Fistful of Mercy is a rock group consisting of Dhani Harrison, Ben Harper and Joseph Arthur.

History[link]

The band formed in February 2010, when Arthur asked Harper to accompany him in the studio; Harper then asked Harrison, whom he had met at a skate park in Santa Monica, California, to accompany them. Upon arriving at the Carriage House studio in Los Angeles’ Silverlake neighborhood, the trio went on to write and record nine original acoustic songs.^[1] Harrison compared the trio's collaborative process to his father's stint in the Traveling Wilburys.^[1]

After recording the nine tracks, Harrison called longtime friend and drummer Jim Keltner to overdub percussion. Violinist Jessy Greene also participated in the recording.

The band subsequently made their live debut in a performance for KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic on August 26, 2010.^[2] Fistful of Mercy released their debut album As I Call You Down on October 5, 2010 via HOT Records.

The band was mentioned in a storyline of the NBC series Parenthood where a few characters went to a Fistful of Mercy concert in the Season 2 episode "I'm a Lot Cooler Than You Think". Fistful of Mercy's song "In Vain or True" is also played during scenes of the episode. On November 10, the band performed the song "Father's Son" with special guest Tom Morello on the third episode of Conan.

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• As I Call You Down (2010)^[3]

Singles[link]

• "Fistful of Mercy" (2010)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website

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Joseph Arthur
Joseph Arthur playing in Barcelona, December 2007
Background information
Birth name	Joseph Arthur
Origin	Akron, Ohio, United States
Genres	Alternative rock, folk rock
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, harmonica, bass
Years active	1996–present
Labels	Lonely Astronaut Records
Associated acts	The Lonely Astronauts, Fistful of Mercy
Website	www.josepharthur.com www.lonelyastronautrecords.com

Joseph Arthur (born September 28, 1971) is an American singer-songwriter and artist from Akron, Ohio. Combining poetic lyrics with a layered sonic palette, Arthur has built his reputation over the years through critically acclaimed releases and constant touring; his unique solo live performances incorporate the use of a number of distortion and loop pedals, and his shows are recorded live at the soundboard and made available to concertgoers immediately following the show on recordable media. Arthur was discovered by Peter Gabriel in the mid-'90s, and signed to Gabriel's Real World label as the first North American artist on the label's roster. Arthur released his debut album Big City Secrets (1997) and follow-up, Come to Where I'm From (2000) on Real World before signing with various independent labels between 2002 and 2006. He established his own record label, Lonely Astronaut Records, in 2006, and released two studio albums, Let's Just Be (2007) and Temporary People (2008) with backing band The Lonely Astronauts. Arthur subsequently returned to performing and recording as a solo artist, releasing The Graduation Ceremony in 2011 and the double album, Redemption City in 2012.

Arthur is also an acclaimed painter and designer. His artwork has graced the sleeves of his entire discography; the sleeve design for his 1999 extended play Vacancy was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Recording Package.

Musical history[link]

[edit] Early life and Big City Secrets

Joseph began writing and playing music in his early teens, after inheriting an electronic keyboard from his aunt.^[1][2] At age 16, he played bass in a blues band called Frankie Starr and the Chill Factor, which disbanded by 1995.^[3] Joseph graduated from Firestone High School in 1990 and continued developing his music.^[4] In the early '90s, Arthur relocated to Atlanta, Georgia, continuing to record home demos, playing local clubs and working as a guitar salesman at Clark Music Store.^[5]

In 1996, Peter Gabriel's A&R associate Harvey Schartz presented Gabriel with a demo of Arthur's first EP, Cut and Blind. Gabriel and Schwartz arranged a live audition at The Fez nightclub in New York City, and Arthur flew up from Atlanta. The night was a success; not only was Lou Reed a guest in the audience, but within a few months Arthur was officially signed,^[5] making him the first American recording artist signed to Gabriel's label^[6] Arthur recorded his debut album at Gabriel's Real World Studios in England with producer Markus Dravs (Björk, Coldplay, Arcade Fire). The debut album Big City Secrets was released worldwide in spring 1997, and Arthur joined Gabriel's WOMAD tour in Europe.^[7] Big City Secrets displayed Arthur's often angsty and emotionally-wrought lyrics coupled with diverse instrumentation, which he himself described as "someone struggling to heal over experimental folk-rock",^[8] but went virtually unnoticed by the mainstream.^[9] Two years later, he recorded an EP called Vacancy, which earned him a Grammy nomination in 2000 for best recording package.

