Beatles, Bob Dylan, Grateful Dead, Frank Zappa, Jimi Hendrix, Elvis Costello, They Might Be Giants, Pink Floyd, The Who, Richard Thompson, Ani DiFranco, REM, U2, Captain Beefheart, Sinéad O'Connor, Police, Neil Young, The Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, Cream, Eric Clapton, Led Zeppelin, Jeff Beck, Allman Brothers, Rolling Stones, Phish, XTC, Simon & Garfunkel, Dire Straits, Talking Heads, Ramones, Tom Waits, Living Colour, Bruce Springsteen, Metallica, Tom Petty, Jefferson Airplane, Peter Gabriel, Santana, Velvet Underground, David Bowie, B.B. King, Robert Johnson, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy, Butterfield Blues Band, Motown, Stax, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, Sly & the Family Stone, Prince, Bob Marley, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Chet Atkins, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, Aerosmith, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Ella Fitzgerald, Joe Pass, Pat Martino, Pat Metheny, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Django Reinhardt, Bill Frisell, Wes Montgomery, Mose Allison, John McLaughlin, Michael Hedges, Eric Dolphy, Charles Mingus, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Kenny Burrell, Grant Green, Van Morrison, Fairport Convention, Edie Brickell & New Bohemians, The Cure, Dave Matthews Band, The Faces, War, Sonic Youth, The Flaming Lips, Modest Mouse, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Jethro Tull, John Prine, Warren Zevon, Los Lobos, Harry Nilsson, The Kinks, Black Crowes, Radiohead, Sarah McLachlan, Melissa Etheridge, Eurythmics, Wham!, Cyndi Lauper, REO Speedwagon, The Cars, Camper Van Beethoven, 10,000 Maniacs, Harry Chapin, Billy Joel, Elton John, Jim Croce, Jane's Addiction, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nine Inch Nails, Beck, Throbbing Gristle, Primus, Ben Folds Five, Barenaked Ladies, "Weird Al" Yankovic, The Fugs, Shel Silverstein, Björk, The Doors, Traffic, Cat Stevens, James Taylor, The Mamas & The Papas, King Crimson, Michael Penn, Joe Cocker, The Clash, The Sex Pistols, Thelonious Monk, Brian Eno, Wilco, Yo La Tengo, Broken Social Scene, John Zorn, James Joyce, Walt Whitman, Marcel Duchamp and others that I can't think of right now.
Sounds Like
The most common comparisons are Jethro Tull and Warren Zevon. No one has explained why. Our theory is that it has to do with the voice of the former and the subject matter of the latter.
Ezra is a smart guy who writes songs with too many words and not enough melody. He can sing quite loudly, if not always well, and accompanies himself with reasonably adequate guitar playing. He is relentlessly honest (as he will certainly tell you) and embarrassingly awkward when it comes to shameless self-promotion even when writing about himself in the third person. Send him money and praise him tirelessly. He also encourages people to listen to the music that is posted on this site, then tell him how great it is regardless of their opinions.
Born Ezra Sherman, (and still currently Ezra Sherman) Ezra shares a birthday with Raffi and Beck. He has attempted to use that fact as an excuse for dropping his last name in musical pursuits, when the true reason is so his albums are not filed in the massive "S" section of your local music store. Unfortunately, he discovered that several other Ezras (and one band named Ezra) have been using the same single name, so look under "S" if you want to find Ezra.
Ezra began playing guitar when he was 14 years old in 1987. As soon as he could play three chords with relative ease he began setting his poems to music. He claims not to remember how any of those early songs go.
In high school he and three friends founded the wildly popular (for their age, location and limited ability) band 3-D House of Pork, a group whose final performance will live forever in infamy for the fire-breathing pig which prematurely ended the show. They produced one no-fi album called Pork Store: The Best of 3-D House of Pork, which is notable mainly for opening with two minutes of actual vomiting and a version of Stand By Me which veers wildly from inept sensitive soul number to hardcore punk the long-awaited follow-up Four Porkmen of the Apocalypse is expected to remain long-awaited.
The '90s were wasted on college, marriage (to the always amazing Erin Hirsh, Vassar '94), job-hunting, night courses in graphic design and massive bouts of depression, resulting in songs that have been known to cause suicide in audience members and are thus rarely performed.
Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Ron "Pigpen" McKernan (Grateful Dead), Robert Johnson and Kurt Cobain all died when they were 27. Outliving them without being a successful musician propelled Ezra to take action. Three times he found musical accomplices and three times they suddenly had to move out of the state before they could make their stage debuts as duos. Ezra stopped waiting for other people and became a regular solo performer at Open Mic Nights throughout the Philadelphia area, where he was well-known for the lousy pickup in his guitar which made him sound as though he was playing rubber bands on an amplified tissue box.
Ezra maintained a steady performance schedule of a couple of songs a night every once in a while until he was sidetracked by the birth of his daughter Zoë, the most amazing child ever to walk the face of the Earth, in 2005. In 2006 he studied sound engineering at the Recording Workshop in Chillicothe, OH after which he began agitating for work as a Sound Engineer and Producer, or at least an internship someplace. Before long he became an Associate Producer for Acoustic Philly, booking and performing gigs as well as running sound. He is always looking for people with whom he can make more music.
Ezra freely admits that his MySpace page is unfinished, but asks you to bear with him while he invents the rest of his bio and other information.
Thanks for the add, and for all you do to keep the music alive!
“The gang” at Wepecket Island Records
Rolling Roots Revue: 20 cities in 25 days, 3/9-4/4.
We’re at The Sanctuary, Germantown Mennonite Church in Philly on March 10 and in Pitman, NJ, at the Bus Stop Music Cafe on March 25. Come on out and jam with us!
Hey Ezra, Thanks for stopping by. I see we know some of the same people. Do you ever go to GG Brewers in Glenside for Bluegrass? I've got some friend that play there.
Hey what's with the "randomized" top friends? now I don't know where I stand with you? How many people do you like better than me? There's another picture of you on my myspace page.
The Hinge Cafe is Looking For New Acts (and old acts) To Perform this Year. Solo Acts, Small Bands, Stand-Up and Sketch Comedians are Welcomed to contact The Hinge!!
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