Flying straight from LA to Raglan, Californian Indie rock band Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros (ESMZ) spent a few days chilling at a remote location near Whale Bay overlooking Indicators before playing at the Big Day Out 2011 festival in Auckland. They were more than happy for me to interview them at their BBQ held by local marine consultancy firm ASR. Here are a few interesting things I found out about the unpretentious ten piece band:
Female vocalist Jade Castrino mentioned that ESMZ don’t play to a set list and instead look at each other for cues and prefer to let the mood and audience dictate a set. If you are lucky enough to see ESMZ perform live you will see how much fun they have on stage which seems to be attributed to a band founded on friendship and a passion for music.
After the success of their first album Up from Below which features their hit song Home, ESMZ are working on their sophomore album and plan to do some recording in Louisiana. When asked about their thoughts on Raglan ESMZ said that they find it very special and has inspired new material.
Finally, ESMZ were really disappointed to miss out on Tractor FM’s Boardies and Bikinis Festival which takes place next weekend at the Ruapuke Motor camp, but agreed they would play next year if they return to Raglan.