[edit] 2000–2003: Come to Where I'm From and Redemption's Son

In April 2000, Arthur released his sophomore studio album Come to Where I'm From, which was co-produced with T-Bone Burnett and Tchad Blake. The album exhibited a more polished and accessible sound,^[10] and received positive accolades from Pitchfork Media^[11] and Entertainment Weekly.^[12] Arthur began playing for larger audiences, opening for Ben Harper and Gomez. During that same period, he released a promotional live album recorded at the Gypsy Tea Room bar in Dallas, Texas.

After releasing a series of four EPs called Junkyard Hearts, which were only available to purchase at his live shows, his third album, Redemption's Son, came out in May 2002 in the UK. The American release was delayed until November 2002 since Arthur had been dropped by EMI in North America, having been picked up by Universal Music Group imprint Enjoy Records.^[13] The double album furthered the themes of emotional and spiritual dislocation found on Come to Where I'm From,^[14] and was described by Allmusic reviewer Thom Jurek as a "sleeper hit."^[15]

While on tour, Arthur regularly released recordings of his performances soon after each show. He also recorded an album with alternative rock side project Holding the Void, featuring himself on vocals and guitar, Pat Sansone on vocals and bass, and Rene Lopez on vocals and drums.^[16] In Summer 2003, he toured with Tracy Chapman in the US.^[17]

[edit] 2004–2006: Our Shadows Will Remain

Arthur signed a new recording contract with Vector Recordings and began recording his fourth studio album, Our Shadows Will Remain across New Orleans, New York City, London, and Prague. The album was released in September 2004, and was Arthur's first album to feature string arrangements, provided by the City of Prague Philharmonic. The album was released to widespread critical acclaim; Allmusic's Thom Jurek awarded the album 4.5 out of 5 stars, praising that, "Arthur is in a class of his own and Our Shadows Will Remain is a monstrous, memorable outing, his finest moment in a career that is thus far full of them."^[15] Entertainment Weekly gave the album an A rating, hailing the album as "especially forceful and cohesive";^[18] The Guardian hailed that Joseph "might just be a genuine mad genius";^[19] Stylus Magazine gave the album an A– rating;^[20] and Chris Rubin of Rolling Stone named Our Shadows Will Remain as the number 1 album of the year 2004 in the year-end critics' pick list.

Arthur toured the US alone and with Joan Wasser to promote the album, and a new EP called And the Thieves Are Gone, which collected unreleased tracks from the Shadows recording sessions, came out in December. Shortly afterward, Arthur went on a brief tour of Europe with R.E.M..^[21] Our Shadows Will Remain was picked up by 14th Floor Records for distribution in the United Kingdom in 2005, which yielded the release of four singles: "Can't Exist" in July, "Even Tho" in September, "Devil's Broom" in February 2006 to coincide with his first headlining appearance at London's Shepherds Bush Empire, and a reissue of "Can't Exist" in May 2006, although none of the singles charted on the UK Singles Chart.

In August 2006, Joseph was invited to help launch the project A River Blue, where a group of young people in northern Uganda were brought together to participate in a music, drama, and art festival.^[22] Joseph also recorded the song "A River Blue" for the foundation.^[23]

[edit] 2006–2007: Lonely Astronaut Records, Nuclear Daydream, and Let's Just Be

Joseph Arthur performing live at Avalanche Records, Glasgow, in February 2006.

