Thursday, February 9, 2012

Interview: Tim DeLaughter of Polyphonic Spree



Earlier this afternoon, I talked to Polyphonic Spree frontman Tim DeLaughter about a variety of topics, including their tour that is stopping by Atlanta at Center Stage tomorrow night.

Kevin: It's been four years since The Polyphonic Spree last toured North America. Heading into 2012, what are you most looking forward to during this stint of tour dates?

Tim: We are looking forward to a sold out show in Atlanta. We are counting on Gail Fountain, a super fan, to help us accomplish that.

Throughout your career, you have written music for television programs, movies, advertisements, and a variety of other mediums. Do you have any plans to make music across different media platforms in the future? Or are you more focused on developing Polyphonic Spree as a band?

At some point we will collaborate on another interactive app with Moonbot like we did with one of our recent singles "Bullseye" on Good Records Recordings. I will be working on The Polyphonic Spree, Preteen Zenith, and a long in the works solo album. The Polyphonic Spree will also be doing a Holiday album this year as well as a national tour of the 10th anniversary of our annual Holiday Extravaganza.

It has often been said that the live experience of Spree is one of the most surrealistic shows out there. Do you have any current day musicians that give a source of inspiration for the live performance of The Polyphonic Spree?

We inspire each other more than anything, really.

After this first batch of dates across the States, does the "You + Me" tour have any international shows in mind?

We plan to tour the UK at the end of August/September and do a New Year's Eve show in London.

In the past, The Polyphonic Spree has been featured on major music festival DVDs, such as Coachella and SXSW. Will the "You + Me" tour be documented as well?

Our percussionist Patrick Cone on this run is a filmmaker and editor. He cut the trailer for this current phase of the "You+Me" tour. He is grabbing footage while we are out so you never know. We have been documenting The Polyphonic Spree since the beginning so at some point the full story will be told.

Over the years, there have been many different members of The Polyphonic Spree. One of the most successful alumni, Annie Clark, has gone onto accomplish great things in her own right with St. Vincent. Do you still keep in contact with Annie or any other past members of the band? Would you ever consider letting them play alongside The Polyphonic Spree again down the road?

We plan to have every member that has ever graced the stage with The Polyphonic Spree join us for our 15h anniversary on July 15, 2015. It will be a memorable evening to put it mildly.

In the age of social media, many musicians have figured out how to better interact with their fans. You guys are no strangers to this, offering an innovative idea in the form of letting your fans create a music video for the latest single "What Would You Do?". What do you think of some of the videos that people have submitted thus far? Are you pleased with the response so far?

We have loved the entries so far. We are really like Pepe and Peaches the Cat so far. It is cool to see how fan's interpret the music and lyrics.

On February 10th, The Polyphonic Spree's "You + Me" tour stops by Atlanta to play a show at Center Stage. Do you have any memories of Atlanta that you could share?

We did an instore/outstore at Criminal Records. It was definitely HOTLANTA that day. We played the parking lot. We had 2-3 people pass out. I would like to think it was the music but...

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