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Q&A // SHERRI DUPREE BEMIS OF EISLEY
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> Because we have questions. Celebrities have answers.
Sherri DuPree Bemis is a vocalist, guitarist and lyricist for the Texas-born melodic indie pop band Eisley. The sibling (and one cousin) band will release The Valley, their first record in four years, on March 1. Eisley's U.S. tour kicked off yesterday in Albuquerque, and stops in Kansas City, Mo., this Saturday, Feb 5. They will play at 7 p.m. at the Beaumont Club, 4050 Pennsylvania Ave., (with Rooney and The Chapin Sisters). Tickets are $15.
Sherri spoke to Jayplay about the new album, touring and being married to the lead singer of her favorite band.
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What sets The Valley apart from Eisley's first two albums?
This new album is definitely the most selfpossessed. Lyrically, it's a lot more personal and the songs are very much just about our lives and our experiences, whereas on the first couple of records, a lot of it was fictional because we were so young. So I think this one's just the most open Eisley record that we've ever written. I don't want to say "grown up" because that sounds cliché and silly, but it really is the most grown up Eisley record that we've written.
How long have you guys been working on this album?
It's been a long road with this record because we actually finished it not last summer but the summer before that, so right after we finished it we went through the whole label change. We ended our contract with Warner Brothers and we were looking for a new label and so it was nearly two years ago that we completed the record.
It's difficult whenever you create something and you're so excited about it and you want to just put it out, but then you just have to sit on
it. It's been done for so long and we couldn't play the songs live or anything just because we didn't want anything getting out before it was time. So, while it's been frustrating, now it's so exciting because it's been up for so long that now it feels so good that the record's coming out in less than a month.
You and your sister, Stacey, write Eisley's songs. How many did you write for The Valley and how did you both put your work together for the album?
Yeah, it changes for me a lot, but I love the song Stacey wrote, "Ambulance." That one is one of my favorites. I think it's really a powerful song.
I think there are 11 songs on it, and I think I wrote five or six and Stacey wrote the other half. Whenever we write for records, we both write separately for the most part, and then we'll bring all of our demos to the band and take an even amount of her songs and my songs and se whatever fits together the best to make the most cohesive project.
Do you have a favorite on the new album?
Which song, past or present, are you most proud of?
If I was going to pick one that's not on this new record, one that fans know, then it'd be the song "Combinations" off of our last record. I think it just turned out really pretty. Then from the first record, I'd pick "Marvelous Things" just because that one has become such a fan favorite. So I love playing that one live because fans sing along so loudly and it's so fun for me.
What is your favorite part of going on tour?
What artist is your favorite right now?
I'm always the biggest Say Anything fan. The lead singer [Max Bemis] is my husband so it sounds like I'm just saying that, but I honestly was a huge fan before we even met. It's so fun for me because like right now, he's just walking around the house singing and playing guitar, so it couldn't get any better for me.
There are a couple things. For one, just getting to hang out with my band. They're so funny and I love spending time with them. We have a ridiculous amount of fun just hanging out and driving around the country and I always enjoy that part of it. Also, I love playing for fans and getting to meet them. Because I'm online a lot, like Twitter and all that stuff, so I get to talk to a lot of fans and have relationships with them, so it's so cool getting to go on tour and finally meeting these people that I've been talking to. To write songs and have them touch people, and have them all come together in one room and be singing these songs with me is so
fulfilling. There's really no feeling like it.
What's the most important goal you have for your music or yourself as a musician?
Just to keep inspiring people. That's the most important thing to me. So many people who pour out their lives into their art and their music inspire me, and I live off that; that stuff keeps me going, keeps me inspired and helps me to do what I can do. So if I am doing that for anyone, that's all I want to accomplish.
I've read that you do art in your spare time. Do you see art becoming more than just a hobby somewhere down the road?
