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Magnetic Zeros cultivate sound that attracts all ages
By Jon M. Gilbertson, Special to the Journal Sentinel
July 4, 2011 8:53 p.m
http://www.jsonline.com/entertainment/musicandnightlife/124987994.html

Although Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros might come across like a gaggle of hippies spreading peace and love outward from a communal California, their music sucks in a lot of elements of the music that has been made since 1970.

But guitarist and vocalist Christian Letts balked at the idea that the collective planned to be eclectic.

"It was never a discussion of wanting to sound like this or that," Letts said during a recent phone interview in advance of the group's Summerfest show at 10 p.m. Thursday at the U.S. Cellular Connection Stage.

"It was just a natural byproduct of having so many different people with so many different tastes involved. I have a hard time describing what it is. The only thing I can come up with is 'Esperanto Motown,' and I don't even know if that's right."

The confusion could be a result of the way the band came to be. Alex Ebert, the de facto leader of the power-pop group Ima Robot, had been going through some changes, including breaking up with his girlfriend and moving out of his house, when he began writing about a fictional character named Edward Sharpe. (There is no one by that name in the Magnetic Zeros.)

After meeting singer Jade Castrinos, Ebert slowly turned his writings on Sharpe into a musical creation that accrued members the way a light bulb gathers moths. The Zeros eventually played their first "official" show at the Troubadour in Hollywood in 2007.

"That was our first big show," Letts said, "It was a collection of old friends and new friends that felt like old friends. We had recorded all these people playing all these different parts, and we didn't want to have too many things being played electronically live, so it became a necessity to have a large group."

In 2009, Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros issued "Up From Below," a full-length album with songs that were as likely to mix in the Beatles or OutKast as they were to derive from the Mamas and the Papas or Crosby, Stills & Nash. And as the Zeros traveled around in a big white bus and spread their peculiar gospel, they drew an audience as diverse as their members.

"One of the things I'm really so happy about is that people will bring their whole families, and sometimes we'll bring kids onstage," Letts said. "We get emails, like one from an 80-year-old woman who saw us on TV, and there's not just one type of person that comes to our shows. That's really beautiful."

The Zeros have sustained that sense of wonder and beauty in the studio where, between gigs, they're attempting to finish recording an "Up From Below" follow-up by September. Like Ebert, with whom he's been friends since childhood, Letts has been in other bands but has found the experience with this one to be special.

"We're so passionate about what we do," Letts said. "I've been in other bands where we thought about writing hits, and I've never felt like that with this band. We take time to nurture and cultivate, and there's something very moving spiritually about Edward Sharpe."

IF YOU GO
Who: Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros

When: 10 p.m. Thursday

Where: U.S. Cellular Connection Stage