Also in 2006, Arthur started the record label Lonely Astronaut Records with longtime professional partner Lauren Pattenaude. He released a book entitled We Almost Made It, a visual collection of his artworks, along with an accompanying instrumental CD titled The Invisible Parade in May 2006.^[24] In September 2006, Arthur released his fifth studio album, Nuclear Daydream, which was recorded in Berlin and Los Angeles. The album would be the first release on his new label. Joseph then embarked on a worldwide tour with his new backing band, The Lonely Astronauts.

His song "In the Sun" was covered by Michael Stipe of R.E.M. and Chris Martin of Coldplay in 2006 for a Hurricane Katrina relief EP. The EP includes six versions of the song, one featuring Arthur himself singing with Stipe and another remixed by Justin Timberlake, and is available only on iTunes. On March 26, 2007, Joseph's then-UK label 14th Floor Records released a re-recorded version of his 2002 song "Honey and the Moon" as a special single in the UK only. In April, he released his sixth studio album, Let's Just Be, and embarked on an extensive US tour. This was Joseph's first album with The Lonely Astronauts; the band recorded as many as 80 songs in late 2006,^[25] with only sixteen appearing on the album. The album was released to lukewarm critical reception, with Pitchfork Media calling the album "unfocused" and "sloppy", summarizing that the album "sounds like it came together on the fly, in jam sessions that didn't stem from any kind of solid idea."^[26]

2008–present[link]

In 2008, Arthur released four EPs in a four-month span: Could We Survive on March 18, Crazy Rain on April 15, Vagabond Skies on June 10, and Foreign Girls on July 8.^[27] Regarding these releases, Arthur noted, "I have so much music piled up, like strange animals in a cosmic cage begging for release. The jails were overcrowded. I had to let some of them go."^[28] He played seven solo shows during the SXSW 2008 Festival, six in Austin and one in Dallas.^[29] Live dates in Europe and an extensive US solo tour coincided with the new releases.^[30] Temporary People, his seventh full-length studio album and second with The Lonely Astronauts, was released on September 30, 2008. The album was received warmly by critics, with The Times Online stating that it "evokes the loose, rocking swagger and country melancholy of early-1970s Stones",^[31] and Crawdaddy! noting that Arthur "treats his audience to a brawny and brooding rock album, notching his most fully realized LP to date in the process."^[32] The album came out in Europe in late October, and afterward Arthur embarked on a solo tour and opened for Tracy Chapman on her six-week "Our Bright Future" European tour,^[33] followed by tour dates in Canada.

Arthur recorded a cover of The Afghan Whigs's "Step Into the Light" from their 1996 album Black Love for the tribute album, Summer's Kiss: A Tribute to The Afghan Whigs. Following UK tour dates with The Lonely Astronauts in July, Arthur embarked on a solo tour of France in October 2009.^[34] A reissue of his 2006 album Nuclear Daydream with six previously unreleased bonus tracks was released during this tour.^[35]

Arthur, Ben Harper, and Dhani Harrison formed the supergroup trio Fistful of Mercy in 2010, and their debut album As I Call You Down was released on October 5, 2010.^[36] Arthur's first solo studio album since Nuclear Daydream, titled The Graduation Ceremony,was released on May 23, 2011.^[37][38]

Visual art[link]

Arthur has also received acclaim as a painter and designer. His artwork has graced the sleeves of his entire discography, notably the album covers for Come to Where I'm From and Our Shadows Will Remain, which included a 36-page booklet featuring prints of his original artwork, and was released with a die-cut outer slipcase sleeve.^[39] Arthur and frequent graphic design collaborator Zachary Larner's sleeve design for the 1999 extended play Vacancy was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Recording Package. He staged his first art exhibition in 2006 at the Vertigo Gallery in London from February 10 to February 12,^[40] and released a 110-page book entitled We Almost Made It, a visual collection of his artworks, along with an accompanying instrumental CD titled The Invisible Parade in May 2006.

