Ima Robot is an excellent band whose music mixes a variety of genres. You can call them rock, you can even call them rap, but you must buy their new album, Monument to the Masses. I recently had a chance to speak with the band's very prolific vocalist, Alex Ebert.
Buy Monument to the Masses
Daniel Robert Epstein: What are you up to today?
Alex Ebert: Eating bread.
DRE: [laughs] No playing football with Tommy Lee?
Alex: No. [laughs] Nope. Not today. Im right by the pool.
DRE: What was the inspiration for Monument to the Masses?
Alex: There were a lot of different inspirations. There were weird relationships and all kinds of weird stuff. I was really upset about all kinds of political things. Someone asked me the other day, Do you think your lyrics are political? Im like No, I hate political lyrics. Then I was thinking back and I was like, Wait a minute, half the fucking songs have totally political lyrics in them. But I didnt realize that because they felt personal, theyre not lyrics like Get up and fight the power.
DRE: Do you feel like you are a very political person or is it just impossible to avoid politics at this point in time?
Alex: I think its impossible. I happen to be relatively political in that Im quite aware of a lot of stuff and I am affected by it. I get pretty fucking pissed off but unfortunately for whatever reason not enough people are pissed enough to do anything. At this point all I am doing is expressing myself. But I do think its impossible to avoid at this point, it is a fucking hotbed.
DRE: I talk to a lot of bands that are on major labels and I understand that bands have to borrow money from the label to go on tour.
Alex: Yeah.
DRE: That is just the worst system Ive ever heard of.
Alex: Its stupid dude. Were so in debt its not even funny.
DRE: Well lets say you guys sell a million albums. Will you guys be able to pay off the labels at that point?
Alex: No, wed have to probably sell two million albums to break even. Then we start making money. You do make a little money on the road but then you spend it. When you reach a level where youre selling 500,000 records you start making a shit pile of money on merchandise and touring and shit, but were not quite there yet. Hopefully that fucking happens with this record.
DRE: Once that happens, would it be chill time?
Alex: Oh yeah man but were not really the type that would really relax. We wrote over 100 songs for this record so Im constantly in the mode of creating songs. I used to have money from an inheritance which was awesome but now I dont really have any to spend. I think just knowing that you have money makes things a lot easier and allows you to relax. There are some good parts to being broke. I think it works itself into the creative process. But Ive won a little bit of comfort now. I need eight days at a five star hotel.
DRE: [laughs] You must have friends that are in bands that arent signed.
Alex: Yeah of course.
DRE: So when you say Man, Im so broke do they go fuck you?
Alex: Yeah, everyone thinks youre totally rich. [laughs] Its pretty funny.
DRE: Do you explain your reality to them?
Alex: Yeah, man, but people that are really close to me know because Im borrowing money from them. But even those people get a kick out of it. They just think Im a poor money manager or something, which I am. They all think theyre going to get paid back, which they will.
DRE: Tell me about the benefits of being on a major label.
Alex: Theres the promotion and all of that but the real palatable benefit is the luxury of doing this in a bus as opposed to a van, its shit like that.
DRE: Since you were a wanna-be rapper at one point, is the bus super tricked out?
Alex: Oh, I wish it was tricked out. Actually every time were on tour the other band has a better bus. So Im always jealous.
DRE: [laughs] Which band is on tour with you now and has the better bus?
Alex: Well She Wants Revenge has a better bus for obvious reasons but were not on tour at the moment. We were out with She Wants Revenge on the last tour.
DRE: How was it hanging out with them?
Alex: They were cool man. I know those guys from a while back actually. When I was 13 and doing my rap thing, Adam 12 was producing some of the stuff for me. I forgot that his name back then was DJ Alphabet. I didnt even realize it until after the tour. Someone was like, Yo man thats the same dude. I was like What? I had a suspicion but he didnt say nothing. Then Justin [Warfield] Ive known for a while. When I was 14, he came out with a hip-hop record that I was totally blown away by. They were really cool to tour with.
DRE: Do you want to do a solo project?
Alex: Oh yeah man. In fact Im actually working on one right now.
DRE: Did you record it on the road?
Alex: No, I recorded it at my house on my little ProTools setup.
DRE: How did you like doing that?
Alex: Dude I love it man. It comes really fucking easily to me and its fun and really rugged too. I love producing stuff on my own because theres an unmistakable atmosphere when you hear it. It keeps it really raw and its really rocking.
DRE: Did anyone help you out with it that much?
Alex: Adam 12 kicked me a beat and so did Timmy ["The Terror" Anderson] and Filip [Nikolic] from Ima Robot. Then the rest of the stuff is basically just me. I might have this girl Jade sing on some stuff because shes totally blowing my mind. Shes not signed or anything but shes fucking outrageous, her voice is incredible.
DRE: Are you doing a whole persona for this or are you just doing an album?
