Polyphonic Spree Interview Continued...

Have you been to Atlanta before?
Mark: Yeah I’ve been a couple times. What about you?
Jessica: No, this is my first time.
Mark: As a band this is our first time.

Have you had a chance to look around and enjoy the city at all?
Mark: No no no. We’ve been up since about 5 a.m. just going. So, unfortunately not. But I do know it’s a party town, bars stay open until 4 am, right?

Are most of the Spree from Texas or do you pick up people as you travel?
Jessica: The majority live in Dallas but we do have a couple people who aren’t--Jamey and Louis.

What were the qualifications for joining the Polyphonic Spree?
Mark: They’ve kind of changed over time as needs change. We’ve definitely had members come and go, but as it goes along we get a more stable cast, so to speak. But when someone does leave you’ve got to look for someone new. You’ve gotta have someone who can definitely play the instrument, fill the role, and that’s going to be dedicated. You’re always taking a risk on personalities, but we’ve done really well. Like, when we had to get a new French horn player we just put out a mass e-mail and put out the word. Louis came floating to the top of the pack, and something just seemed right about it. And sometimes it doesn’t, there’s been people in this band who can’t do it because of family, or they had a job…it takes a lot of commitment. Jessica, actually, is one of the few people who balances the family thing and being in a band.
Jessica: Yeah, outside of Tim [Delaughter] and Julie [Doyle, Tim’s wife] I’m the only person currently who has kids. It’s just worked out. I take it a tour at a time, mentally, because it can be overwhelming. But I’ve been in the band two years and it has worked out, you know. And the band has been really flexible with me--obviously when I was really pregnant and couldn’t tour…
Mark: Yeah, we have a lot sympathy for her.

Do you have to keep another job at home?
Jessica: I fortunately don’t. I have a husband and he does it all.

Is money one of the reasons that people can’t stay in the band?
Jessica: People aren’t in it for the money. So if things, personally happen…
Mark: (interrupting) Hey! I’m in it for the money! (laughing) I’m just kidding…
Jessica: I mean, nobody is rich and everybody has responsibilities. So when things come up sometimes there are realities to deal with.

If you had to could you list everyone in the band right now?
Jessica and Mark: Yeah.

With people coming and going, is it hard to keep track of who’s in and who’s out?
Mark: No, the turnover isn’t that high. The band’s been together for four years and we’ve probably had about, oh, I’d say as many people have been in the band as haven’t been.
Jessica: Yeah, I think they did a count that was about that--total number of members who have been in Polyphonic Spree versus number of current members--and it was about half and half. But, you know, that was over a course of four years.

Since you have the numbers, if the Polyphonic Spree were to change from a music group into a sports team, what sport would you play?
Mark: (reflective pause) Water polo?
Jessica: Soccer. I like soccer.
Mark: We actually tried doing soccer on the road. You know, when you are traveling sometimes you have a day off but you’re in the middle of nowhere and it’s easier to find a field and get a ball. (to Jessica) Were you there when we did that, when we did the soccer?
Jessica: Yeah, we did soccer and it lasted for a little bit, but we’ve resorted to making movies. Sometimes we make these really weird skits that are really fun.

That’s hilarious, do you actually tape them?
Mark: Yeah! Yeah, we’ve got a couple of aspiring directors in our band.

Will those make it to a DVD one day?
Mark: Actually, the current DVD that you get with the advanced copy has stuff that we filmed. There is plenty of behind the scenes stuff we can use.

If you heard about another band with 20 or 30 members that came out on the scene, how would you react?
Mark: If it was trying to be carbon copy of Polyphonic Spree obviously you would have to call it out and go, “Uh-uh. No.” But that’s the cool thing about it. Somebody would have to have a lot of balls to try to pull it off.

Actually, in the big picture, the idea is maybe to have more than one Polyphonic Spree. To take this to a theatrical level. Tim, our singer, has a vision of where you would have a Polyphonic Spree in like New York, or Chicago, or London, and it’s like a musical.
Jessica: A show with a cast.

Ego problems, recording, new record...Page 3

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