He set up his personal art gallery The Museum of Modern Arthur in June 2007 as a brick and mortar location in Brooklyn's DUMBO District.^[41] According to an article on Stereogum.com, Joseph and the MOMAR were evicted from the building. Joseph held a record release party for Temporary People before the closing of the gallery in September 2008.^[42] The MOMAR gallery soon morphed into an online gallery.^[43]

Live performances[link]

Arthur's one man band live performances incorporate looping techniques and several distortion techniques. His live performances are recorded through to the last note and then burnt to CD-R. They are sold immediately to fans after the concert.^[44] Beginning with his fall 2006 tour, Arthur incorporated a full band, The Lonely Astronauts. They are no longer together.

The Lonely Astronauts were:

• Joseph Arthur – vocals, guitar
• Kraig Jarret Johnson – guitar, keyboards, vocals
• Jennifer "Jen" Turner – guitar, vocals
• Sibyl Buck – bass, vocals
• Greg "G. Wiz" Wieczorek – drums, vocals

Instruments and loops[link]

Of the guitars that Joseph utilizes, his primary acoustic guitar is an Irish Lowden 012C.^[45] Some of Joseph's other guitars include a Garrison G-50-CE, a custom-painted Godin Kingpin CWII, a Gibson ES-335, and a '70s Fender Strat.

To incorporate his looping techniques, Arthur uses a myriad of rackmounted units of the Lexicon JamMan. He plays his guitars through an impressive floor of effects pedals.^[46] When performing solo live, he often records a sample of guitar, percussion, or vocals which he can then loop periodically throughout a song, allowing him to perform verses with the added effect of harmonizing with himself.

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

• Big City Secrets (1997)
• Come to Where I'm From (2000)
• Redemption's Son (2002)
• Our Shadows Will Remain (2004)
• Nuclear Daydream (2006)
• Let's Just Be (2007) (with The Lonely Astronauts)
• Temporary People (2008) (with The Lonely Astronauts)
• The Graduation Ceremony (2011)
• Redemption City (2012)

EPs[link]

• Cut and Blind (August 1996)
• Vacancy (May 11, 1999)
• Junkyard Hearts I (February 15, 2002)
• Junkyard Hearts II (February 28, 2002)
• Junkyard Hearts III (March 15, 2002)
• Junkyard Hearts IV (March 28, 2002)
• And the Thieves Are Gone (December 7, 2004)
• Could We Survive (March 18, 2008)
• Crazy Rain (April 15, 2008)
• Vagabond Skies (June 10, 2008)
• Foreign Girls (July 8, 2008)

Soundtracks[link]

• Television
  • Conan (2011) ("Father's Son")
  • Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (2010) ("Father's Son"))
  • Numb3rs (2009) ("Killer's Knife")
  • Hung (2009) ("Walk Away")
  • House (2008) ("Could We Survive")
  • True Blood (2008) ("Stumble and Pain")
  • Scrubs (2006) ("In the Sun")
  • The O.C. (2003) ("Honey And The Moon")
  • Wasted (2002) ("In the Sun")
  • The L Word ("In The Sun")

• Cinema
  • Shrek 2 (2004) ("You're So True")
  • Saved! (2004) ("In the Sun")
  • American Pie 3 (2003) ("Honey and the Moon")
  • The Bourne Identity (2002) ("In the Sun")
  • Shallow Hal (2001) ("Chemical")
  • The Bourne Identity (1999) ("Porcupine")
  • Bone Collector (1999) ("Bed of nails")
  • Hell's Kitchen (1998) ("Invisible Hands", "Lost Gypsy Weapon", "Eyes on My Back", "Pictures of Life", "Cinderella Under Glass", "Big City Secret", "Good About Me", "Crying Like a Man", "Porcupine")

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Joseph Arthur

• Joseph Arthur's official website
• Joseph Arthur's Tumblr blog
• Lonely Astronauts – fan website
• Lonely Astronaut Records website
• Joseph Arthur on IMDb