Alex: Actually I am sort of doing a persona. For some reason the name Edward Sharpe has really stuck with me for a while now. I was writing this novel and that was the main character but I never finished the novel.
DRE: How did you like co-directing the video, Alive, for Ima Robot?
Alex: I had done it once before but that day was a fucking disaster. So that video didnt come out how I wanted. But this time it was fun. I love playing tricks on people too so it was great having these kids show up thinking theyre auditioning for something but instead it was for the video.
DRE: Are you one of those bands that likes to play pranks on other bands?
Alex: Yeah and youd think that everyone would be more open to that on the road. But on this last tour we got the vibe that they werent really down with some of the tricks we must have pulled. We wanted to fuck with them onstage but their show is pretty atmospheric and I think if we would have done anything, it would have fucked up their whole thing.
DRE: Are you someone that really likes to take charge of everything theyre doing?
Alex: Yeah, Im sure plenty of people call me a control freak behind my back and to my face actually. But if you want it done right you got to do it yourself. I directed this movie just for the hell of it. I had all these different cameramen doing their own thing and there was a lot of chaos which was how I wanted it to be. In that sense I relinquished my control freak thing on purpose but otherwise, I have generally found that if you dont want that chaos then youve got to do it your fucking self.
DRE: Whats this movie you directed?
Alex: It is a feature and Im still editing it down. Its just me and my friend Rodney Bingenheimer. The story is that me and my friend have to figure out the meaning of life before Monday morning or were going to kill ourselves. Its an absurdist melodrama but its really fucking cool. It was unscripted but it was plotted out and all the characters were developed.
DRE: You got a lot of stuff going on dont you?
Alex: Yeah, totally.
DRE: I read about this Ima Robot EP that is only sold at the shows.
Alex: Yeah, these are nine of those 100 songs and we did because on a major label you put a record out every two years. What fucking musician only writes 12 songs every two years?
DRE: [laughs] I think a lot of them.
Alex: Right, a lot of them arent that prolific. Im extremely prolific and I mean that just in the strictest sense of the word. I pretty much write a song every other day, when Im on a roll anyway, and I want to share those fucking songs otherwise I get sick of them.
DRE: What did the label think of the EP?
Alex: We had to hide it from them. They were slightly aware of it. They managed to turn a blind eye but we had to do it under their radar. In fact when we tried to sell it online they totally freaked out. I think we only have 40 copies left.
DRE: Will you guys ever put it out officially?
Alex: Maybe six months after this record comes out that well put it out.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
Buy Monument to the Masses
Daniel Robert Epstein: What are you up to today?
Alex Ebert: Eating bread.
DRE: [laughs] No playing football with Tommy Lee?
Alex: No. [laughs] Nope. Not today. Im right by the pool.
DRE: What was the inspiration for Monument to the Masses?
Alex: There were a lot of different inspirations. There were weird relationships and all kinds of weird stuff. I was really upset about all kinds of political things. Someone asked me the other day, Do you think your lyrics are political? Im like No, I hate political lyrics. Then I was thinking back and I was like, Wait a minute, half the fucking songs have totally political lyrics in them. But I didnt realize that because they felt personal, theyre not lyrics like Get up and fight the power.
DRE: Do you feel like you are a very political person or is it just impossible to avoid politics at this point in time?
Alex: I think its impossible. I happen to be relatively political in that Im quite aware of a lot of stuff and I am affected by it. I get pretty fucking pissed off but unfortunately for whatever reason not enough people are pissed enough to do anything. At this point all I am doing is expressing myself. But I do think its impossible to avoid at this point, it is a fucking hotbed.
DRE: I talk to a lot of bands that are on major labels and I understand that bands have to borrow money from the label to go on tour.
Alex: Yeah.
DRE: That is just the worst system Ive ever heard of.
Alex: Its stupid dude. Were so in debt its not even funny.
DRE: Well lets say you guys sell a million albums. Will you guys be able to pay off the labels at that point?
Alex: No, wed have to probably sell two million albums to break even. Then we start making money. You do make a little money on the road but then you spend it. When you reach a level where youre selling 500,000 records you start making a shit pile of money on merchandise and touring and shit, but were not quite there yet. Hopefully that fucking happens with this record.
DRE: Once that happens, would it be chill time?
Alex: Oh yeah man but were not really the type that would really relax. We wrote over 100 songs for this record so Im constantly in the mode of creating songs. I used to have money from an inheritance which was awesome but now I dont really have any to spend. I think just knowing that you have money makes things a lot easier and allows you to relax. There are some good parts to being broke. I think it works itself into the creative process. But Ive won a little bit of comfort now. I need eight days at a five star hotel.
DRE: [laughs] You must have friends that are in bands that arent signed.
Alex: Yeah of course.
DRE: So when you say Man, Im so broke do they go fuck you?
Alex: Yeah, everyone thinks youre totally rich. [laughs] Its pretty funny.
