Alex Ebert

Ebert began writing and recording music (primarily rap) with his longtime friend Tim "Timmy the Terror" Anderson in 1997. The duo, occasionally joined by local DJs and longtime friends Oliver "Oligee" Goldstein and Jason "One Three/ComputerJay" Taylor, recorded demos under various names with various other members until they settled on a final name in 1999, Ima Robot, which originated from an inside joke between Anderson and Ebert. With Goldstein as an official third member, Ima Robot began recording demos and performing shows around Los Angeles. The band was signed to Virgin Records on 2002. Their first full-length album released on September 6, 2003, was Ima Robot, which featured the singles "Dynomite" and "Song #1." After the departure of Goldstein (and other members), bassist Filip Nikolic joined in 2005. 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 Anderson's Werewolf Heart label.^[6] 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 Anderson and Nikolic again.^[7] Ebert expressed frustration with the corporate limitations on the band, saying he "pretty unironically ended up feeling like a robot by the end of the process because of the major label thing."^[8]

Tras años de su estilo de vida fiestero en Los Ángeles y su consiguiente adicción a las drogas, Ebert rompió con su entonces novia, se mudó de casa y pasó un tiempo en rehabilitación. Durante este tiempo, desarrolló a Edward Sharpe, su alter ego . «No quiero darle demasiada importancia, porque en cierto modo es solo un nombre que se me ocurrió. Pero supongo que si lo analizo más a fondo, siento que había perdido mi identidad en general. Realmente no sabía qué estaba pasando ni quién era ya. Adoptar otro nombre me ayudó a abrir un camino para recuperarme». ^{[ 9 ]} Ebert convirtió a Sharpe en una figura mesiánica , diciendo: «Fue enviado a la Tierra para sanar y salvar a la humanidad, pero se distraía constantemente con chicas y se enamoraba».

Aunque la banda eventualmente crecería hasta convertirse en un conjunto de –en varios momentos– incluso más de 10 personas, Ebert comenzó a escribir y grabar inicialmente completamente solo, haciendo "las líneas de viento con mi boca o un kazoo en las demos" y "todas las voces de fondo superponiéndose a sí mismo, fingiendo que había gente allí". ^{[ 8 ]} La banda comenzó a tomar forma con la incorporación de la cantante Jade Castrinos, a quien vio sentada en un banco al aire libre y ha dicho que inmediatamente supo que necesitaba tener una relación con ella. Su romance resultante formó las semillas de lo que se convertiría en Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros . ^{[ 1 ]} Comenzaron a escribir música juntos y se convirtieron en parte del colectivo de arte y música The Masses, que fue iniciado en parte por algo de capital inicial del actor Heath Ledger . ^{[ 10 ]} Aunque su relación no duró, el grupo ganó popularidad, creciendo pronto a más de 10 miembros, algunos de los cuales habían sido amigos de Ebert desde que era joven. Para el verano de 2009, estaban de gira por el país. Su primer álbum, Up from Below , se publicó en julio de 2009. Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros aparecieron en el Late Show con David Letterman el 10 de mayo de 2012 para promocionar su siguiente álbum, Here , que se publicó el 29 de mayo de 2012. Su tercer álbum de larga duración, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros , se publicó el 23 de julio de 2013. Volvieron a aparecer en el Late Show para promocionar el álbum, interpretando el tema "Life Is Hard".

On their most recent album, PersonA, Ebert tried to evolve, stating, "In a lot of ways this album does things that are missing." He went on to discuss why the name Edward Sharpe is crossed out on the cover, saying, "There was no character to begin with, so why not kill him? He never really was there. If anything, and at most, Edward Sharpe was a vehicle for me to get to slough off whatever I had become up until that point, and to get back to or sort of allow my pure self to come forth into sort of a clean slate."^[8]

In 2011, Ebert released his first solo album, Alexander. He appeared on Conan on September 12, 2011, to promote his solo album.

On August 4, 2015, it was announced that Ebert would appear as the lead singer on Avicii's single "For a Better Day" from his album Stories.

"Feel the Bern" was added to Ebert's SoundCloud^[11] on September 30, 2015. The anthem celebrates the movement surrounding Bernie Sanders and compels people to "Feel the Bern", which was a slogan of Bernie's 2016 & 2020 presidential campaigns.

Ebert's second non-soundtrack solo album I vs I was released on January 31, 2020. Ebert has said that I vs I is “The most in-my-emotions, emo, self-centered album that I’ve probably ever made, but it’s been part of my process to get back to myself.”^[12]

Ebert wrote the song "Daddy Knows Best" for SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical. As part of the team of songwriters who contributed to the score (which included Cyndi Lauper, Panic! At the Disco, and John Legend), Ebert was awarded the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Score (Broadway or Off-Broadway) and was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Original Score.