Ben Harper
Background information
Birth name	Benjamin Chase Harper
Born	(1969-10-28) October 28, 1969 (age 42) Claremont, California United States
Genres	Folk rock, blues rock, alternative rock, soul, funk rock, gospel, reggae, jam rock, neofolk
Occupations	Musician, Singer-songwriter, Humanitarian
Instruments	Vocals, electric guitar, lap steel guitar, slide guitar, acoustic guitar, keyboards, piano, bass guitar, drums, percussion, vibes
Years active	1992–present
Labels	Virgin, EMI Records
Associated acts	Ben Harper and The Blind Boys of Alabama Relentless7 Vanessa da Mata Ringo Starr Fistful of Mercy
Website	www.benharper.com
Notable instruments
Weissenborn lap steel guitar

Benjamin Chase "Ben" Harper (born October 28, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. Harper plays an eclectic mix of blues, folk, soul, reggae and rock music^[1] and is known for his guitar-playing skills, vocals, live performances and activism.^[2] Harper's fan base spans several continents.^[3] His albums have been commercially successful in North America, Europe and Oceania. Harper is a two-time Grammy Award winner as well, winning awards for Best Pop Instrumental Performance and Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album, in 2005.

Early life[link]

Harper was born in Claremont, in California's Inland Empire. His father, Leonard, was of African-American and Cherokee ancestry, and his mother, Ellen Chase-Verdries, is Jewish. His maternal great-grandmother was a Russian-Lithuanian Jew.^[4][5][6] His parents divorced when he was age five, and he grew up with his mother's family. Harper has two brothers, Joel and Peter.

Harper began playing guitar as a child.^[7][8] His maternal grandparents' music store The Folk Music Center and Museum laid a foundation of folk and blues for the artist, complemented by regular patrons Leonard Cohen, Taj Mahal and David Lindley and quotes of William Shakespeare and Robert Frost made often by his grandfather.^[9] At the age of 12, Harper played his first gig.^[10] During the '80s, in his teen years, Harper began to play the slide guitar, mimicking the style of Robert Johnson. Next, Harper refined his style, taking up the Weissenborn slide guitar.^[11] Harper broke out of the Inland Empire after being offered an invitation by Taj Mahal to tour with the artist. They recorded Taj Mahal's album Follow the Drinking Gourd, released in November 1990, and toured Hawaii.^[12]

Career[link]

Harper's trademark curtain call; 2003

In 1992 Harper recorded the LP Pleasure and Pain with Folk multi-instrumentalist Tom Freund. After this limited edition record, Harper secured a record deal with Virgin Records, which released his debut album, Welcome to the Cruel World in 1994. This was followed by Fight For Your Mind in 1995, with Juan Nelson on bass, which became a college radio favorite and included several songs that Harper still plays live regularly. .^[13]

In 1999 at the Santa Barbara Bowl, Harper met Jack Johnson, who was unknown at the time and had not recorded. Harper obtained a demo tape of twelve of Johnson's songs that he forwarded to his producer, J.P. Plunier, with whom Johnson recorded his first album.^[14]

Harper playing the weissenborn at Massey Hall, Toronto, Ontario.

Early in Harper's career, his music received more attention in Europe and was widely played in Australia (first on Triple J radio). Harper has made comments on a number of occasions that his career was kicked off in Australia. While he was a well-known and respected figure in the United States, he was a star in countries like Australia, New Zealand, France, Portugal, Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands, receiving a great deal of airplay and critical acclaim. His popularity in Europe is such that he was French Rolling Stone magazine's Artist of the Year (Artiste De L'Année) in 2003,^[15] and his Australian tour that year for Diamonds on the Inside was highly successful.

In 2002, Harper was one of the featured singers covering Motown hits by Marvin Gaye in the documentary, Standing in the Shadows of Motown (a history of The Funk Brothers). In October 2004, Harper participated in the Vote for Change concert tour organized to benefit Moveon.org and encourage people in the swing states to vote during the 2004 U.S. presidential election. In the same month, Harper contributed a live recording of the song "Oppression" to For The Lady, a benefit album for jailed Nobel Peace Prize winner and Burmese pro-democracy advocate Aung San Suu Kyi. In 2006, Harper released the double album Both Sides of the Gun which debuted at #7 on the Billboard charts. Though uncredited, he appears briefly in the 2006 David Lynch film Inland Empire, alongside his wife Laura Dern.

