Size Matters

The Prairie Dogg finds the dirt on smelly clothes, noisy kids and if bigger is better with Mark Pirro, bassist for the colossal choral-pop ensemble known as the Polyphonic Spree.

PD: So how many people are really in Polyphonic Spree?

MP: I think most of the people in the band don’t know for sure how many people are in the band. We just say we’re twenty-plus-something.

In order to differentiate yourselves from those fifteen-plus bands?

[Laughs] Yeah, something like that.

When the band was starting, did you guys go, “Fifteen people isn’t nearly enough — how about 25 or 30?”

As it was growing, there was kind of a point where we wondered when it was going to stop … but I think now we’re pretty well-rounded. The only thing that could make it better is if we could have a larger string section with a couple cellos, a couple violas….

So you’re actually not big enough?

[Laughs] Yeah, I think if it was solely up to Tim [DeLaughter, the PS frontman], he would agree with that. Tim’s the one who’s motivated by having a certain sound. He has great vision. But we do have to be realistic, too.

Don’t you have a tough time getting everyone onstage as it is?

If we have to, we’ll expand the stage with cinder blocks and plywood. We played a show recently in Chicago, and we literally could not fit on the stage.

Did you have to wear those “Hello, my name is” name tags at first?

It was about half and half. There have been lots of times, particularly toward the beginning, where I couldn’t exactly put all of the names to all of the faces.

I heard you travel on one bus. Is that possible?

Oh yeah, the bus is designed to transport sports teams, so it can accommodate a lot of people. But when you get 23 people plus a small crew and Tim and Julie’s kids [Julie, a PS choir member, is married to DeLaughter], people have to double up or sleep on the floor or do whatever we have to do to make it work.

Don’t you get a little stir crazy, though, squished together like that?

Mornings are the worst. You’re trying to sleep, and Tim’s kids are running up and down, and somebody’s watching a movie in the lounge and other people are talking or whatever. Earplugs and eyeblinders are a must in this band.

I’d imagine after a few days it’s gotta start smelling like funk in there, too.

[The robes] do get kind of nasty, but it’s usually only a few shows before you have to wash them again, so it’s not too bad. Quite a few people that go commando or go barefoot or whatever. But I’m not one of them.