The Polyphonic Spree

Dallas symphonic pop group the Polyphonic Spree are less a band than a happening, in the 1960s sense of the word. When the group takes to the stage for a live performance, its two dozen members are costumed in flowing robes of snowy white, an appropriate backdrop for their happy and uplifting musical message that's catchy pop minimally laced by gospel. Fans have compared them to both the Flaming Lips and the Beach Boys, with a smidgen of lively Godspell-like attitude thrown into the mix. The Polyphonic Spree were founded by Tim DeLaughter, who led Tripping Daisy until 1999, when a drug overdose killed his bandmate, guitar player Wes Berggren. Tripping Daisy folded, and DeLaughter and the other surviving members of the group pulled together as the Polyphonic Spree with the addition of about 20 more members. They put together a demo titled The Beginning Stages of...the Polyphonic Spree and distributed it to fans during a holiday performance. An indie label, Good Records, out of Dallas, later issued the release. The group boasts a ten-member choir, a pair of keyboardists, as well as a percussionist, bassist, guitarist, flutist, trumpeter, trombonist, violist, a French horn player, a theremin player, and an electronic effects wizard. DeLaughter holds the post of musical director and contributes lead vocals. Road tours require more than a dozen full-sized vans, but the band put on spectacular shows in intimate clubs and gigs as big as 2003's Reading Festival, and their single "Follow the Day" was featured in Volkswagen commercials and on the Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind soundtrack, earning the Polyphonic Spree even more exposure. Their proper first album, Together We're Heavy, was co-released by Good Records and Hollywood Records in summer 2004. The Wait EP, which arrived in 2007, found the band moving in a darker, slightly more atmospheric direction. That summer, the Spree returned with The Fragile Army, a reprise of the vibrant, Technicolor sound of their earlier work. It was followed later in the year by the Live from Austin, TX CD/DVD.