Harper is part of the No Nukes group which is against the expansion of nuclear power. In 2007 the group recorded a music video of a new version of the Buffalo Springfield song "For What It's Worth".^[16][17] Harper's collaboration "Boa Sorte/Good Luck" with Brazilian singer Vanessa da Mata peaked at #1 in Brazil and Portugal. In Brazil it also won a highly coveted Prêmio Multishow for "Best Song" in 2008. Also in 2008, Harper participated in the benefit album Songs for Tibet.

On August 27, 2010, it was reported that Ben Harper had formed a band called Fistful of Mercy with Dhani Harrison and Joseph Arthur.^[18] Fistful of Mercy released their debut record, As I Call You Down, on October 5, 2010.^[19]

On May 17, 2011, Ben Harper's official site posted that his next album was released, entitled Give Till It's Gone. The album is a continuation of recording with Relentless7.^[20]

Personal life[link]

Family[link]

Harper with now estranged wife, Laura Dern in December 2009

In 1996, Harper married his first wife, Joanna. They had two children, a son and daughter, Charles Joseph and Harris.^[21]

On December 23, 2005, Harper married his girlfriend of five years, actress Laura Dern. They have two children together, son Ellery Walker Harper (b. August 21, 2001) and daughter Jaya (b. November 24, 2004).

On October 8, 2010, Harper, having been married for five years, filed for divorce from Dern, citing irreconcilable differences. He is seeking joint custody of their two children, as well as asking for a denial of spousal support for Dern.^[22]

On February 7, 2012, after being spotted at the Golden Globes, it was reported that Harper and Dern had reconciled. Divorce papers have not been formally withdrawn yet.^{[citation needed]}

Awards and nominations[link]

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

Live albums[link]

Other albums[link]

Virtual albums[link]

• iTunes Originals - Ben Harper
• iTunes Must Haves - Ben Harper

Singles[link]

• "Like A King / Whipping Boy" (1994)
• "Ground on Down" (1995)
• "Excuse Me Mr." (1996)
• "Gold to Me" (1996)
• "Faded" (1997) #54 UK^[62]
• "Jah Work" (1997)
• "Glory & Consequence" (1997)
• "Please Bleed" (1999)
• "Burn to Shine" (1999)
• "Forgiven" (2000)
• "Steal My Kisses" (2000) #15 U.S. Adult Top 40
• "With My Own Two Hands" (2003)
• "Diamonds On the Inside" (2003) #31 U.S. Adult Top 40
• "Brown Eyed Blues" (2004)
• "Wicked Man" (2004)
• "There Will Be a Light" (2004)
• "Better Way" (2006)
• "Both Sides Of The Gun" (2006)
• "Morning Yearning" (2006)^[63]
• "Fight Outta You" (2007) #61 Hot Canadian Digital Charts
• "Boa Sorte/Good Luck" (2007) (with Vanessa da Mata) #1 Portugal; #1 Brazil
• "In The Colors" (2008)
• "Fool For A Lonesome Train" (2008)
• "Shimmer & Shine" (2009)
• "Fly One Time" (2009)
• "Lay There & Hate Me" (2010)
• "Skin Thin" (2010)
• "The Word Suicide" (2010)
• "Never Tear Us Apart" (with INXS) (2010)
• "Rock N' Roll Is Free" (2011)
• "Don't Give Up on Me Now (2011, Italy only)
• "Walk Away" ("")

Special appearances[link]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2011)

Harper played a slide guitar version of the "Star-Spangled Banner" prior to Game 3 of the 2007 NBA Finals on June 12 in Cleveland. Harper performed alongside Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson and John Paul Jones at the Bonnaroo Music Festival in 2007. He also appears on the 2003 Pearl Jam DVD Live at the Garden where Harper plays alongside friends Pearl Jam for the songs "Daughter" & "Indifference".

