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Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros was an American
folk rock Folk rock is a fusion genre of rock music with heavy influences from pop, English and American folk music. It arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music re ...
band formed in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
,
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
, in 2005. The group was led by singer Alex Ebert. The band's name is based on a story Ebert wrote in his youth, about a messianic figure named Edward Sharpe. Drawing from
roots rock Roots rock is a genre of rock music that looks back to rock's origins in contemporary folk music, folk, blues, and country music. First emerging in the late 1960s, it is seen as a response to the perceived excesses of the then dominant psychedel ...
, folk,
gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...
, and
psychedelic music Psychedelic music (sometimes called psychedelia) is a wide range of popular music styles and genres influenced by 1960s psychedelia, a subculture of people who used psychedelic drugs such as Dmt, DMT, Lysergic acid diethylamide, LSD, mescaline, ...
, the band's image and sound evoke the
hippie movement The hippie subculture (also known as the flower people) began its development as a teenager and youth movement in the United States from the mid-1960s to early 1970s and then developed around the world. Its origins may be traced to European soc ...
of the 1960s and 1970s. The group's first show was played July 18, 2007, at The Troubadour in
West Hollywood, California West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. History Most historical writing ...
. Their first studio album, '' Up from Below'', was released on July 7, 2009, on Community Records and featured the popular single "
Home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or more human occupants, and sometimes various companion animals. Homes provide sheltered spaces, for instance rooms, where domestic activity can be p ...
". The group released their second full-length album, '' Here'', on May 29, 2012, and third album, '' Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros'', on July 23, 2013. Their fourth studio album, ''
PersonA A persona (plural personae or personas) is a strategic mask of identity in public, the public image of one's personality, the social role that one adopts, or simply a fictional Character (arts), character. It is also considered "an intermediary ...
'', was released in April 2016. The band underwent several alterations. Most notably, singer Jade Castrinos left the band in 2014. The band's remaining members were Nicolo Aglietti, Mark Noseworthy, Orpheo McCord, Josh Collazo, Christian Letts, Seth Ford-Young, Mitchell Yoshida, Crash Richard, Stewart Cole, and Alex Ebert. The band also operated Big Sun, a non-profit focused on funding and developing co-ops and land trusts in urban areas around the world. Big Sun donated $100,000 to, "Avalon Village," in Highland Park, Michigan in 2016.


History


Origin and first studio album (''Up from Below'')

After years of the
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
party life and subsequent drug addiction,
Ima Robot Ima Robot is an American band based in Los Angeles, California, that formed in the late 1990s. They have released several albums, EPs, and singles, most notably ''Ima Robot (album), Ima Robot'' in 2003, ''Search and Destroy'' and ''Monument to ...
frontman Alex Ebert broke up with his girlfriend, moved out of his house, and spent time in rehabilitation. During this time, Ebert began to write a book about a messianic figure named Edward Sharpe who was "sent down to Earth to kinda heal and save mankind, but he kept getting distracted by girls and falling in love." Ebert adopted the Sharpe persona as his
alter ego An alter ego (Latin for "other I") means an alternate Self (psychology), self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original Personality psychology, personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other ...
. He said, "I don't want to put too much weight on it, because in some ways it's just a name that I came up with. But I guess if I look deeper, I do feel like I had lost my identity in general. I really didn't know what was going on or who I was anymore. Adopting another name helped me open up an avenue to get back." Ebert began initial writing and recording completely alone, doing "the horn lines with ismouth or a kazoo on the demos" and "all the background vocals layering ... pretending that there were people there."Edward Sharpe Is Dead: Alex Ebert on The Magnetic Zeros' Pursuit of Failure, Identity, and Unrealism — TRANSVERSO
Transversomedia.com. Retrieved on April 15, 2016.
After meeting singer Jade Castrinos outside a Los Angeles cafe, Ebert and Castrinos started writing music together, and became a part of the art and music collective The Masses, which was partially started by some seed money from actor
Heath Ledger Heath Andrew Ledger (4 April 1979 – 22 January 2008) was an Australian actor. After playing roles in several Australian television and film productions during the 1990s, he moved to the United States in 1998 to further develop his film care ...
. Their fledgling group eventually swelled to more than ten members, some of whom had been Ebert's friends since he was young. In mid-2009, Ebert, Castrinos, and a group of musicians toured the country by bus as Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros. The first show they played in 2009 was at the
Marfa Film Festival {{short description, Annual film festival held in Marfa, Texas, United States The Marfa Film Festival is a film festival occurring annually in Marfa, Texas. About The Marfa Film Festival was created and curated by Filmmaker Robin Lambaria. Filmma ...
in
Marfa, Texas Marfa is a city in the high desert of the Trans-Pecos in far West Texas, United States, between the Davis Mountains and Big Bend National Park, at an elevation of 4685 feet. It is the county seat of Presidio County, Texas, Presidio County. The ci ...
. The band recorded their debut album, '' Up from Below'', in Laurel Canyon. Produced by Nicolo Aglietti and Aaron Older, it was released on July 14, 2009. ''Up from Below'' is also the name of one of the songs in this album, in which Ebert states "I was only five/when my dad told me I'd die/I cried as he said son/ was nothing could be done". Says Ebert, "My dad would be doing therapy in his office upstairs and I'd hear screamings, because they'd be role-playing and he'd be acting as his patient's father and they'd get upset and hit him and all this stuff. When he wasn't working, I'd go up there to draw and one day the music he was playing, Beethoven I think, delivered to me the idea of life and death. The information was bequeathed to me by the music. It was sonic and emotional. I tapped my dad on the shoulder and asked him if I was going to die and he said, 'Yeah.'" On April 12, 2009, the band released "Desert Song", a
music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...
and the first of a 12-part feature-length musical called ''SALVO!''. Part 2, "Kisses Over Babylon", was released November 24, 2009, through Spinner.com. Part 3, "40 Day Dream", was uploaded to YouTube by the band on May 19, 2011.


