Band flying kites, having fun since ’07
Christian Letts finds a way to have fun — always. The guitarist and singer in the multimember Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros spends most of the year on the road. At times, the group will stop in big cities and have plenty to do. Other times, they are in the middle of nowhere.
“We were traveling last year and we were in this small town that only had a Wal-Mart,” he explains during a recent phone interview. “It was mine and my girlfriend’s anniversary. We gave each other 10 minutes to go through the store and find a gift. After that, the band all bought kites and we flew them in the parking lot. It was a great moment on the tour.”
Flying kites in the parking lot is something that brings together the 10-plus member band while on tour.
“It’s great because you can spend the day with someone different each day,” Letts says. “We’re able to get an entirely new outlook on life and the world on a daily basis. It’s amazing.”
Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros have been together since 2007. The band’s first full-length album, “Up from Below,” was released in 2009 and spawned the single “Home.” The single has been used in numerous advertising campaigns, as well as movies.
The band’s sophomore album, “Here,” was released last May and it is finishing up a new album to be released later this year.
“It’s a beautiful record and we’ve been working on it for a while now,” Letts explains. “We’ve been so fortunate that fans continue to find us and give us a chance to grow as a band.”
The band’s current lineup consists of Alex Ebert, Jade Castrinos, Stewart Cole, Josh Collazo, Orpheo McCord, Nora Kirkpatrick, Seth Ford-Young, Mark Noseworthy, Mitchell Yoshida and Letts.
Letts says for the band’s upcoming album getting the track list down to about 12 tracks has been a difficult process. The band is constantly writing, so there were many tracks to choose from.
“The most difficult thing is finding songs that come together as a unit,” he says. “It’s super hard to figure out how they are going to fit together. That’s been what has held us up.”