A Few Words With Ed Sheeran

Ed Sheeran is playing with Snow Patrol this Friday at the Fillmore and if you have tickets make sure you arrive early enough to see him perform. I first came across Ed Sheeran a couple of months ago performing on Last Call with Carson Daly playing his single "The A Team," which is not a reference to the hit TV show, but, quite a stirring song about a girl in a bit of trouble. While Ed is just beginning to make waves in the US. he's renown throughout the UK as "The A Team" was a top hit there enjoying 11 weeks in the top 10.  With his soulful vocals and introspective lyrics that often feature a hip hop vibe  and songs with enough words to fill a novella, Ed's one of the few singer/songwriter's that have fully caught my interest.

I recently got the chance to interview Ed, however, with a schedule packed with shows and radio appearences, hooking up the interview was proving to be impossible. Nonetheless, with Ed being so kind, I was able to get in a few email questions for him to answer:

MCB: How is the tour going with Snow Patrol?
The tour is going well, I'm really enjoying seeing America in its entirety, there are some beautiful places here.

MCB: How does playing bigger venues with Snow patrol differ from the smaller venues you’ve played?
The venues that I'm playing with Snow Patrol are a lot like the venues that I was playing in October in England.

MCB: You’re quite prolific, how many (complete) songs do you think you’ve written so far?
I would probably have to say around 200.

MCB: What's the longest breaking you've taken from writing songs?
4 months

MCB: You’re quite good with your fast flowing lyrics, when did you realize this came natural to you?
It actually didn't come natural to me. I feel like nobody's born with the ability to rhyme. It honestly just came from listening to hip hop and almost imitating what I was hearing.

MCB: I read you came to the US without a contract, what were those early days in the US like?
It was pretty much the same as the early days in the UK. Those days were fun and I played lots of gigs and just traveled about.

MCB: What was the biggest surprise about being in the States that you didn’t expect?
The size of things. Especially food. 

MCB: What can you tell me about your upcoming full length?
This album is a culmination of 5 years work and quite honestly, the best material I could produce at the time and I'm very proud of it.

MCB: One last question – what is your favorite food to eat while touring?
Burritos at the moment. I'm loving burritos at the moment. But you have to eat salads too, so you don’t turn into a ball and they have to roll you onto the stage.


Ed Sheeran's full length album "+" will be released on June 12 on Elektra Records, at his website there are plenty of past tracks and videos, but the best thing to do would be to get down to the Fillmore on Friday and see him live.