Recently, I’ve been really groovin’ to the music of Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes. They are a really unique bunch that sound as if they were all baptised in the waters of 1960s hippie-dom. Their music is incredibly rich and dynamic: one part Beatles (late Sgt. Peppers era), one part Arcade Fire, mix in some Alberta Cross and Johnny Cash on acid. Each song on their album is unique and their range and breadth is exceptionally eclectic.

I absolutely love everything about this musical band of gypsies — their terrificly interesting back story, their profuse “family” of musicians, their unique sounding music, and most importantly, their simple formula for happiness.

The band is led by a Alex Ebert, who was formerly the vocalist for the indie-punk group Ima Robot. During that time which Ebert considers his “dark era”, he was a cynical alcoholic who was spiraling into a drug-laden mental obscurity. Desperate to be someone else, he breaks up the band and checks himself into Alcoholics Anonymous. During his stay, Alex writes several pages about a messianic figure named Edward Sharpe who is “sent down to Earth to heal and save mankind”.

After his release, he acquires an used school bus and forms a band which centers around the ideals of the fictional messiah, Edward Sharpe. Alex Ebert becomes an embodiment of the messiah and their group roams from city to city like a traveling Woodstock. They are truly a living testament to the golden era of the 60s when bands thought of themselves as families and concerts were an unbridled whirlpool of hippie love-joy.

I am planning to go with some friends to see them live on July 5th at the Palladium in Dallas. I am quite excited and I hope they exude as much happiness and joy as they sound in their albums.

[ Video: Live on Letterman ]