Alexander Michael Tahquitz "Alex" Ebert (born May 12, 1978) is an American singer-songwriter and composer. He is best known for being the lead singer and songwriter for the American bands Ima Robot and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. On January 12, 2014, Ebert won a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score for his musical contributions to the film All Is Lost.
Ebert was born in Los Angeles in 1978, the son of a psychotherapist, Michael Ebert, and actress Lisa Richards. His father would often take the family on long car trips through the desert. On one such trip, his mother shot footage of his father chanting in the desert, cradling Alex's baby sister Gabi, which would one day become a part of the video for the Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros song "Desert Song". His grandfather Carl Ebert had been Intendant of Deutsche Oper, Berlin; he also was a famous actor trained by Max Reinhardt.
His full birth name is Alexander Michael Tahquitz Ebert. His father took one of his son's names, Tahquitz, from his favorite climbing rock. Alex later on discovered that the name means "demon" in a Native American language. As a teenager, he had a difficult and tumultuous relationship with his father.
His father influenced young Alexander by playing music by artists like Patsy Cline, Willie Nelson, and Johnny Cash. He also cites 60s R&B, Pavarotti, and Beethoven as influences, as well as his elementary school teacher, a woman from South Africa named Ruth. Alexander enjoyed listening to hip-hop as a teenager, and originally intended to be a rapper.
Following a school project on Marlon Brando, Ebert developed an affection for film and cinematic studies. His mother supported his budding passion and Ebert consequently was enrolled in extracurricular filmmaking classes. After dropping out of college, Ebert directed a short film and wrote several screenplays. He attributes the revival of his interest in professional music to his childhood friends and excessive drug usage during that period of his life.
