Alex Ebert is best known as the founder and lead singer of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. You have probably heard (and danced to) the song, Home. You may have seen the band perform on late-night TV, or heard them front line at a music festival. Alex also wrote the screenplay to Robert Redford's film, All is Lost, for which he won an Emmy, and also for A Most Violent Year.
People have always found it incredibly difficult to pigeonhole Alex or Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. Some people try to say it's '70s retro... But no, that doesn't quite fit, nor does indie, or folk, or any of the other labels.
In my opinion, that's because Alex is creating, originally and authentically, without imitation. That's what we mean by Radical Brilliance. In this podcast, you'll hear about his creative process, how Alex reaches out into a realm beyond human understanding and brings back little fragments from there, rather like archeology, until an entire skeleton has been assembled and becomes alive.
Enjoy reflections on authentic and original creativity from an authentically and original artist...
5:15 -- A formula for transcending the moment / Celestial Archeology / Forcing oneself into freedom
14:01 -- Making a messiah
23:10 -- Art and the state of the world / Looking for the gaps in the artistic fabric of society / Being of artistic service / Radical earnesty
33:40 -- The best way to eradicate brilliance
41:52 -- Performance enhancements
52:44 -- Supplements “Daddy” will not allow / Creating a crucible / the arc of self-realization / Having transcendent experiences like its no big deal
65:54 -- What’s the soil in which Brilliance can bear fruit / Rushing - Getting to the Right Now / Meet the idea as soon as it arrives
83:07 -- What my breath away / Taking chances / Eschewing everything that shackles you from your truest most potent self / Taking away the safety net