Alex Ebert
Encyclopedia
Alex Ebert is an American singer-songwriter
. He is best known for being the lead singer and songwriter for the American bands Ima Robot
and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
.
. On one such trip, his mother shot footage of his father chanting in the desert, cradling Alex's baby sister Gabi, which would one day become a part of the video for the Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros song "Desert Song". His full birth name was "Alexander Michael Tahquitz Ebert". His father took one of his son's names, Tahquitz
, from his favorite climbing rock. Alex later on discovered that the name means "demon" in a Native American language. His father has been a lifelong ambassador
of music and influenced young Alexander by playing him such things as Patsy Cline
, Willie Nelson
, and Johnny Cash
. He also cites 60's R&B, Pavarotti, and Beethoven as influences, as well as his elementary school teacher, a woman from South Africa
named Ruth. As a teenager he had a difficult and tumultuous relationship with his father. He enjoyed listening to hip-hop as a teenager, and originally intended to be a rapper.
was formed in 1997 and it became successful in the early 2000s, signing with Virgin Records
. Their first full-length album released on September 6, 2003, was self-titled Ima Robot, and featured the singles "Dynomite" and "Song #1". On September 12, 2006, Ima Robot released their second album Monument to the Masses
which featured the singles "Creeps Me Out" and "Lovers in Captivity". In April 2007, the band won their independence from Virgin Records and continued to work unsigned under the management of Alexis Rivera
of Echo Park Records. The song "Gangster" premiered on the band's MySpace
on April 15, 2008, with its lyrics posted in a blog entry by the band. In 2010 the band announced the upcoming release of their new album, Another Man's Treasure
, and released the song "Ruthless" on the Internet. They are now being represented by the Werewolf Heart label. Ebert was quoted as saying that 'most of the songs were recorded between two and four years ago but that he looks forward to making music with Tim Anderson and Filip Nikolic again'.
party lifestyle and subsequent drug addiction, Ebert wanted to make a change. He broke up with his then-girlfriend, moved out of his house, and did a couple of stints in rehab. He spent a year sleeping on a blow-up mattress in a tiny apartment, disconnected from the world. This time alone left him to contemplate Edward Sharpe, his alter ego
. “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 developed Sharpe into a messianic figure, saying "He was sent down to Earth to kinda heal and save mankind, but he kept getting distracted by girls and falling in love."
One such girl was the singer Jade Castrinos, whom he saw sitting on an outdoor bench and immediately knew he needed to have a relationship with her. Their resultant affair formed the seeds of what would become Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
. They 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 the late Heath Ledger
. While their relationship did not last, the group took off in a big way, and their group soon swelled to more than 10 members, some of whom had been Alex's friends since he was young. By the summer of 2009, they were touring the country. Their first album, Up from Below
, was released in July 2009.
, starring Colin Farell and Anton Yelchin
With Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
Solo
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
. He is best known for being the lead singer and songwriter for the American bands Ima Robot
Ima Robot
-Band history:Ima Robot formed in the late 1990s, after vocalist Alex Ebert's band The Lucky 13's broke up, and became successful in the early 2000s after signing with Virgin Records. The band's other original members were Timmy "the Terror" Anderson, Oligee, Justin Meldal-Johnsen, and the prolific...
and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros is an American band led by Alex Ebert, vocalist of the power pop group Ima Robot. Their first full-length recording, Up from Below, was released July 7, 2009, digitally and July 14, 2009, physically on Community Records...
.
Early life
Ebert was born in Los Angeles in 1978, the son of Michael Ebert, a psychotherapist and musicologist His mother is an actress. His father would often take the family on long car trips through the desertDesert
A desert is a landscape or region that receives an extremely low amount of precipitation, less than enough to support growth of most plants. Most deserts have an average annual precipitation of less than...
. On one such trip, his mother shot footage of his father chanting in the desert, cradling Alex's baby sister Gabi, which would one day become a part of the video for the Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros song "Desert Song". His full birth name was "Alexander Michael Tahquitz Ebert". His father took one of his son's names, Tahquitz
Tahquitz
Tahquitz is a granite rock formation located on the high western slope of the San Jacinto mountain range in Riverside County, Southern California, United States, above the mountain town of Idyllwild...
, from his favorite climbing rock. Alex later on discovered that the name means "demon" in a Native American language. His father has been a lifelong ambassador
Ambassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
of music and influenced young Alexander by playing him such things as Patsy Cline
Patsy Cline
Patsy Cline , born Virginia Patterson Hensley in Gore, Virginia, was an American country music singer who enjoyed pop music crossover success during the era of the Nashville sound in the early 1960s...
, Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...
, and Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
. He also cites 60's R&B, Pavarotti, and Beethoven as influences, as well as his elementary school teacher, a woman from South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
named Ruth. As a teenager he had a difficult and tumultuous relationship with his father. He enjoyed listening to hip-hop as a teenager, and originally intended to be a rapper.
