Melbourne Herald Sun
Hit Magazine, Edition 1
THU 29 JUN 2006, Page I03
Ben Harper Q & A
By NEALA JOHNSON
Ben Harper tells NEALA JOHNSON he has a spooky connection with Heath Ledger.
QUESTION: Do you still feel like a first-grader in terms of musical knowledge?
ANSWER: I am in need of learning so much every day it's almost embarrassing. If it's not musical, it's straight-up life, but that's how it goes. I'm trying to stay open to keep learning. There's something to be learned in the good and the bad in music, especially.
QUESTION: You have a new piano, a gift from your mate Heath Ledger, with one condition -- that you write a song for his daughter.
ANSWER: [Heath Ledger called me up and said, "Ben, I'm having a baby, and you need to write a lullaby for my baby girl". I obliged and out came Happily Ever After in Your Eyes.]*
No one had ever asked that before. I was kinda shocked, but the second he said it, the song hit me. It was strange. Heath and I have a whole thing, we have a connection that's beyond words, really. Things kinda just happen with him and me around that kinda thing.
QUESTION: Heath's a big music fan. He's often at gigs when he's in Melbourne . . .
ANSWER: Oh, big time. I mean, that's really half of what we talk about. He calls me and says, ``Go to Amazon and buy this CD now''. And he really quizzes me on it. He calls me like three days later and says, ``Did you get it, what do you think?'' He keeps me honest in regard to that. When we talk about stuff he doesn't let me slack off.
QUESTION: You performed with Jack Johnson and Willie Nelson in Hawaii in April. Did Willie roll up with smoke coming out the bus windows?
ANSWER: No comment on that. I didn't see it, I don't speak it.
QUESTION: After scoring Grammys and No.1s, do your ambitions change?
ANSWER: I'm just so thankful and in disbelief still. When I got the call that Both Sides of the Gun was No.1 in Australia, I couldn't believe it. That's unreal. I haven't been in it long enough to expect it. To me, it's huge to have a Grammy or a No.1 record anywhere, especially in a huge, English-speaking territory. It's great, 'cos Australia has held a mirror to England and America and said, ``Wake up''. That's why I'm so appreciative of Australia.
QUESTION: You've clearly had a big impact. There would be no Donavon Frankenreiter or Jack Johnson if there weren't a Ben Harper.
ANSWER: Oh, I don't know. Those guys would be around, I'm sure. They're too talented not to be. It's just I was around a little bit before they came along, but they'd be along without me. I'm not being self-deprecating, don't get me wrong, I wouldn't change a thing in the way my music has rolled out. I wouldn't change one note, one word, one tour.
QUESTION: Will one little part of you admit you jemmied open the door for those guys just a little bit?
ANSWER: I dunno, did I? I gotta be honest with you -- I don't look back, I'm looking forward. The songs I care about most are the ones I haven't written yet. Maybe I should peek over my shoulder, now that you mention it, but it's not all that interesting to me. I can't improve if I'm looking over my shoulder worrying about what somebody said or did, or analysing who's done what. But when you say that, it makes sense, but that's your job, I guess.
QUESTION: A few years ago you told Hit your next album was written, you just had to ``live to get there''.
ANSWER: Yes, that's exactly it! I said something that made sense (laughs). And now, the music is coming really fast to me, in a lot of different styles. So, I'm a father of four, I have a huge family, so I'm pretty, uh, consumed every hour of the day. And I like it, I thrive on that. But again, it doesn't give me time for the retrospective. I'm just glad guys like Donavon and Jack are out there, 'cos I'm such a huge fan of them both.
QUESTION: On Both Sides of the Gun, it sounds as if you're having fun with music again. Had it gone away?
ANSWER: No, it hadn't gone away, but it's become more fun. Unfortunately, you have to be of a certain age to really appreciate fun. When you're young you think fun is your birthright (laughs). So it's a good age to be appreciating the fun times.
QUESTION: Do you know your music is working when you see one of your kids bouncing to the beat?
ANSWER: No, kids are an unfair gauge, 'cos they'll bounce around with pots and pans. I've had musician friends say, ``My kids loved it, it must be great.'' I say, ``Man, it doesn't mean s---. Kids bounce around to anything.''
QUESTION: Is your next album written, or just written in the future?
ANSWER: Well, there are a lot of songs that didn't make Both Sides of the Gun that I feel equally as strong about. And I've got a blues record and a reggae record on tap. I just have to sit down and see which move to make next.
QUESTION: Is there always a chance another Blind Boys of Alabama-style phone call will distract you again?
ANSWER: I sure hope so. Those are the ones that insist you grow the furthest, the fastest.
QUESTION: Do you like diving into unfamiliar territory? If someone said, ``Ben, go make an electronica record'', would that be exciting?
ANSWER: It would be if I did it on my terms, 'cos it would be an acoustic-based electronica record.
QUESTION: You've thought of it, right?
ANSWER: Yeah, I have (laughs). You could tell I wasn't caught off-guard. I haven't been active, but I've thought about it.
QUESTION: What did working with the Blind Boys teach you?
ANSWER: I was starting to take a long time making records and the Blind Boys, they don't mess around. They go in, do their thing and they're done. I saw that could be done again, and it did recharge the way I make records. So this record was made with that thought process, just going in and getting it.
QUESTION: So you might have disappeared up your own behind had the Blind Boys not come along?
ANSWER: Ah, I think that's fair to say. I don't think it would have been quite that severe, but it certainly wouldn't have been this record, it would have been more an extension of Diamonds on the Inside -- which I'm not ashamed of, but I'm fortunate they came along and redirected me.
QUESTION: Are you an iPod carrier?
ANSWER: I've had three iPods -- one fell and broke, the other broke on its own, and the third I never use 'cos I've got too many CDs and no time to load them. They're kind of squirrelly, those things, you know.
QUESTION: If you're playing music all day, do you even want to listen to other people's music at home?
ANSWER: That's all I wanna do. I still draw inspiration from music, more now than before I played it professionally.
QUESTION: So silence is not normal in the Harper household?
ANSWER: There is some, but it's not a normal occurrence.
Both Sides of the Gun (Virgin) out now.
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* The statement in brackets was taken from another article, Ben's a Straight Shooter, which appeared in the The Sunday Herald Sun, April 16, 2006.
Q & A Article purchased by HH.
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BEN HARPER ON THE WEB (Includes music clips, CD info, & concert dates):
http://BenHarper.com
http://myspace.com/BenHarper
TO HEAR THE LULLABY: HappilyEverAfterInYourEyes