Harper performed at several "Vote Obama" rallies and on the Willie Nelson show Outlaws & Angels. Harper teamed with the Skatalites to perform Fats Domino's "Be My Guest" on Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino. Harper was featured, alongside Jack Johnson, playing slide guitar with Toots and the Maytals, performing their 1970s reggae hit "Pressure Drop" on Saturday Night Live.

In January 2010, Harper and his band Relentless7 performed at the Grammy Museum with Ringo Starr in support of The Beatles drummer's self-produced album, Y Not.^[64] In early 2010, Harper also performed "Ohio" at the MusiCares tribute to Neil Young.^[65]

Filmography[link]

• 1998-2001: Daria (TV) – Camp Fear ("Born to Shine"/"Faded")
• 2001: I am Sam ("Strawberry Fields Forever")
• 2002: Standing in the Shadows of Motown ("Ain't Too Proud To Beg"/"I Heard It Through the Grapevine")
• 2003: One Tree Hill (TV) – Crash Into You
• 2004: Sleepover ("Way Away")
• 2005: Trust the Man ("Everything")
• 2006: Akeelah and the Bee ("Everything")
• 2006: Newport Beach (TV) – The Dawn Patrol ("Waiting For You")
• 2006: CSI: NY (TV) – And Here's to You, Mrs. Azrael ("Walk Away")
• 2008: Daylight Robbery ("Diamonds On The Inside")
• 2009: State of Play ("Please Don't Talk About Murder While I'm Eating")
• 2009: Dr House (TV) – Brave Heart ("Faithfully Remain")
• 2010: Conan (TV) – Dead Men Don't Wear Spanx ("Father's Son")
• 2010: Les Petits Mouchoirs (French Movie) - Ludo's death ("Amen Omen")
• 2010: Vampire Diaries (TV) – Katerina ("Amen Omen")
• 2010: The Fighter ("Glory & Consequence")

DVDs[link]

• Pleasure and Pain (2002)
• Live at the Hollywood Bowl (2003)
• Live at the Apollo (2005)

References[link]

Constructs such as ibid., loc. cit. and idem are discouraged by Wikipedia's style guide for footnotes, as they are easily broken. Please improve this article by replacing them with named references (quick guide), or an abbreviated title. (April 2010)

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Ben Harper

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ben Harper

• Official website
• Official Ben Harper Shop
• Ben Harper Live for Earth Day on National Geographic
• Ben Harper at RollingStone.com
• Ben Harper on Twitter

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (July 2009)

Dhani Harrison
Dhani Harrison at the Coachella Festival with thenewno2 in 2009
Background information
Birth name	Dhani Harrison
Also known as	Ayrton Wilbury
Born	(1978-08-01) 1 August 1978 (age 33) Windsor, Berkshire, England
Genres	Alternative rock
Occupations	Musician, Songwriter, Writer
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, bass, piano, synthesizer, mandolin, ukulele, sitar, drums
Years active	1997–present
Labels	Dark Horse/EMI
Associated acts	George Harrison thenewno2 Traveling Wilburys Fistful of Mercy

Dhani Harrison (born 1 August 1978) is an English musician and the son of the Beatles lead guitarist George Harrison and Olivia Harrison. Harrison debuted as a professional musician when completing his father's final album, Brainwashed, after George Harrison's death in November 2001.^[1] Harrison formed his own band, thenewno2, in 2006.

Harrison's first name is pronounced similarly to the name Danny but with an aspirated 'd'. He is named after 6th and 7th notes of the Indian music scale, 'dha' and 'ni'. 'Dhani' is also a raga in north Indian classical music.

Early life[link]

Harrison grew up with his parents in Henley-on-Thames, in Friar Park, the estate on which his father had lived since 1970. One of Harrison's earliest memories, from the age of six, is receiving a drumming lesson from his father's friend and bandmate, "Uncle" Ringo Starr. He recalled that before the lesson, he had been an avid drummer. However, when Starr began to play, the loud noise frightened him so much that he ran out of the room screaming and never used his drum kit again.^[2]

Like his father, Dhani Harrison showed a keen interest in Formula One auto racing. He accompanied George to Grand Prix races around the world.

