Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes create following in Athens

On September 4, 2009, curious collegiates made their way to Casa Nueva with too-little knowledge of a band with a too-long name. It was a show put on by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zero’s, a 10-piece band of free-loving-forever-smiling-sometimes-barefoot-and-shirtless hipsters. The band took the stage in the crowded bar, and by the end of their set, everyone in the packed house was dancing and smiling.

This is a band that radiates happiness, and this is no doubt what has made them into a growing success, especially in LA. They were little known when they hit Athens, but afterwards, their gospel of love spread like wildfire. News reports have linked them to a cult-like following after the release of their debut album, Up From Below.

This is not surprising as the sugar that Sharpe and the Zeros puts out is fully addicting. The band, which is reminiscent of the 60′s and 70′s cultural uprising of hippies and their sound, uses rapturous choruses and feet-tapping rhythms to create their encompassing sound.

It is difficult to pin these guys and their eccentric front man down; on a widely published biography of the band, Sharpe is described as being ”[b]irthed by Mouth in the year two-thousand and five,” and that ”young Edward Sharpe had to wait nearly two years before he was to grow his arms and legs and fingers and toes.”

“They are a really strange band,” said Ashley Hartzell, a senior at Ohio University. “I think that is what makes them most exciting. If I could describe them, they would be Arcade Fire without the depressing stuff. And we have no idea where they came from. I think that leaves enough intrigue to really generate some interest.”

When asked why she likes them so much after only seeing them live one time, Hartzell smiled and replied, “They just make me happy.”

In their super-sweet and newly popular song, “Home,” Sharpe and member Jade Castrinos sing to each other like Johnny Cash and June Carter. Castrinos croons with a delightfuly raspy and full voice, “Alabama, Arkansas, I do love my Ma and Pa / But not as much as I do love you” as Sharpe responds, “Holy moly, me oh my, you’re the apple of my eye / Girl I ain’t never loved one like you.” It’s so sweet that it’ll give you a tooth ache.

Their song “Janglin” is another super sappy and oh-so-loveable hit. The band chirps in the background as a guitar strums an easy beat and Sharpe sings the band’s philosophy:

We want to feel ya!
We don’t mean to kill ya!
We come back to heal ya – Janglin soul
Edward and the Magnetic Zeros

While it may seem that the band’s choice of words might appear a little too sweet for comfort, it never seems forced and always seems sincere. The band can pull off their sound. Hearing them sing is one thing, but seeing them live is a whole different story. You can understand, especially at a live show, that this band is all about the love.

The night after their free show at Casa the band played on David Letterman, solidifying their growing success and popping their television appearance cherry. It was surprising for the Casa-show-goers that a band playing in the little valley in the mountains would be jet setting to New York that very night. Shouldn’t they be charging cover at bars? Should they even be playing bars at all? Obviously, this is a band that loves their music as much as their fans.

The band now has a full-fledged festival and bar tour in the works. In Ohio, they will be playing at the Kent State Music Festival on November 12. There will no doubt be a pilgrimage by OU students who have fallen under their spell.

“I am obsessed with them right now,” said Brooke Shanesy, a senior at Ohio University. “I’m going to the Kent show. I’ve already got a huge group of kids who I know are going. It’s all we can talk about!”

Shanesy is currently trying to create a petition for the band to return, citing their growing and loving fan base in the small mountain town of Athens.

“I really hope they come back,” she said. “They have to know how much people love them!”

It’s a good chance that they do know, and, considering they radiate the love, peace and music philosophy, that they love each and every one of their fans back.

Click the video to watch another Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros song, “40 Days,” from their album Up From Below