Photography for me is just kind of a creative outlet that's fun and I don't honestly know any of the technical things that make photographers good. That, for me, is just hobby. I don't know that I'd ever pursue it professionally, but I have a lot of fun doing it. My art, though, is definitely my next biggest passion to making music. I have it really good, too, because Eisley lets me design all the t-shirts and posters, so there's always something to do for the band. But if I didn't have music, I think I'd really try to get better at illustrating and it'd be so fun to illustrate and write children's books. Jp
// SARAH CHAMP
Contributed photo by Chris Phelps
Family band: Eisley (from left:
Weston DuPree, Garron DuPree,
Stacy DuPree King, Sherri DuPree
Bemis, Chauntelle DuPree) will play the Beaumont Club in Kansas City, Mo., Saturday in support of their long awaited new album The Valley.
"by B Double E
and the Barrel House, 729 New Hampshire St., is packed with students.
A full week has passed since Beeljay "B DOUBLE E" McLoyd shot his music video at the same location for the newest University of Kansas anthem with senior Alan Ginsberg. The Blue Valley North graduate has only been rapping for three years now after freestyle at
McLoyd wanted to record "Red and Blue" because he thought he could do it better. He said he didn't think other people doing remixes were as serious as him when it came to music.
"I feel like mine is unique because it's somebody else's beat," McLoyd said. "I saw a bunch of remixes and I felt I could do it better than most of the other ones I heard from other colleges."
shot the music video two weeks before it was shot with another videographer, but he decided to wait because he believed in Ginsberg and the way he shoots.
"Alan's my boy," McLoyd said. "We've been meaning to work together for last two, three months."
SEE RAP ON PAGE 2A
Freestyle rapper Beejay "B Double E" McLoyd performs at the Barrel House, 729 New Hampshire St. He performed his hit "Red and Blue."
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
CULTURE
Students remember home through Chinese New Year
Susan Tang, a freshman from Hunan, China, performs a minority traditional dance depicting the stages of womanhood last year. KU students will celebrate the Chinese New Year Saturday afternoon with various performances, calligraphy workshops and food.
Jerry Wang/FILE PHOTO
BY CHRIS HONG chong@kansan.com
Although the new year didn't start until Thursday in China, the 14-hour time difference meant ce
While many students welcomed Wednesday's canceled classes, it was more than just a snow day to Chinese students: It was the beginning of the Chinese New Year.
ebrations began Wednesday morning in Kansas. Wednesday's de facto holiday combined with the preparation for new year celebrations gave many Chinese students a sense of familiarity.
Maggie Liu, a senior from Jiangsu, China, said celebrating the 15-day holiday made her feel more at home.
"It's another way to not make us
miss family as much," Liu said.
Xinje Tang, a sophomore from Hunan, China, said celebrating together eased the loneliess some students felt while they were away from China. Tang added that without the celebrations, the new year would simply not have its festive atmosphere.
SEE CELEBRATE ON PAGE 2A
GREEK LIFE
IFC board members may step down
BY JONATHAN SHORMAN
jshorman@kansan.com
Multiple executive board members of the Interfraternity Council (IFC), the governing body for fraternities, said they were willing to subject themselves to a vote to remove themselves from the council, following a hazing incident that occurred in November.
The declarations came at an IFC meeting Thursday evening that served as a forum for fraternity members and others to question council members about the hazing incident, which occurred after a turnover ceremony between the 2010 IFC council to the 2011 IFC council.
According to a December report by Associate Vice Provost for Student Success Lori Reesor, members of the council engaged in paddling on Nov. 18. The report said that no new executive board members were paddled by former
SEE HAZING ON PAGE 2A
BASKETBALL | 10A
Taylor becomes true guard
Turnovers don't dominate Tyshawn Taylor's game as he focuses on helping the Jayhawks take care of the ball and play good defense.
KARAOKE | 6A
Karaoke provides fun for all
Downtown bars offer Karaoke on weeknights
INDEX
Classifieds...9A
Crossword...4A
Cryptoquips...4A
Opinion...5A
Sports...10A
Sudoku...4A
WEATHER TODAY 30 1o
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4128
SATURDAY
Mostly Cloudy
SUNDAY
37 13
Few Snow Showers
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