Phobiac
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Artist to Watch 2009: Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
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Artist to Watch 2009: Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
L.A. hippie clan scores celeb fans with feel-good vibes
Posted Aug 07, 2009 11:55 AM
Ask anyone who's held hands with a stranger or danced barefoot in the front row at an Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros gig: The 10-piece folk-rock
ensemble's shows are more like shamanistic tent revivals than rock concerts. Former Ima Robot frontman Alex Ebert, the singer-songwriter mastermind
behind the group, embraced his hippie heart after losing his major-label deal, moving and getting back to basics. "I didn't have a cell phone, we
didn't have Internet," says Ebert, who embarked upon his new life with girlfriend Jade Castrinos.
On their recently released debut LP, Up From Below, Ebert channels his psychedelic tendencies into tunes that are alternately joyful ("Janglin,"
"Home"), jaunty ("40 Day Dream") and gothic ("Desert Song"), with echoes of the Arcade Fire and the Mamas and the Papas. Ebert attributes their sound
to a conscious effort on his part to connect with his most childlike musical impulses.
Those childlike impulses come through in the band's name, too: There isn't an Edward Sharpe in the group, and Ebert named the band after the
characters in a novel he was writing about a boy who transcended his dismal world by tapping into some sort of universal music. His feel-good vibe has
a few famous fans totally hooked: "You dance at their show! You sing!" says Drew Barrymore, who fell in love with the group at this year's South by
Southwest festival.
Recording Up from Below took the Zeros more than a year and a half, during which time they scrapped their sessions and started over with only analog
tape. "It's been a serious fucking saga," says Ebert. "But it allowed us to develop into a family, which is really what I wanted. I really am a firm
believer in utopia, otherwise I have no reason to be here."
Read Jenny Eliscu's full story in the new issue, on stands now.
Video: Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros Live in L.A.
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More Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
Review: Up From Below |
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Sarbear
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That is a good one.
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neckbeard
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oh yes
yo! satan's at the door. yo,
what's your ID, your time and place of birth?
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elblueblazer
ROCKED THE CASBAH
     
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fuck you drew barrymore!!!!!!
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poobs
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Full story as it appears in Rolling Stone..By the way, they only have 6 acts in their Artists To Watch feature..
"Artists to Watch - Six Acts Who Are Defining Rock, Pop And Hip-Hop in 2009"
L.A. hippie clan scores celeb fans with feel-good vibes
WHO - After his major-label deal fell apart, Los Angeles singer Alex Ebert (formerly of electro rockers Ima Robot) reinvented himself
as "Edward Sharpe," the hippie-shaman leader of a troupe of 10 musicians - their shows feature a stage crowded with barefoot dancers, hand drummers,
three guitarists and an accordion player. "I wrote this music for a family to play," says Ebert, who plans to start a commune with his bandmates. "I
think that's what attracted everyone in the band - the ideal behind a communal happening of music. I really am a firm believer in utopia." Ebert
presides over the collective's euphoric shows like an evangelist possessed by the spirit of '69, and by this spring, the group was drawing crowds of
1,000 fans to DIY shows at a dilapidated downtown Los Angeles theater. "Their live performances are liberating," says fan Drew Barrymore. "They're
like a tribe that creates beautiful, optimistic music, and we need more of that in this world."
SOUND - On the recently released Up From Below, the Zeros come off like a cross between the Arcade Fire and the Mamas and the Papas,
mixing childlike chants ("Janglin'"), widescreen anthems ("40 Day Dream") and jaunty folk pop ("Home"). Ebert says he found inspiration in the music
of his childhood: "The Stand By Me soundtrack, the Johnny Cash tunes my dad would play during road trips and the spaghetti-Western films I would watch
as a kid, that gave me a sense of the majesty of the world."
STAR-STRUCK - Shortly before he died, Heath Ledger flew the band to New York to play a concert for the release of the Bob Dylan
biopic I'm Not There and even talked about releasing the Zeros album himself. "Heath became a major inspiration for me, especially after he died,"
says Ebert. "He had this philosophy of 'Whatever you want to do, make it happen. If you can't do it with money, you do it some other way, and you do
it 100 percent.'"
SPIN THIS - The trippy-soul march "40 Day Dream" is perfect for a sunset drive down the Pacific Coast Highway.
Huzzah!!
"Looking back, the lion was a bad idea. That's why Dr. Shockla is gonna hook us up with a monkey. I'm gonna teach it taekwondo."

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Sarbear
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Crazy how I used to get Rolling Stones...haven't gotten it for some time now, and then I randomly get the issue that this is printed in. My guess is
they want me to re-subscribe. But what are the chances of that??
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poobs
Original Gangster
      
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I hate Rolling Stone..I think it was the only magazine that I thought I could see myself reading when my son had his annual magazine drive..I should
have gotten Tractor World instead..
Huzzah!!
"Looking back, the lion was a bad idea. That's why Dr. Shockla is gonna hook us up with a monkey. I'm gonna teach it taekwondo."

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Ruthless
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Damn straight... better be
[Edited on 8-12-2009 by Ruthless]
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ImyWith
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JPG
Witness Protection Program
      
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jellybones
Hot Shower Finger
  
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estmz is getting sew biiiiiiiiiiiiiig
i don't know what to feel!!!!!
this is my soul transmitting from space....
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corkey16
Burning Star
     
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My prayers has been answered, they will be in Georgia on the 11th of Nov, next week. Sadly i doubt i get to go cause it's a work night.
\"Now go throw that in your fucking bowl of Cheerios\"
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Sarbear
Phototastic!
      
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You should try, it's well worth the sleepiness the next morning.
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Delta
World\'s First Analrapist
     
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most def.
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