Del.icio.usThe Polyphonic Spree
Fact Sheet
| City | Dallas, Texas, USA |
| Official site | http://www.thepolyphonicspree.com/ |
The group was founded by Tim DeLaughter and has had from 13 to 27 members. The three original members, Tim DeLaughter, Mark Pirro and Brian Wakeland were members of the band Tripping Daisy before their guitarist Wes Berggren died from a drug overdose in 1999.
In 2000, the then non-existent band was formed for a 30-minute support of Grandaddy. Gradually, the band took shape through various contacts. 30 minutes of music were written and rehearsed by the 13 original members and the reaction was overwhelmingly positive. The band grew to its present size, floating somewhere near 25 members. The setlist of the first Spree show, titled "The Beginning Stages of The Polyphonic Spree", along with a 10th piece entitled "A Long Day" was recorded and distributed to skeptical venues that would not host the enormous band. Eventually, demand for the Spree's music on CD became so great that the album saw commmercial release.
They were dropped by their record label, 679 Recordings in 2003, citing "lack of record sales", but have found a new deal and released their 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 generally consists of a 10-person choir, a pair of keyboardists, as well as a percussionist, bassist, guitarist, flutist, trumpeter, trombonist, violinist, French horn player, theremin player, and an electronic effects person. DeLaughter is musical director and contributes lead vocals.