| Here comes EDWARD SHARPE & THE MAGNETIC ZEROS... |
| Written by Michael McClelland |
| Thursday, 06 January 2011 13:17 |
 I think the reason that EDWARD SHARPE & THE MAGNETIC ZEROS are so popular is their tendency to make a big deal out of relatively small things. Their songs are fun, catchy, and nothing too terribly self-absorbed - but they play it out with an ensemble band of upright pianos, strings and accordions, that sing along with the music just as much as the people who love it. Their music takes a sentimental concept and turns it into a grand master plan of musicianship. It doesn’t do them any harm, surely - they’re coming all the way to little old New Zealand to bring their big dreams down upon a crowd of thousands at this month’s BIG DAY OUT 2011. And in a way, the band, too, are only a little thing with a big shadow. Their guitarist CHRISTIAN LETTS was nice enough to have a chat with Coup De Main about his experiences. And nice he was, too - considering the enormous breakthrough success the band have had since their debut in 2007, his humbleness was pleasantly reassuring. And though he may be less of an obvious personality than the drawling front-people of the band, Alex Ebert and Jade Castrinos, his grounded realism is helpful in picking apart the imaginative character of Edward Sharpe And The Magnetic Zeros. COUP DE MAIN: Are there any kind of leadership roles in Edward Sharpe And The Magnetic Zeros? EDWARD SHARPE & THE MAGNETIC ZEROS - CHRISTIAN LETTS: Everybody’s really important in this group. It’s funny, like, even if one person can’t make it to a show, you really notice it. I can feel it on stage. We always make it a fun night but everything is really integral to the song. CDM: Alex writes all the songs, doesn’t he? CHRISTIAN: He wrote the majority of the first album, yeah, and then there’s a few songs that we all wrote together. CDM: Does he arrange them all too, or is it up to the individual band members to write their own parts and what-not? CHRISTIAN: When you bring in new instruments, everyone’s got ideas. It’s just about figuring out what sounds best. But Alex has a real gift with arranging music and for telling a story. He has this amazing way of hearing things that should happen in songs that really help bring a song to life. CDM: What other musical projects have you been involved in and how are they different to this one? CHRISTIAN: I had a couple of bands before. I had one called Rittenhouse... it was about four years, actually. We did alright in L.A.. This is very different for me on a spiritual, creative level. It’s very pure, very honest. Rittenhouse was great, but it was like I was discovering myself with this project. CDM: I heard a few members of the band are releasing solo albums? CHRISTIAN: Yeah, eventually. We’ve just been so busy. It’s an idea, you know. I’ve got a ton of songs I’ve written that Alex is gonna produce when we have time. Not sure when Jade’s is happening, either... but yeah, it’s something in the future. Music’s fun - and this is fun too. Which is really important to me as well. And it’ll probably be everyone in this group working on this as well... we all help each other out with our music.  CDM: Why have you been playing so many festivals lately? Do you prefer it? CHRISTIAN: Every venue is great, whether it’s a really intimate show with 300 people or a festival of 20,000 people. It’s a brand new experience every time, every night, every day... everything. I don’t have a preference, either way - I like them both for different reasons. But playing festivals is awesome and playing outside is so fucking good... it feels so good to me. We’ve been able to play a lot of places with amazing areas around it and being able to play to the atmosphere is cool. CDM: Tell us a bit about your first show at the Troubadour back in 2007? CHRISTIAN: It was fucking cool. I think we had like, maybe two nights of rehearsal beforehand? We basically booked the show without having a full band. CDM: So did you get a full band by the time you played...? CHRISTIAN: Yeah. We called our friends. And that’s kind of how the whole group actually came together. It’s basically the same, there’s been a few changes here and there but that group kinda stuck around. CDM: What was it like having so many band members when the band first started? Was it difficult getting everyone organized for shows? CHRISTIAN: Yeah, there’s a lot of logistics stuff you gotta plan, like arranging to take all the instruments somewhere. But it’s so cool having so many people in the group because there’s just endless possibilities of what you can do and what you can pull off live. CDM: You’re a fan of Django Reinhardt - does his style come across in your guitar playing or your music? CHRISTIAN: Oh yeah, definitely. He’s definitely my main musical influence. I’m more of a percussive instrument in this band, and it’s cool because they didn’t have drums in Django’s band - it was guitars doing the drumming. I definitely feel like that comes across in this. CDM: Do you listen to any other jazz? CHRISTIAN: Yeah, I listen to all sorts of big band stuff. My Dad was really into big band music, my Mom was more into rock and roll. CDM: I’m curious to know your influences, because as a band you've said quite a bit in interviews that your music comes from the joys of childhood and that kind of naïve youthfulness. So what did you listen to as a kid? CHRISTIAN: My Dad was huge on stuff like Bing Crosby and shit like that, like crooner stuff, and my Mom was really big on [The] Beatles. That’s actually the main thing she was really big on - she loved other music, but that was definitely her favourite. But also hip-hop - I listened to hip-hop from when I was six. CDM: That was a main thing for Alex as well, wasn’t it? CHRISTIAN: We both got into it around the same time. We’ve known each other since we were three, you know. We’ve been hip-hop junkies ever since. CDM: What about these days? Is there anyone you’d particularly like to share a bill with? CHRISTIAN: One of the really great things about doing this festival thing is that you meet bands on the road and you get to catch up with them, and it’s always cool to see a familiar face when you’re somewhere that you’ve never been before. So we like to come see the Mumford [And Sons] guys, or Old Crow [Medicine Show], or [The] Temper Trap, or Das [Racist]... all those dudes. Watch Edward Sharpe And The Magnetic Zeros' 'Home' music video below... |