DRE: Do you explain your reality to them?
Alex: Yeah, man, but people that are really close to me know because Im borrowing money from them. But even those people get a kick out of it. They just think Im a poor money manager or something, which I am. They all think theyre going to get paid back, which they will.
DRE: Tell me about the benefits of being on a major label.
Alex: Theres the promotion and all of that but the real palatable benefit is the luxury of doing this in a bus as opposed to a van, its shit like that.
DRE: Since you were a wanna-be rapper at one point, is the bus super tricked out?
Alex: Oh, I wish it was tricked out. Actually every time were on tour the other band has a better bus. So Im always jealous.
DRE: [laughs] Which band is on tour with you now and has the better bus?
Alex: Well She Wants Revenge has a better bus for obvious reasons but were not on tour at the moment. We were out with She Wants Revenge on the last tour.
DRE: How was it hanging out with them?
Alex: They were cool man. I know those guys from a while back actually. When I was 13 and doing my rap thing, Adam 12 was producing some of the stuff for me. I forgot that his name back then was DJ Alphabet. I didnt even realize it until after the tour. Someone was like, Yo man thats the same dude. I was like What? I had a suspicion but he didnt say nothing. Then Justin [Warfield] Ive known for a while. When I was 14, he came out with a hip-hop record that I was totally blown away by. They were really cool to tour with.
DRE: Do you want to do a solo project?
Alex: Oh yeah man. In fact Im actually working on one right now.
DRE: Did you record it on the road?
Alex: No, I recorded it at my house on my little ProTools setup.
DRE: How did you like doing that?
Alex: Dude I love it man. It comes really fucking easily to me and its fun and really rugged too. I love producing stuff on my own because theres an unmistakable atmosphere when you hear it. It keeps it really raw and its really rocking.
DRE: Did anyone help you out with it that much?
Alex: Adam 12 kicked me a beat and so did Timmy ["The Terror" Anderson] and Filip [Nikolic] from Ima Robot. Then the rest of the stuff is basically just me. I might have this girl Jade sing on some stuff because shes totally blowing my mind. Shes not signed or anything but shes fucking outrageous, her voice is incredible.
DRE: Are you doing a whole persona for this or are you just doing an album?
Alex: Actually I am sort of doing a persona. For some reason the name Edward Sharpe has really stuck with me for a while now. I was writing this novel and that was the main character but I never finished the novel.
DRE: How did you like co-directing the video, Alive, for Ima Robot?
Alex: I had done it once before but that day was a fucking disaster. So that video didnt come out how I wanted. But this time it was fun. I love playing tricks on people too so it was great having these kids show up thinking theyre auditioning for something but instead it was for the video.
DRE: Are you one of those bands that likes to play pranks on other bands?
Alex: Yeah and youd think that everyone would be more open to that on the road. But on this last tour we got the vibe that they werent really down with some of the tricks we must have pulled. We wanted to fuck with them onstage but their show is pretty atmospheric and I think if we would have done anything, it would have fucked up their whole thing.
DRE: Are you someone that really likes to take charge of everything theyre doing?
Alex: Yeah, Im sure plenty of people call me a control freak behind my back and to my face actually. But if you want it done right you got to do it yourself. I directed this movie just for the hell of it. I had all these different cameramen doing their own thing and there was a lot of chaos which was how I wanted it to be. In that sense I relinquished my control freak thing on purpose but otherwise, I have generally found that if you dont want that chaos then youve got to do it your fucking self.
DRE: Whats this movie you directed?
Alex: It is a feature and Im still editing it down. Its just me and my friend Rodney Bingenheimer. The story is that me and my friend have to figure out the meaning of life before Monday morning or were going to kill ourselves. Its an absurdist melodrama but its really fucking cool. It was unscripted but it was plotted out and all the characters were developed.
DRE: You got a lot of stuff going on dont you?
Alex: Yeah, totally.
DRE: I read about this Ima Robot EP that is only sold at the shows.
Alex: Yeah, these are nine of those 100 songs and we did because on a major label you put a record out every two years. What fucking musician only writes 12 songs every two years?
DRE: [laughs] I think a lot of them.
Alex: Right, a lot of them arent that prolific. Im extremely prolific and I mean that just in the strictest sense of the word. I pretty much write a song every other day, when Im on a roll anyway, and I want to share those fucking songs otherwise I get sick of them.
DRE: What did the label think of the EP?
Alex: We had to hide it from them. They were slightly aware of it. They managed to turn a blind eye but we had to do it under their radar. In fact when we tried to sell it online they totally freaked out. I think we only have 40 copies left.
DRE: Will you guys ever put it out officially?
Alex: Maybe six months after this record comes out that well put it out.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
VIEW 4 of 4 COMMENTS
pillboxhat:
I have their self-titled album, but didn't really know anything about the band at all. Good work, DRE.
aaronmurderface:
I'm so glad to have stumbled upon this interview!