American music collective formed by Tim DeLaughter
Musical artist
The Polyphonic Spree
is an American
choral
rock
band from
Dallas, Texas
that was formed in 2000 by singer/songwriter
Tim DeLaughter
. The band's pop and rock songs are augmented by a large vocal
choir
, and instruments such as
flute
,
trumpet
,
french horn
,
trombone
,
violin
,
viola
,
cello
,
percussion
,
piano
,
guitars
,
bass
,
drums
,
electronic keyboards
, and
EWI
.
History
[
edit
]
DeLaughter's previous group,
Tripping Daisy
, came to an abrupt end in 1999 when guitarist
Wes Berggren
died of a drug overdose. The Polyphonic Spree was formed, in part, in reaction to Berggren's death.
[1]
In 2000, DeLaughter collaborated with 12 other musicians to put together a sound that reflected the music he grew up with. He wanted to explore the orchestral palette and pop sensibility of
The Beatles
,
The Association
,
The 5th Dimension
,
Wings
,
Electric Light Orchestra
and
The Beach Boys
and the vocal style of
Ozzy Osbourne
from
Black Sabbath
. Within two weeks, The Polyphonic Spree created a 30-minute set, donned their signature white choir robes and performed with
Grandaddy
and
Bright Eyes
.
[2]
Shortly after their first show, 12 more musicians joined the band, and they recorded
The Beginning Stages of ... The Polyphonic Spree
, which contained all nine songs (sections) written for their first show plus a tenth track ("Section 10 ? Long Day"). The album was intended to serve as a
demo
recording for booking the band for live performances.
[3]
As a result of the attention they received from the press and other industry pundits after performing at the
South by Southwest
music festival in
Austin, Texas
, the band was invited to perform at
London's
Meltdown Festival
curated by
David Bowie
in 2002.
[4]
They opened for
The Divine Comedy
at the
Royal Festival Hall
the same year.
[5]
In early 2003, they were dropped by their record label,
679 Recordings
, for "lack of record sales". About this time, the band began to break into pop culture. The song "
Light and Day
" was used in a joint
Volkswagen Beetle
/
iPod
tie-in advertising campaign, appearing on television commercials nationwide in 2004.
[6]
The same song was used in a tribute to
Bill Walsh
during an NFL football preseason special, in an episode of the TV series
Scrubs
, in
Murderball
, a documentary about the U.S. wheelchair rugby team, and as the end music for the first series of the
BBC Radio 7
sci-fi comedy
Undone
; the song's video was adapted for the movie
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
(the DVD features a clip). Also during this time the band was invited to be an opening act for Bowie's Reality Tour and again performed at
South by Southwest
.
In 2004,
Hollywood Records
released the Spree's second album,
Together We're Heavy
, in Japan on June 30, Europe on July 12, and North America on July 13, 2004. The band was featured on
Scrubs
on April 20, 2004, in the episode "
My Choosiest Choice of All
" (season 3, episode 19); and on the TV show
Las Vegas
on November 29, 2004, in the episode "Silver Star" (season 2, episode 10). In December 2004, the Polyphonic Spree performed at the
Nobel Peace Prize
Concert, honoring
Wangari Maathai
before a worldwide television audience.
[7]
2005 saw the release of
Thumbsucker
, a feature film by
Mike Mills
, with a score composed by Tim DeLaughter and performed by The Polyphonic Spree.
[8]
On June 19, 2007, the band released their third complete album,
The Fragile Army
, produced by John Congleton. On their 2007 tours The Polyphonic Spree replaced their robes with black army outfits while continuing to don the robes during encores. In July 2007, the song "Running Away" was featured on the
Sci-Fi network
in commercials for its upcoming season. In the autumn of 2007,
Adidas
commissioned artists to write theme songs for
MLS
teams as part of a campaign called "MLS Represent",
[9]
and the Polyphonic Spree was chosen to write a song for
FC Dallas
. The result was the song "H-O-O-P-S Yes!"
[10]
In September 2007, the Polyphonic Spree performed three songs: "Light and Day / Reach for the Sun", "Soldier Girl", and "Light to Follow", at
Oscar de la Renta
's Spring 2008 Fashion Show for
New York Fashion Week
.
[11]
They recorded the opening track to the Showtime series
Weeds
for season 2 (episode 9),
[12]
and also contributed to the
Hedwig and the Angry Inch
and
The Nightmare Before Christmas
tribute CDs. UK channel
Sky Sports
used "Running Away" to advertise their spring and summer cricket coverage. UK supermarket
Sainsbury's
continues to use "Light and Day / Reach for the Sun" for its advertising campaign. It became the most-used song in advertising in the United Kingdom.
