But in all seriousness, I just thought it would be a nice little treat to chronicle the life and times, and of course musical stylings of one of LA’s very talented sons, Alexander Ebert. I’ve been a fan of Ima Robot since their 2006 album Monument to the Masses so it’s been interesting to see the rise and commercial success of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros and contrast that with the persona and sound of Ima Robot. It’s also been refreshing to hear some of Ebert’s solo endeavors and a standout track for me is his recent release Million Years.
A Million Years by AlexanderEbert
So where does this guy come from and what’s with all of the identities? Well, Alexander Ebert was born in LA to a psychotherapist/musicologist father and actress mother. Ebert claims to be heavily influenced by his father’s tastes and of those influences he says, “I took a lot of long summer road trips with my dad, and the mix of music we listened to on the road skipped around from Classical to Western to New Age to hyper-cinematic. You know, Patsy Cline, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, and 100 others.” As a teenager, Alexander set his sights on becoming a hip hop artist, but lost interest in his mid-teens as he became disenchanted with hip hop’s changing message. He says “The music coming out at that time was redundant and boring to me. It was no longer about the grit of making money, it was about the gloss and floss of having too much money.” In my humble opinion I think you can hear some of Alexander’s rhyming skills in both Ima Robot and Magnetic Zeros’ endeavors.
A few years after dabbling in hip hop, Ebert claims Ima Robot happened accidentally. The group formed in 1997, and after a stint with heroin and subsequently getting clean for a period, Sharpe started writing songs. By 2003 the band had been signed by a major label. The band enjoyed two successful releases with with 2003’s self titled debut Ima Robot and then 2006’s Monument to the Masses. By the time the band was gaining notoriety Ebert was quickly losing steam. “It was a really strange experience. I quickly lost my grip on what the music was supposed to be about and began thinking only with A&R and the radio in mind. By the second album I’d gone from a whiney brat with something to say to a whiney brat with nothing to say.” Despite how the artist may feel about his earlier tracks, One of my Ima Robot favorites:
After becoming frustrated and worn out by the fast drug-addled lifestyle he was leading while with Ima Robot, Alexander went through a renaissance of sorts. He moved out of his house, broke up with his then girlfriend, and moved into a one bedroom apartment and slept on a blow-up mattress for a year. Enter the birth of Edward Sharpe. Of this persona Ebert says "Well the name Edward Sharpe just came to me, and I was really into physics and math, thus the magnetic zeros part, but as far as a persona, there is no persona. It's just me. At this point in my life, I've peeled off enough layers of myself that what you get now is the real light bulb." During this period he met Jade Castrinos, the female vocalist featured on the band's hit "Home," which developed into a love affair. The couple started making simple, pared down music together, and slowly and organically, the duo came to be joined by friends…and then more friends. Although the romance between the two original members did not last, by the summer of 2009 the band had released their first album, Up from Below and have since enjoyed success from widespread coverage and over 30 sold out shows in their cross-country tour.
What really impresses me about Alexander Ebert is his ability to progress from these different styles and personas and to evolve in to strikingly different musical presentations with ease. Alexander also recently reunited with Ima Robot and they visited KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic and performed a stellar version of one of the new tracks off their album Another Man's Treasure, Sail with Me. Check it.
-Laura in LA
Sources Wikipedia and Mother Jones online
Sweet, a new find! Just what I want from this ears-across-the-water blog. What's the deep bass note-making instrument? Perhaps it's because Matt studies Tuba (his solo this year is Hall of the Mountain King, natch) but it sounds brassy? Is it (just) a synth?
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