''Big Easy Express'' and second studio album (''Here'')

In April 2011, the band joined
Mumford & Sons Mumford & Sons are a British folk rock band formed in London in 2007. The band consists of Marcus Mumford (lead vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, drums), Ted Dwane (vocals, double bass, bass guitar), and Ben Lovett (British musician), B ...
and Old Crow Medicine Show on the Railroad Revival Tour. According to ''
American Songwriter ''American Songwriter'' is a bimonthly magazine covering songwriting. Established in 1984, it features interviews, songwriting tips, news, reviews and lyric contest. The magazine is based in Nashville, Tennessee. History The ''American Songwri ...
'', the tour stopped in six cities, playing alternative venues such as an Austin, Texas, high school where Mumford & Sons taught the marching band how to play their hit "The Cave". The tour was also the subject of Grammy-nominated director
Emmett Malloy The Malloys is the working name of music video and film directors and brothers Emmett Malloy and Brendan Malloy. They have been with Superprime Films since 2010. Videography *"Dance with Me (Blink-182 song), DANCE WITH ME" by blink-182 (2023 ...
's latest documentary ''Big Easy Express'', which strove to capture "the pure joy of music" through Americana folk imagery. The documentary went on to win in the category for Best Long Form Music Video at the 2013 Grammy Awards. In 2011, Railroad Revival Tour bands Mumford & Sons, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, and Old Crow Medicine Show together closed their shows at every stop with "This Train". The group's second album, '' Here'', was released on May 29, 2012.


Third studio album (''Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros'')

The band's third album, '' Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros'', was released in 2013. This was followed by tours of North America, UK, Europe, and Australia, which included headlining concert dates as well as major festivals. The band became known for taking people onstage with them, including a former patient they had previously met in a hospital performance, and a disabled man in a wheelchair.


Fourth studio album (''PersonA'')

The band's fourth studio album, ''
PersonA A persona (plural personae or personas) is a strategic mask of identity in public, the public image of one's personality, the social role that one adopts, or simply a fictional Character (arts), character. It is also considered "an intermediary ...
'', was released April 15, 2016, through Community Music. Recording the music almost entirely in one room together in
New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
, their approach was a far cry from their ramshackle, come-one-come-all production audible on recordings of their previous albums. In an in-depth interview with Transverso Media, Ebert explained his desire to evolve on ''PersonA'', stating, "In a lot of ways this album does things that are missing." He went on to discuss why the name Edward Sharpe is crossed out on the cover, saying, "There was no character to begin with, so why not kill him? He never really was there. If anything, and at most, Edward Sharpe was a vehicle for me to get to slough off whatever I had become up until that point, and to get back to or sort of allow my pure self to come forth into sort of a clean slate."


Members

* Alex Ebert –
vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...
,
guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...
,
percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...
,
piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...
*Nicolo Aglietti –
guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...
and co-producer;
synthesizer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...
, keyboards, vocals * Stewart Cole –
trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...
, percussion, keyboards, tenor ukulele, vocals * Josh Collazo –
drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...
, percussion, saxophone, vocals * Orpheo McCord – drums, percussion,
marimba The marimba ( ) is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars that are struck by mallets. Below each bar is a resonator pipe that amplifies particular harmonics of its sound. Compared to the xylophone, the mari ...
, didgeridoo, vocals * Christian Letts – guitar, vocals, mandolin * Seth Ford-Young – bass, vocals * Mark Noseworthy – guitar, vocals, banjo, mandolin, charango, ronroco * Crash Richard – vocals, percussion ''As of marketing on the band's
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page in 2013''Omslagfoto's
Facebook. Retrieved on August 8, 2013.
'':'' * Mitchell Yoshida – piano,
clavinet The Clavinet is an electric clavichord invented by Ernst Zacharias and manufactured by the Hohner company of Trossingen, West Germany, from 1964 to 1982. The instrument produces sounds with rubber pads, each matching one of the keys and respond ...
, vocals


Additional, touring and/or recording personnel

''As listed in the iTunes LP for the most recent album, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, 2013, or present tour:'' * Aaron Arntz – piano; previously also clavinet, vocals as a main band member * Aaron Embry – piano, organs; previously keyboards, piano, vocals, harmonica as a main band member * Roger Joseph Manning Jr – piano * Nathaniel Markman –
fiddler A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin or a bass. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially syno ...
* Fred Bows – violin * Susie Bows – violin * Hippos August – humming, moaning, Surbahar


Former personnel

In addition to Arntz and Embry: * Aaron Older – co-producer,
bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...
, vocals,
banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. ...
, percussion * Tay Strathairn – piano, harmonica, vocals * Jade Castrinos – vocals, guitar, percussion, keyboard * Nora Kirkpatrick –
accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German language, German ', from '—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a Reed (mou ...
, keyboard, vocals


Past touring/ additional personnel

* Odessa Jorgensen – fiddle, vocals during 2012-2013 tour * Anna Bulbrook
viola The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...
, vocals * Tyler James – piano, vocals * Felix Bloxsom – drums * Adam Privitera – penny whistler * Ryan Richter – guitar, lap steel


Discography


Studio albums


EPs

* '' Here Comes EP'' (2009)


Singles


Notes


Other charted songs


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Edward Sharpe And The Magnetic Zeros 2005 establishments in California American country rock groups American indie folk groups Dew Process artists Folk rock groups from California Grammy Award winners Musical groups established in 2005 Musical groups from Los Angeles Rough Trade Records artists Vagrant Records artists