[13]
In 2009, the band wrote and performed the opening sequence to Showtime's new show
The United States of Tara
, which stars
Toni Collette
as a woman with multiple personality disorder.
[14]
They first performed the song live on their Australian tour, in
Adelaide
. "Light and Day / Reach for the Sun" was also featured on the "Your UQ" advertising campaign for the
University of Queensland
.
[15]
On July 11, 2011, the band released Bullseye, an interactive music video app for iOS devices featuring the first single from a collection of songs.
[16]
"Light and Day / Reach for the Sun" was featured in the movie trailer for the 2012 animated film
The Lorax
.
[17]
On October 11, 2012, the band launched a
Kickstarter
campaign to fund their next studio album, tour, live album, and concert DVD. They reached their funding goal of $100,000 on November 28. The band's
Holidaydream: Sounds of the Holidays, Vol. One
was released in 2012, featuring an original introduction, outro and Polyphonic Spree cover versions of classic Christmas songs including "
Happy Xmas (War Is Over)
" and "
Let it Snow
".
On August 6, 2013, the band played a sold-out concert at London's Village Underground to mark the release of their album
Yes, It's True
. The performance was broadcast live on
Vimeo
. A US release show at the
Granada Theater
in Dallas followed on August 9, and the band toured in support of the album worldwide. A live DVD was released in October 2013, and the band played their famous Holiday Extravaganza in Dallas, Texas on December 21.
In 2014 the band released the studio album
Psychphonic
.
[18]
The Polyphonic Spree headlined the 2015 Big D NYE party, December 31, 2014, at Dallas's
Victory Park
at the
American Airlines Center
. The free outdoor concert was attended by a crowd of over 40,000, who gathered for the annual New Year's Eve event. Perhaps because of the 35 °F weather, the choir wore matching winter ponchos, while other musicians wore pajamas. DeLaughter's headgear resembled a Fred Flintstone Grand Poobah lodge hat (tall fur with buffalo horns). Covers included Wings' "Band on the Run" and the
Thunderclap Newman
hit "Something in the Air". The band occasionally paused to sync with television cues, as the concert was broadcast live to a regional television audience of over 12 million in Texas and surrounding states.
Afflatus
was released on April 16, 2021.
Afflatus
is a cover album featuring songs by bands such as
INXS
,
The Bee Gees
, and
Rush
.
[19]
On November 17, 2023, The Polyphonic Spree released their eighth studio album,
Salvage Enterprise.
Discography
[
edit
]
Studio albums
[
edit
]
- Soldier Girl
(2002) #4 UK (Budget Albums)
[26]
- Light & Day
(2003)
- Wait EP
(2006)
- We Hope It Finds You Well
(2020)
Singles
[
edit
]
Live CDs/DVDs
[
edit
]
- Live From Austin, TX: The Polyphonic Spree
(2004)
- Coachella
(2006)
- SXSW Live 2007
DVD (2007)
- You + Me - Live in NYC (2013)
Film soundtracks
[
edit
]
Other
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
"Running Away" did not enter the UK Singles Chart, but peaked at number 52 on the UK Physical Singles Chart Top 100.
[28]
Members
[
edit
]
- Current members
- Tim DeLaughter
? lead vocals, guitar, piano
- Mark Pirro
? bass
- Jessica Jordan ?
backing vocals
- Kristin Hardin ? backing vocals
- Neil Smith ? backing vocals
- Julie Doyle ? backing vocals
- Constance Dolph ? backing vocals
- Jason Garner ? drums
- Bach Norwood ? piano, keyboards, backing vocals
- Stephanie Pirro ? backing vocals
- Jennifer Jobe Penn ? backing vocals
- Rachel Woolf ? flute
- Allen Halas ? percussion
- Buffi Jacobs ? cello
- Thaddeus Ford ? trumpet
- Paul Deemer ? trombone, trumpet
- Mike St.Clair ? trombone, synth effects
- Heather Test ? French horn
- Sean Redman ? violin, mandolin
- Kelly Test ? percussion
- Victoria Arellano ? classical harp
- Nick Earl ? guitar
- Dylan Silvers ? guitar
- Darin Hieb ? trumpet, backing vocals
- Ryan Fitzgerald ? guitar, backing vocals
- Past members (incomplete listing)
- Cassandra Askin ? backing vocals
