Ben Harper Back with a new album
One of the greatest musicians and lyricists of our time, Ben Harper plays slide guitar with as much power and passion as he dissects the state of American politics or contemplates the delights of riding a skateboard around town. Outspoken, serious and deeply engaging, Ben spoke to HUCK while in Germany during the first of a five-week European tour of his new album, Both Sides of the Gun.
HUCK: Where do you surf these days?
BH: I get out all over the place, from Ventura to Laguna, Malibu, Venice, Santa Monica…
HUCK: And where do you skate?
BH: I mainly street skate. There’s a park in Claremont, my hometown, that’s got some half pipes and bowls. I’m not that good. I just skate ‘cause I love to skate. Longboards, Sector 9 boards, stuff like that.
HUCK: Is it true that you own a skateboard that’s also a guitar?
BH: A genius builder from Australia named Brad Clark came up with a lap steel skateboard. It really is a functional electric guitar as well as a functional get-around-town skateboard. You can’t do kickflips and ollies but you can skate the hell out of it. It’ll get you where you’re going.
“It’s like skateboarding. You know the fall might be hard, but you have to be good enough to pull the trick. That’s what defines a brave record for me.” The Times, 19/03/06.
HUCK: Let’s talk about music a bit. Both Sides o the Gun is a double album: one CD has plenty of blues-funk-rock and the other has some of the most beautiful singer-songwriter ballads you’ll ever hear. How do you move between your two musical styles?
BH: It’s such an organic process, and I can’t explain that to you. It’s just who I am. It’s how I perceive and embrace different ideas that hit me on a daily basis and don’t even think twice about it.
HUCK: This album’s also really political. Would you say you are more vocal on this album than in your previous work?
BH: I think Both Sides of the Gun is equally as political. Politics has always been a component in stuff I’ve put out. You could say that ‘Black Rain’ is a political song, but is it any more political than ‘Oppression’ or is ‘Oppression’ more so than ‘My Own Two Hands’, you know what I mean? It depends on your perspective and what you’re listening for at the moment.
HUCK:I heard that you put together ‘Black Rain’ during the Hurricane Katrina disaster. Like, you wrote a song about it as events were unfolding. Is that true?
BH: True, that song was written on the spot, in the eye of the storm.
HUCK: Speaking of which, how can musicians make a difference these days? Can music change things at all?
BH: What is change? For me, change is the forward momentum and uplifting of a culture’s collective consciousness. That’s how I define change – a culture collectively moving forward through the uplifting of consciousness and awareness. So therefore, anyone who can contribute to that, whether you’re a doctor or a lawyer or an auto mechanic or a teacher or a musician… See, I don’t fall into that trap of ‘can artists make a difference’? It’s not up to artists to make a difference; it’s up to everyone to make a difference if you care enough to try to do so. My take is, that challenge of making a difference is a big tree and, like Bob Marley said, I’m a small axe.
HUCK: A few years ago, when ‘Steal my Kisses’ came out, you were all over the radio. How do you engage with fame?
BH: Being on the radio means that the music’s starting to reach people that it wouldn’t otherwise. I remain appreciative of that. But I am so emerged in the process of creating music consistently that I don’t really look back on that type of thing. I just don’t get caught up on it.
HUCK: This issue is largely about individual talent. How do you remain individual in an age of capitalist monoculture. How does Ben Harper retain his own style and not sell out?
BH: You gotta be prepared to earn it, you gotta be prepared to stand behind it. When ‘Steal My Kisses’ hit, the next record could have very easily been a whole record full of ‘Steal My Kisses’. When I saw the formula in front of my face, I had the opportunity to pretty much do that all the time. That sort of strong pattern, the hit thing, it was there, but that’s just of no interest to me. As much as I write the song, life is writing me. The world is my muse and you gotta live it to express it.
HUCK: Speaking of hits, what do you make of Jack Johnson’s meteoric rise to fame? You kind of influenced him when he started out, didn’t you?
BH: If I influenced him then I’m doing real good. I’m his biggest fan. I love his music. I love the way it mixes Jimmy Hendrix with pop sensibilities. It’s got the thickest groove going. It’s great. I love what he does, I think it’s extremely different.
HUCK: Do you know each other?
BH: We know each other quite well. We’ve never rushed our friendship, it’s just something that’s grown organically, it’s got roots…
HUCK: Back to politics. What’s your take on the current state of the US administration and the war in Iraq? Do you discuss this much?
BH: War is certainly not a question. It’s a debate, a discussion, and I’d hate to answer it in question form and not get to the heart of the issue ‘cause you don’t wanna just scratch the surface on that. I just think this particular process is very awkward.
HUCK: Is there enough space in the public sphere for this discussion to take place?
BH: I find the only way you get an intelligent perspective is through intelligent questioning. There was an awkwardly unfinished attempt at a war in Iraq with the father… is it really a coincidence that we stormed back with the son?
HUCK: And the media have certainly failed drastically in their role of challenging power…
BH: The media are a lost method of justice, it’s so unfortunate.
HUCK: On that note, did you ever fear a rightwing backlash against your work along the lines of what happened to the Dixie Chicks, for example?
BH: The Dixie Chicks fans leave if they talk politics, my fans leave if I don’t.
Both Sides of the Gun
This story originally appeared in Huck #002.
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