In “Better Way,” from 2006’s Both Sides of the Gun, Ben Harper declared, “I believe in a better way,” and wondered, “What good is a man who won’t take a stand?” These lines are portals into the mind of a man who’s made his considerable mark with a balanced assault of socially and spiritually relevant commentary buoyed by a master’s ability on the Weissenborn lap steel guitar. Since his 1994 debut, Welcome to the Cruel World, Harper has firmly established that, 1) He’s seriously adept at employing rock, folk, blues, reggae, R&B, soul and other genres to support his socio-political and spiritual exploration; and, 2) He’s a badass on that Weissenborn.

Music was a constant in Harper’s childhood; his parents are both musicians and his maternal grandparents founded the Folk Music Center, a Los Angeles-area music store frequented by Leonard Cohen, Taj Mahal and David Lindley; Harper now owns the store. He received his first guitar at 7, and as a teen he began playing acoustic slide and the Weissenborn. At 20, Harper was invited to tour and record with Mahal.

He signed with Virgin Records in 1992 when he was 23, and his subsequent recordings include his breakthrough The Will to Live (which introduced his band, the Innocent Criminals), the world beat-infused Diamonds on the Inside and the back-to-basics Lifeline. His playmates include Bonnie Raitt, John Lee Hooker, John Mayer, Solomon Burke, Gov’t Mule, Beth Orton and the String Cheese Incident.

In 2009, Harper put the Innocent Criminals on hiatus and was backed on White Lies for Dark Times by Relentless7, a trio who first recorded with him on the 2006 song “Serve Your Soul,” from the album Both Sides of the Gun.

Provenance: Claremont, California

Latest release: White Lies for Dark Times (2009)

© 2009 Nigel Music Media LLC. Used by permission.

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