- Josh Guyer ? trombone, spoons
- Cory Helms ? guitar, backing vocals
- Josh Smith ? backing vocals, production
- Chris Curiel ? trumpet
[29]
- Jay Jennings ? trumpet
- Evan Weiss ? trumpet
- Tamara Brown ? violin
- Elizabeth Brown ? backing vocals
- Apotsala Wilson ? backing vocals
- Jennie Kelley ? backing vocals
- Steven Grimley - backing vocals
- Mark Tucker - steel
- Jenny Kirtland ? backing vocals
- Paul Hillery ? vinyl backing
- Stephen Dix ? vinyl backing
- Rick G. Nelson ? viola
- Audrey Easley ? flute, piccolo, EWI
- Nick Groesch ? piano, keyboards
- Keith Hendricks ? percussion
- Evan Hisey ? keyboards
- Japhy Ryder ? floristry
- Annie Clark
? guitar, keyboards, backing vocals
- Regina Chellew ? guitar, trumpet, backing vocals
- Daniel Hart
? violin
- John Lamonica ? percussion
- Stuart "Peebs" Peebles ? piccolo
- Marcus Lopez ? percussion
- Matt Bricker ? trumpet, synth effects
- Taylor Young ? percussion
- Joe Butcher ? steel
- Evan Jacobs ? piano, keyboards
- Egbert St. Pierre ? piano, harpsichord
- Todd Berridge ? viola
- Elizabeth Evans ? backing vocals
- Jessica Berridge ? choir
- Melisma MacDonald ? vocals
- Edwin Mendoza ? viola
- Joseph Singleton ? viola
- Timothy Blowers ? harp
- Anthony Richards ? steel drums
- Louis Schwadron ? French horn
- Andrew Tinker ? French horn
- Chandler Petrino ? Natural horn, oboe
- Timothy Matthews ? mbira
- Nick Wlodarczyk ? trombone
- Paul Gaughran ? flute
- Brian Teasley
? percussion
- Corn Mo
? backing vocals
- James Reimer ? trombone
- Brad Butler ? backing vocals
- Toby Halbrooks ? theremin
- Merritt Lota ? steel drums
- Frank Benjaminsen ? backing vocals
- Mark Beardsworth ? claviola
- Isabelo Cruz ? french horn
- Mike Elio ? backing vocals
- Kelly Repka ? backing vocals
- Jason Rees ? backing vocals
- Jeneffa Soldatic ? backing vocals
- Michael Turner ? backing vocals
- Mike Mordecai ? percussion
- Don Congeler ? backing vocals
- Michael Musick ? backing vocals
- Melissa Crutchfield ? backing vocals
- Sandra Powers Giasson ? backing vocals
- Daniel Huffman ? guitar
- Andrew Aldenenotti ? backing vocals
- Bryan Wakeland ? drums
- Ross Cink - backing vocals
- Josh David Jordan ? backing vocals
- Jared Pechonis ? theremin
- Szabolcs Szczur ? accordion
- Daniel Poorman ? slide whistle
- Harriet Ballance - triangle/backing vocals
- Lucy Williams - choreography
- Natalie Young ? backing vocals
- Jenelle Valencia ? violin
- Roy Thomas Ivy ? backing vocals
- Jamey Welch ? backing vocals
- Ethan Voelkers ? backing vocals
- Hayley McCarthy ? viola
- Christine Bolon ? backing vocals
- Dave Dusters ? percussion, backing vocals
- Billy Mills-Curran ? flute
- Logan Keese ? trumpet
- Ricky Rasura ? classical harp
- Todd Beaupre ? vibraslap
- Tonya Hewitt ? banjo
- Andy Parkerson ? clarinet
- Patrick Hewitt ? theremin
- Paul Jones ? follower
- Gary Jones ? follower
- Theodore Cruz ? follower
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"An Epic Performance by the Polyphonic Spree"
. NPR. June 30, 2007.
Archived
from the original on June 3, 2012
. Retrieved
August 14,
2010
.
- ^
"The Polyphonic Spree"
. musicOMH. August 27, 2009. Archived from
the original
on January 14, 2010
. Retrieved
August 14,
2010
.
- ^
"Embracing the spirit of the Polyphonic Spree - May. 13, 2003"
. CNN.com. May 13, 2003.
Archived
from the original on September 5, 2008
. Retrieved
August 14,
2010
.
- ^
"The Polyphonic Spree on"
. Fasterlouder.com.au.
Archived
from the original on February 8, 2010
. Retrieved
August 14,
2010
.
- ^
"Meltdown | The Divine Comedy (+ The Polyphonic Spree)"
. Meltdown.southbankcentre.co.uk. June 17, 2002.
Archived
from the original on October 9, 2011
. Retrieved
August 14,
2010
.
- ^
"Polyphonic Spree Enjoy Volkswagen Ride While Preparing Second Album"
. MTV Networks. February 10, 2004.
Archived
from the original on July 24, 2008
. Retrieved
August 16,
2010
.
- ^
"Nobel Peace Prize 2004"
. Nobel Peace Prize Committee. Archived from
the original
on August 20, 2010
. Retrieved
August 17,
2010
.
