done so far. That’s the best part of being in a band for sure. I like it way better than being in a studio all of the time.
How did you guys get hooked up with Coldplay and Brand New?
We had the same management with Chris Martin, and I guess they liked it enough to bring us on tour. As far as Brand New, we had the same management at the time as well. All of the tours we’ve done so far have been really fun, and all of the bands have been amazing.
Has touring with those kind of bands helped you guys out a lot?
When you tour with bands that have done a lot of touring, it’s really good to be able to watch them - especially seeing how they handle themselves onstage. We’re still trying to be relaxed and get comfortable with ourselves. It’s always a learning experience.
Do you guys face any stereotypes because you have so many females in your band?
Yeah, definitely. Not so much the female thing - mostly, we get stereotypes since we’re mostly family. People always think we’re this hardcore family, or the Brady Bunch, and that we’re just going to be really lame. We definitely get that stereotype a lot. People always think we’re going to be cheesy.
Do you guys have any goals or expectations for 2005?
We’ll just be touring all the time after the record comes out. We want to build up a fan base, and just hope that people like it.
Do you have any words of advice for people less experienced than you guys?
You have to just really stick with your music and take the time to learn how to play your stuff. You just really gotta work hard.
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