Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros: Traveling Troupe of Love

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros played DC9 last night. Edward Sharpe is Alex Ebert the lead singers boyhood alter ego but for all purposes he now is Edward. Alex has had what he is calling a personal rebirth. He was formally in a band called Ima Robot and was into a live fast die young way of life and was quoted saying

"I ended up on a lot of drugs; I basically lost myself. The last two years we were on the major label, I became an automaton -- I became a robot.”

When the LA Times did a piece on the band they wrote:

“For a time, Ebert was living in a place with no phone. He met Jade Castrinos, who now sings in the band. He read Kerouac, attended AA meetings and started working on songs in the Laurel Canyon house shared by now-bandmates Nico Aglietti and Aaron Older.”

With some startup money from the late Heath Ledger this group cut an album and put together a live show that is very different then what we have seen in a very long time.

Ebert looks like Jesus reincarnate with his big burly beard and long hair. The band is quite large for the small room at DC9 with a total of 7 people on stage. Ebert had a lot of dialogue with the crowd and seemed he was trying to forge a bond with us. He spoke a lot about love and at one point told the crowd to hug the person next to them. It was a very joyous vibe at DC9 and for a little while it was like we were at a commune and Ebert was leading the band we were watching together as a family. Ebert was defiantly channeling energies on stage through certain songs as you could see the brooding intensity come through. Jade Castrinos does some singing of her own and she has an amazing set of pipes. Castrinos has an energetic fluidity to the way she moves on stage that is very difficult to describe in words. Castrinos and Ebert stare into each other’s eyes during some of the duets and tell each other they love each other on stage. Ebert’s informal way was a different approach then most bands saying stuff to the crowd such as “sshhh guys I love you.” Or “I still feel like its awkward between us.” This traveling troupe is spirited and fun and below is a clip to give you an idea of what the show is like.


Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros are also in the process of making a feature length film consisting of a music video for each of their songs. The storyline follows a boy named Edward Sharpe who was immaculately conceived and has to wait nearly two years before he grows arms and legs. The first installment was filmed at Joshua Tree.