There are some paper copies of this floating around L.A. this week, but here's the cover story from CampusCircle.net:

WOULDN'T YOU LIKE TO BE
A ROBOT TOO?
Ima Robot Shakes Up the Rock World
BY MARI FONG
"We were totally naive, ignorant fools when we started and that was kind of the brillance of it," says Alex Ebert, lead singer for the band Ima Robot. "We just went out and started performing with odd sounding music. People got struck by it."

Call it odd, call it unique, or simply call it a familiar sound that many have called a throwback to the ’80s glam rock era, but whatever you want to call it, Ima Robot’s music is a definite stand-out in today’s rock scene. From Ebert’s lanky build and jerky movements, reminiscent of Talking Heads’ frontman David Bryne, to the band dressed in oversized jackets and bright colors, Ima Robot’s appearance, coupled with their intergalactic, punk-wave sound, makes them the quirky-cool band you can’t help but pay attention to.

Their live shows are also no exception. "It’s got a lot to do with that spontaneous, ‘you don’t know what’s going to happen,’ scary energy that’s really exciting," explains Ebert. "I’ve cracked my head open just doing things [onstage], and just started bleeding profusely through my head, splattering it all over everybody, and continuing with the show." He then adds soberly, "And then going to the hospital."

Born and bred in Los Angeles along with his band mates, Ebert is joined by Oligee on keyboards and programming, Timmy The Terror on guitar, Justin Meldal-Johnson on bass and their newest member Scott Devours on drums (who recently replaced former Beck and R.E.M. drummer Joey Waronker in October) to create music he describes as "this groovy, odd mulch of something refreshing."

Having recently released their self-titled debut album on Virgin Records, Ebert insists that the lyrics in each Ima Robot song, such as their latest single "Dynomite," are "all pretty personal," adding that "some are more flippant than others, and some are dead fucking serious and they sound sarcastic. I guess I see humor in them — it’s all kind of a satire."

Funny as it sounds, Ebert can laugh at his own antics, yet takes his music and his performances quite seriously. Or maybe it’s dramatically? Ebert has been known to break down and cry during his live shows and admits to "having fucking epiphanies" on stage. Just one of the reasons that Ima Robot was able to develop a rabid fan base within the first few months of gigging in L.A. clubs.

Ebert explains: "I write these songs, and the lyrics are about life events of mine that generally come from an emotional place. When I revisit these things every night, instead of creating this detached sense from the subject matter — which would be like being a robot onstage, which is kind of the hypocrisy of the name — I actually revisit these experiences for the three minutes of that song. Be it an ex-girlfriend or a time that represents something to me, I always end up coming to a different conclusion every time with the different subjects … it’s somewhat of a revelation. Time is a great illuminator."

In his early days, Ebert admits he was heavily into rap and hip-hop, quite different from the punk-inspired Ima Robot tunes. Having started out as an MC, Ebert’s initial idea was to do program beats mixed with guitar riffs. The frontman also didn’t want to simply rap, but wanted to sing rap. What eventually resulted was the phasing of Ebert’s musical interests from the world of hip-hop to punk and rock. An unlikely change, but one that seemed to make perfect sense to Ebert.

"Hip-hop was my punk rock," says Ebert. "When I was 7 years old, it was Run-D.M.C. and N.W.A., who were politicized like maniacs. [N.W.A.’s] stuff was totally wild and out of control, borderline revolutionary. Most people that weren’t into hip-hop don’t understand that turnaround [to punk], but really they were one in the same. I was searching for other shit that had the same kind of renegade quality and found it in older music, like punk."

Inspired by Ziggy Stardust-period David Bowie and Richard Hell, frontman for the ’70s punk band Television, Ebert admits he desires to pass along more than just music to his audience. In fact, the magazine Teen Vogue quotes Ebert as feeling that Ima Robot "[was] constantly on the verge of changing the world and the face of music" with its musical contributions. Lofty goals for a band, wouldn’t you think?

"That was dated!" says Ebert in his defense. "I was referring to a period of time when it was all about changing the world." Then readily admits, "Really, I had no idea what the fuck I meant. We still have goals of shaking [things] up and creating some space for freedom of expression. Essentially to allow itself to the mainstream for a bit before it gets corporatized."

Having shared the stage with an eclectic mix of bands, which include The White Stripes and Junior Senior, Ima Robot is currently on tour with The Raveonettes and will be playing hometown shows in January. Ebert recalls the early Ima Robot days when he lived out of his L.A. studio on the corner of Pico and Fairfax Blvd., with the band often playing at The Joint, the club just down the street. This time around, Ima Robot will be packing one of their biggest L.A. venues yet, The Henry Fonda Theatre. But can the band members still bring that "scary energy" and allow themselves to purge emotionally in such a big venue, just like those early club days?

Ebert has no worries. "There’s nothing as rewarding as the feeling of opening up like that, really getting there and allowing everyone in. I love it. It’s really inspiring for me to see these kids come to us at shows who are doing something different, and getting in touch with the other angles of themselves, not just the angst-machismo bullshit.

"All I want to do is relate to people and inspire. That’s our goal, I think, is just to inspire. That’s really it."