The Many Sides of Ben Harper

Nirvana rocker Kurt Cobain once said something to the effect, “I would rather be hated for who I am than loved for who I am not.”

Like Cobain, tour-driven troubadour, singer and guitarist Ben Harper doesn't want to be anybody but himself: A man who appeals to a truly diverse array of people from surfers, reggae buffs and the working class to the politically minded, environmental activists and other musicians, just to name a few.

Harper and Damian Marley will embark on a summer tour that begins in Phoenix next week and concludes in mid-September at the Austin City Limits Music Festival. The duo will play two shows at the Greek Theatre Aug. 11 and 12.

“I've been a fan of Damian's music for a long time, and all the Marley brothers” said Harper.

The summer tour came about after Harper put out some feelers to see who else was touring during the season and found out that Marley was planning one as well. Coincidentally, Harper's first concert was in 1978 when his father took him to see Bob Marley.

“It is a mental twist of fate, to put it mildly,” said Harper. “Whenever I see Damian, it reminds me of that moment of seeing Bob on stage for 2-1/2 hours that night. It is a full-circle moment and I don't say that lightly.”

Harper will have a chance to return to two of three of his favorite venues - the Greek in Berkeley and the Santa Barbara Bowl (the third is Red Rocks outside of Denver).

“You have to put in as much energy into the last song as you do the first,” said Harper on touring. “I have never enjoyed playing guitar, especially slide guitar, as much as I am now. On an instrument there are peaks and valleys, and when you are in a valley, there is no talking your way out of it, you can only play your way out of it, and I have come out of a place of almost musical redundancy. I have come out of it and now I am finding a whole new language on the slide guitar, which I didn't have at my disposal, and a new attack on the instrument. So now I am running to it every chance I get. It is another opportunity to really dig into my tone and sound and find something new to say on it. ”

Harper has completed seven studio albums with his latest works being the gospel-inspired 2005 release “There Will Be Light” with the Blind Boys of Alabama, and the 2006 two-disc project, “Both Sides of the Gun.” The recording experience of the former, Harper said, reminded him of the importance of capturing the first-take experience in all of its emotion and perhaps imperfections. Harper also mentioned that one of the original members, George Scott, deemed Harper an honorary Blind Boy before he died.

“They redirected my musical focus in a way that I don't think anything else could have,” said Harper on working with the veteran group. “When they were in the studio, they really handled their business in the most efficient way I've ever heard or seen. They don't take a long time in the studio, if they are there for three hours; it's been a good run because they have been doing this since '39 - putting music on tape. They are from the school that when you sing, you're making a record, you don't get second takes because you are cutting the record at the same time - that's the school they come from, you get a take and you're done, so when they are on the mic, it's for real. It's for keeps and there is no looking back.

As for “Both Sides of the Gun,” Harper had no idea when entering the studio that he would emerge with a two-sided album, and the reason for it was that Harper had a strong and sizeable collection of songs. Some were written beforehand and some written in the studio like “Black Rain,” based on the mortifying response among elected officials in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The album comprises 18 songs - one side the electric tunes and the other side the more light, ethereal, string-oriented compositions. Harper said it was a creative choice to make a double-disc work, and that all of the songs were necessary to make what Harper considered a “complete body of work.” In fact, both Virgin Records (his label since his 1994 work “Welcome to the Cruel World”) and Harper took a pay cut to release it as a single record. The work once again features Harper's band, The Innocent Criminals - Oliver Charles (drums), Juan Nelson (bass) and Leon Mobley (percussion); and its two new members, Michael Ward (guitar) and Jason Yates (keys). It also showcases Harper on the drums, bass, piano and a whole other musical slice of studio players: cellist

“My band is my band, and they're gonna be my band for a long time to come,” said Harper. “They play with other musicians and in other bands from time to time, and it's really healthy to experience music in different ways. For this record, I have a specific style and when it comes to bass and drums it's very visceral, it's unlearned and you can't have great musicians play in an unlearned style. But a lot of these songs called for the nastiness and rawness in the style I play them in so I wanted to serve that. Then there are other guys whom I have been saying for 10 years, ‘We are going to play something together. I want to record with you.' The songs on this record seem to provide this opportunity. In all honesty and fairness, the Innocent Criminals have made every song on this record better through touring them.”
The album, depending on what side you're catching can be private, unrefined, delicate, political, quiet and soulful, consistent with every other Harper work that draws not only from current events but also his private world.

“I am greatly influenced by all of my relationships but none as much as the relationship closest to me, that one being with my wife,” said Harper, of his wife, actress Laura Dern. “She is an incredible inspiration, and she has got great musical ideas and tastes, and she has got her own musical side of the fence that she guards and has introduced me to. Music is big in our household and she is a very big influence.”

In terms of style, Harper has said that a mood is what dictates a song and an ability to “feel it.” He then becomes committed to one style as if it's the only style he's done his whole life. Because Harper has always drawn from so many genres - rock, pop, reggae, folk, blues, soul and jazz - it was at first hard convincing a record label at the start of his career to sign him, and that Virgin was really the only company to take a chance.

“Now it's a case of having done it wrong for so long, that it's a style,” he said.

These days, Harper's biggest challenge is trying to figure out what to do next, and although he's been on the scene for the last 12 years, Harper, now in his mid-30s, feels he is just beginning to carve out his niche; he still feels new in the world of music when he compares himself to someone like Neil Young who has released more than 30 albums. He does write on a daily basis, spends a good portion of the day jotting down portions of conversations, and then works late at night when “people are asleep and the phone's not ringing” to take the time putting words to music. As a listener, Harper turns to everyone from Coltrane to Emmy Lou Harris for comfort.

Although he has graced numerous magazine covers such as Rolling Stone, Performing Songwriter, Relix, Guitar Player and Los Angeles City Beat, Harper still exudes a sort of graciousness common to up-and-coming artists appreciative of the press. Furthermore, he enjoys speaking with writers who actually come prepared for their Q&A session on everything from music to career to life, dispelling a common misnomer that he dislikes interviews or journalists. Like any successful, hard-working person, Harper expects the same out of those around him whether it's the guy selling his merchandise or the newspaper writer, and he hopes that people have respect in their work, understanding that being good at one's craft takes time and effort.

“Questions coming from journalists should come from the music, from listening to it and their response to it,” said Harper. “It shouldn't be about waiting until the night before and trying to pull questions off the Internet, asking questions about old quotes like ‘What did you mean when you said, blah, blah, blah?' It's unprofessional, and it would be like me hitting the stage and doing all covers.”

Harper recently got together with Ry Cooder to write a song for the new Mavis Staples record, along with Willie Nelson for a song called “Peace on Earth.” He hopes to one day work with Wilco, a band that he considers one of his favorites. In the next five years, Harper hopes to put out a reggae record and a work that he calls a “real significant representation of the Innocent Criminals as a band and myself.”