Ima Robot
After Ebert's band The Lucky 13's broke up, Ima RobotIma Robot
-Band history:Ima Robot formed in the late 1990s, after vocalist Alex Ebert's band The Lucky 13's broke up, and became successful in the early 2000s after signing with Virgin Records. The band's other original members were Timmy "the Terror" Anderson, Oligee, Justin Meldal-Johnsen, and the prolific...
was formed in 1997 and it became successful in the early 2000s, signing with Virgin Records
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
. Their first full-length album released on September 6, 2003, was self-titled Ima Robot, and featured the singles "Dynomite" and "Song #1". On September 12, 2006, Ima Robot released their second album Monument to the Masses
Monument to the Masses
Monument to the Masses is the second album by Ima Robot. It was released by Virgin Records in 2006.-Track listing:All tracks written by Alex Ebert.# Disconnect - 03:31# Creeps Me Out - 03:03# Cool Cool Universe - 03:15# The Beat - 03:37...
which featured the singles "Creeps Me Out" and "Lovers in Captivity". In April 2007, the band won their independence from Virgin Records and continued to work unsigned under the management of Alexis Rivera
Alexis Rivera
Alexis "Pasa" Rivera Curet is a Puerto Rican footballer who currently plays for the Puerto Rico Islanders of the North American Soccer League.-Club:...
of Echo Park Records. The song "Gangster" premiered on the band's MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
on April 15, 2008, with its lyrics posted in a blog entry by the band. In 2010 the band announced the upcoming release of their new album, Another Man's Treasure
Another Man's Treasure
Unlike their previous work, this had a more laid back tempo, and focused on longer, and different song structure throughout. It was given a 7.9/10.0 rating on indie reviews and a 3.0/5.0 rating on Some Kind of Awesome.-Track listing:...
, and released the song "Ruthless" on the Internet. They are now being represented by the Werewolf Heart label. Ebert was quoted as saying that 'most of the songs were recorded between two and four years ago but that he looks forward to making music with Tim Anderson and Filip Nikolic again'.
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
After years of the Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
party lifestyle and subsequent drug addiction, Ebert wanted to make a change. He broke up with his then-girlfriend, moved out of his house, and did a couple of stints in rehab. He spent a year sleeping on a blow-up mattress in a tiny apartment, disconnected from the world. This time alone left him to contemplate Edward Sharpe, his alter ego
Alter ego
An alter ego is a second self, which is believe to be distinct from a person's normal or original personality. The term was coined in the early nineteenth century when dissociative identity disorder was first described by psychologists...
. “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
Identity (social science)
Identity is a term used to describe a person's conception and expression of their individuality or group affiliations . The term is used more specifically in psychology and sociology, and is given a great deal of attention in social psychology...
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 developed Sharpe into a messianic figure, saying "He was sent down to Earth to kinda heal and save mankind, but he kept getting distracted by girls and falling in love."
One such girl was the singer Jade Castrinos, whom he saw sitting on an outdoor bench and immediately knew he needed to have a relationship with her. Their resultant affair formed the seeds of what would become Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros is an American band led by Alex Ebert, vocalist of the power pop group Ima Robot. Their first full-length recording, Up from Below, was released July 7, 2009, digitally and July 14, 2009, physically on Community Records...
. They 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 the late Heath Ledger
Heath Ledger
Heath Andrew Ledger was an Australian television and film actor. After performing roles in Australian television and film during the 1990s, Ledger moved to the United States in 1998 to develop his film career...
. While their relationship did not last, the group took off in a big way, and their group soon swelled to more than 10 members, some of whom had been Alex's friends since he was young. By the summer of 2009, they were touring the country. Their first album, Up from Below
Up from Below
-Charts:-External links:* * * *...
, was released in July 2009.
Solo career
In 2011, Alex released his first solo album, Alexander. He appeared on Conan on September 12th, 2011 to promote his solo album.Movie songs
Alexander's song "Bad Bad Love" was the opening song for the 2011 remake of Fright NightFright Night (2011 film)
Fright Night is a 2011 3D comedy horror film directed by Craig Gillespie. It is a remake of the 1985 Tom Holland film of the same name. The film had its premiere at The O2 in London on August 14, 2011, and was widely released on August 19 in Real D 3D & IMAX 3D.-Plot:The film opens with a vampire ...
, starring Colin Farell and Anton Yelchin
Anton Yelchin
Anton Viktorovich Yelchin is an American film and television actor. He began performing in the late 1990s, appearing in several television roles, as well as the Hollywood films Along Came a Spider and Hearts in Atlantis...
Discography
With Ima RobotIma Robot
-Band history:Ima Robot formed in the late 1990s, after vocalist Alex Ebert's band The Lucky 13's broke up, and became successful in the early 2000s after signing with Virgin Records. The band's other original members were Timmy "the Terror" Anderson, Oligee, Justin Meldal-Johnsen, and the prolific...
- Ima RobotIma Robot (album)Ima Robot is the first full-length album by Ima Robot. It was released on Virgin Records in 2003.-Track listing:All tracks written by Alex Ebert.# "Dynomite" – 2:22# "Song #1" – 2:27# "Alive" – 3:12# "Scream" – 3:51# "A Is for Action" – 2:21...
(2003) - Monument to the MassesMonument to the MassesMonument to the Masses is the second album by Ima Robot. It was released by Virgin Records in 2006.-Track listing:All tracks written by Alex Ebert.# Disconnect - 03:31# Creeps Me Out - 03:03# Cool Cool Universe - 03:15# The Beat - 03:37...
(2006) - Another Man's TreasureAnother Man's TreasureUnlike their previous work, this had a more laid back tempo, and focused on longer, and different song structure throughout. It was given a 7.9/10.0 rating on indie reviews and a 3.0/5.0 rating on Some Kind of Awesome.-Track listing:...
(2010)
With Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros is an American band led by Alex Ebert, vocalist of the power pop group Ima Robot. Their first full-length recording, Up from Below, was released July 7, 2009, digitally and July 14, 2009, physically on Community Records...
- Here Comes EPHere Comes EPHere Comes EP is an EP from the album Up from Below by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros.-Track listings:...
(2009) - Up from BelowUp from Below-Charts:-External links:* * * *...
(2009)
Solo
- Alexander (2011)