From Star Wars to stardom

From the Van Halen brothers to Meg and Jack White, music has had its share of family affairs. While the White Stripes and Chevelle have had an impact on hard rock more recently, a family imprint is evident on the lighter side of music as well. Hanson, the Partridge Family and Eisley are among those who've made their family tree a part of the musical lexicon.

Wait a minute. Eisley?

Well, if you haven't heard of Eisley you're not alone, not many outside of the band's hometown of Tyler, Texas have save for the hordes of record executives who wanted to them to sign on the dotted line.

The band consists of a group of four young siblings - Chauntelle, 21, Sherri, 19, Stacy, 14 and Weston Dupree, 17 - and family friend, Jonathan Wilson, from the small town of Tyler, Texas.

"We usually do everything together anyway, so it's just another thing we do as a family," said drummer Weston.

Chauntelle and Sherri began playing music together when they were 15 and 13 years old. One day, their little sister Stacy, who was then eight, wanted to join in. Initially the older siblings scoffed at Stacy and the littlest sister went to her room. But Stacy didn't give up; she would eventually pen songs for Eisley, ability impressing her sisters with her songwriting and earning a spot in the group.

After accepting little sis, Weston joined in playing drums and the foursome recruited Wilson to play bass. With its lineup finalized, the group got its start playing gigs at BrewTones, a coffee shop in a strip mall owned by the Duprees' parents.

"It was good to get started out by playing in from of a bunch of people who were mostly family and friends," said Weston.

A few years later and it wasn't just the coffee that was filled with buzz at BrewTones, Eisley began to pick up steam and got noticed by record executives. Fueled by its contagious live performances, the band is currently opening for Coldplay on its U.S. tour. "They liked our music and asked if we could be put on the bill. It was very flattering coming from a band like Coldplay," said Weston.

Eisley isn't just a brother and sister affair; since the spotlight has been shining on Eisley the group of four siblings and a close friend, have counted on mom and dad for help with everything from managing finances to acting as road manager. The senior DuPrees encouraged the musical development of their children form an early age, as is apparent with BrewTones. Much like child actors who are tutored on the set, Weston and Stacy are home schooled by their parents; receiving a rock 'n' roll education while on the road. Weston voiced appreciation for what his parents have done to help the group's fledgling career.

"They've been with us from the beginning. Without them we wouldn't have the band," he said.

While the group is in the early stages of its career, Eisley does have a history behind it that goes beyond Eisley used to be known as MossEisley, taking its name from a space port in Star Wars, but after giving it some consideration the band shortened its name to avoid any legal implications the Star Wars name would have.