Great Quotations: Alex Ebert

Edward Sharpe was never an alter-ego for me. It got misperceived that way because of a bio I wrote that accidentally instilled this idea into every journalist. At the end of the Ima Robot era, I’d forgotten how to write a song without thinking of pleasing other people. I’d forgotten the joy of writing songs, and the first Edward Sharpe album was me getting back to childlike — not business-oriented — songwriting. And in going back to my childhood, what I thought about musically was my elementary school music teacher… the recorders, and “If I Had a Hammer,” and poor tambourine playing, and some guitar, and lots of children singing.

-Alex Ebert of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes (via Spin)