- ^
"Thumbsucker - Production Credits"
. Movies & TV Dept.
The New York Times
. Archived from
the original
on July 10, 2012
. Retrieved
August 17,
2010
.
- ^
Pitchfork: Rapture, Spree, RJD2, Bad Brains Pen Soccer Anthems
Archived
December 21, 2007, at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
"adidas MLS Soccer"
. Adidas.com.
Archived
from the original on March 18, 2016
. Retrieved
March 15,
2016
.
- ^
"Oscar de la Renta Spring 2008"
. Style/Conde Nast Digital.
Archived
from the original on September 14, 2010
. Retrieved
August 18,
2010
.
- ^
"Weeds Music"
. Showtime. Archived from
the original
on October 2, 2009
. Retrieved
August 18,
2010
.
- ^
"Most used music in commercials revealed"
. Prsformusic.com.
Archived
from the original on September 3, 2010
. Retrieved
August 14,
2010
.
- ^
Gubbins, Teresa.
"Polyphonic Spree's Tim DeLaughter wrote theme song for new Showtime series United States of Tara"
. Pegasus News/PanLocal Media, LLC. Archived from
the original
on January 11, 2012
. Retrieved
August 19,
2010
.
- ^
"Television Commercials - Your UQ - The University of Queensland, Australia"
. Your UQ.
Archived
from the original on April 25, 2012
. Retrieved
August 6,
2015
.
- ^
"Bullseye by Polyphonic Spree"
. iTunes.
Archived
from the original on March 15, 2016
. Retrieved
July 24,
2011
.
- ^
"
The Lorax
movie trailer"
.
IMDb
.
Archived
from the original on November 2, 2016
. Retrieved
June 30,
2018
.
- ^
Julia Cook (August 11, 2014).
"Album Stream: Polyphonic Spree - Psychphonic"
.
Paste
.
Archived
from the original on May 28, 2019
. Retrieved
May 28,
2019
.
- ^
Tom Breihan (April 12, 2021).
"The Polyphonic Spree ? "Don't Change" (INXS Cover)"
.
Paste
.
Archived
from the original on November 21, 2023
. Retrieved
November 21,
2023
.
- ^
"Polyphonic Spree Chart History: Billboard 200"
.
Billboard
.
Archived
from the original on July 30, 2022
. Retrieved
March 23,
2021
.
- ^
"Polyphonic Spree Chart History: Heatseekers Albums"
.
Billboard
.
Archived
from the original on November 18, 2021
. Retrieved
March 23,
2021
.
- ^
"Polyphonic Spree Chart History: Independent Albums"
.
Billboard
.
Archived
from the original on October 11, 2023
. Retrieved
March 23,
2021
.
- ^
Ryan, Gavin (2011).
Australia's Music Charts 1988?2010
(PDF ed.). Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 221.
- ^
"Polyphonic Spree Irish Charts"
.
Archived
from the original on January 10, 2017
. Retrieved
January 9,
2017
.
- ^
Peaks in Scotland:
- ^
a
b
c
Peaks in the UK:
- ^
Peaks in Scotland:
- "Hanging Around":
"Official Scottish Singles Chart Top 100 2002 10 27"
.
Official Charts Company
.
Archived
from the original on November 15, 2017
. Retrieved
January 10,
2017
.
- "Light and Day":
"Official Scottish Singles Chart Top 100 2003 02 16"
. Official Charts Company.
Archived
from the original on March 8, 2021
. Retrieved
January 10,
2017
.
- "Soldier Girl":
"Official Scottish Singles Chart Top 100 2003 07 20"
. Official Charts Company.
Archived
from the original on May 24, 2021
. Retrieved
January 10,
2017
.
- "Hold Me Now":
"Official Scottish Singles Chart Top 100 2004 08 01"
. Official Charts Company.
Archived
from the original on February 9, 2023
. Retrieved
January 10,
2017
.
- "Two Thousand Places":
"Official Scottish Singles Chart Top 100 2004 11 28"
. Official Charts Company.
Archived
from the original on June 4, 2016
. Retrieved
January 10,
2017
.
- "Running Away":
"Official Scottish Singles Chart Top 100 2007 08 19"
. Official Charts Company.
Archived
from the original on February 12, 2020
. Retrieved
May 29,
2020
.
- ^
"Official Physical Singles Chart Top 100 - 19 August 2007 - 25 August 2007"
.
Official Charts Company
.
Archived
from the original on August 13, 2023
. Retrieved
May 29,
2020
.
- ^
"The Polyphonic Spree Get Happy"
.
Rolling Stone
.
Archived
from the original on May 24, 2018
. Retrieved
May 23,
2018
.
External links
[
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]
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Singles
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International
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Artists
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