http://www.lasvegascitylife.com/articles/2010/07/06/music/stories/iq_36702385.txt

Quote:

Magnetic hero Edward Sharpe is leading his large band -- and an ever-growing fanbase -- out of cultdom by MIKE PREVATT : MPREVATT@LVCITYLIFE.COM Alex Ebert has become the talk of Los Angeles -- no small feat, as you can imagine. After going from one modern rock band (Ima Robot) to form another folkier, more retro-sounding one, he rechristened himself Edward Sharpe and assumed an almost messiah-like persona during his revival-like shows. Surrounded by a swelling, double-digit-personnel band, Ebert performed to clubs like they were stadiums. Word got out, a well-reviewed album (Up From Below) was released last summer, and suddenly he and his Magnetic Zeros were in demand everywhere -- and still are. During a bike ride in Tempe, Ariz., on the eve of a summer tour, Ebert huffs out what it's like to now look below from up. CityLife: I saw you at Coachella in April. You threw yourself into the crowd by the first song. Which begs the question: When you do this, how inappropriate can the crowd get with their hands? Alex Ebert: (Laughs) Good question. Sometimes, y'know, groping can happen. But usually it's fine. CL: Was that the biggest crowd you've played in Southern California? Is that important because it's technically home? AE: That's the biggest crowd we've ever played to. Someone said around 30,000 people [watched]. There's a connection and understanding of where the people came from, and that I'm from there, too. There's something very understandable about it in the sense that it didn't just happen out of the blue, but more like we'd just played the Mayan Theater and we've been growing it in L.A., and to see it happen on that massive level at Coachella, it felt really, really good. And the energy we got back ... was definitely the most I've felt from any body of people up to this point. It was just exhilarating. CL: You sing often very personal songs. I can't tell if it would be more intimidating or more comfortable to bare yourself like that in front of the larger crowds. AE: [Performing for small and large crowds are] very similar. Even the big festivals, I'm still really close to the people up front. So it's very similar in a lot of ways. In some ways, it can become even more private when it's a large audience, especially when there's a huge barricade. You're singing the song, it's between you and the universe, and the crowd's not close enough to sing to. Either way, it's a good thing. CL: Your first show was in 2007 at L.A.'s Troubadour, a legendary music venue. Did you feel you had a lot to live up to from that point on? AE: Yeah, actually. That show went really, really well. It was a revelation for all involved, and the core of the band ... played that night. Ever since then, we've been a band, with exception of a few changes here and there. CL: How difficult is it to harness together such a big band in the studio, and then on tour? AE: It's amazing because it's come together so gently and easily. Things like ... our trumpet player [Steward Cole], who came up to me at a [restaurant after we had been] recording late night demos and said he played trumpet, and I'd just written the horn lines for "Home," and was in desperate need of a trumpet, so it was one of those things where we had him lay down the trumpet for the song. CL: You've toured the hell out of this album, and you could probably keep touring it for another year if you wanted. When do you finally turn down the offers and make some new music? AE: (Laughs) I don't feel I can go too long without making music. We've already written some songs, and I've been writing a whole lot. In fact, the stuff I've been writing I've been putting toward a solo album because we've become a band and I want to write songs together. Not all together ... but instead of demo-ing up an entire song or idea, just bring the idea into a raw state and doing it together. CL: Given your history as a musician in L.A., can you understand any apprehension fans may have about the Edward Sharpe hype, or if they feel a little cynical about your band's sincerity? AE: Sure. And that would be probably be my reaction. However, being me ... I think there's something I resonate with in people when they're doing their best to be as open as possible. By that I mean allowing the spirit to express itself in its full form, whichever way that is -- happy, sad, upset, joyful, inquisitive, whatever. I can't always speak to how well we or I capture that, especially [during] my own performances. But when we play, the moment is present. The moment is the star. CL: So how on Earth do you stay so seemingly positive all the time? AE: It's interesting: It's not always "positive," but I do have an endgame scenario in the front of my head, a future aspect that shines through me even through "Desert Song" or "Black Water," which are very dark and not joyful songs. And yet, they're part of the process toward something. That's why I can throw myself completely into them without losing myself to the darkness. There's a destructive element in rebirth. Last updated on Thursday, July 1, 2010 at 10:48 am

wait i've read this before...but i'm not sure where..
elblue's friend or something?

yeah, it was from CityLife, the weekly alternative paper, here in Vegas.

[Edited on 6-7-2010 by elblueblazer]

Opps. I thought it was new, but looking at the date I see that it might actually be from July 1st and not July 6th.

At least it was a good memory check. All systems go! Clear to proceed neckbeard.

Phobiac.

New to me, thanks

[Edited on 7-7-2010 by JPG]

haha god dang it. i love it though.