Education[link]

Harrison attended Badgemore Primary school in Henley-on-Thames, then Dolphin School near Twyford, a Montessori method school. He later attended Shiplake College, also near Henley, where he showed a keen interest in rowing. Harrison is an alumnus of Brown University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in visual arts.

After graduating from Brown in 2001, Harrison pursued a career as an aerodynamicist; however, he decided to follow in his father's footsteps as a professional musician.^[3]

Musical career[link]

After George Harrison's death on 29 November 2001, Dhani Harrison, in collaboration with Jeff Lynne, completed George's final album, Brainwashed, which was released in 2002.^[4] He participated in the Concert for George on the first anniversary of George's death. The concert was organized by Eric Clapton and featured some of George's friends and collaborators, including former Beatles bandmates Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr as well as Clapton, Billy Preston, Ravi Shankar, Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty, Jim Keltner, and Joe Brown. Dhani Harrison played backup acoustic guitar for most of the concert. Before the finale, McCartney relayed to the audience, "Olivia said that with Dhani up on stage, it looks like George stayed young and we all got old".^[5]

In March 2006, Harrison made a guest appearance on Liam Lynch's Podcast Video Variety Show, Lynchland.^[6] They performed a duet that will appear on a Lynch album. He collaborated with Jakob Dylan on the John Lennon song "Gimme Some Truth" for the Lennon tribute album "Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur", which was released on 12 June 2007.^[7] Dhani is credited on two unreleased Traveling Wilburys tracks under the pseudonym Ayrton Wilbury, a tribute to Ayrton Senna.^{[citation needed]}

In April 2006, it was announced that Harrison's band, thenewno2, had begun recording. The band released a music video, "Choose What You're Watching", on its website. thenewno2 features Harrison on lead guitar, synthesiser and vocals and Oli Hecks on drums and synths. He also contributed to the 2007 EP by Heather Porcaro and the Heartstring Symphony, Rooney's 2007 CD Calling the World. He was involved in a re-working of the Beatles' "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" entitled "The Heart Gently Weeps", which was the first single on the Wu-Tang Clan's album, 8 Diagrams, released in December 2007.

thenewno2's debut album, You Are Here was released online on 11 August 2008 and in stores on 31 March 2009.^[8] The song "Yomp" was featured as a downloadable song for the Rock Band series, and "Crazy Tuesday" was featured as one of the 20 free songs that were downloadable with the purchase of Rock Band 2.

On 14 April 2009, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce posthumously awarded George Harrison a star on the Walk of Fame. After Olivia Harrison gave a short speech about her late husband, Dhani Harrison uttered the "Hare Krishna" mantra.^[9]

In August 2010, Dhani Harrison, Ben Harper and Joseph Arthur joined together to form Fistful of Mercy.^[10]

Harrison is currently engaged to long-time girlfriend Solveig 'Sola' Karadottir. Sola's father is Kári Stefánsson, co-founder of deCODE Genetics.^[11]

Video games[link]

It was announced in 2009 that Harrison was collaborating in the development of The Beatles: Rock Band, a music video game released on 9 September 2009 on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii gaming platforms. Dhani Harrison was instrumental in the creation of the game and urged McCartney and Starr to participate. When asked about the game production Dhani stated, "I took the project to Apple and sort of convinced everybody to have a presentation. My job description is... being enthusiastic. We've been working on it for the past two years. This is the first one that is going to be totally, historically accurate. It's been a real headache, but it's been the most enjoyable work I've done in my life."^[12]

To promote the game's release, he appeared on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien on 8 September 2009 and at the end of the show they played "Birthday" with Dhani on drums, Conan O'Brien on bass, and Aaron Bleyaert and Mark Pender on guitar.

Harrison told the Chicago Tribune in an interview that he is "working on Rock Band 3 and making the controllers more real so people can actually learn how to play music while playing the game".^[13]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Thenewno2 Official Band Site
• Dhani Harrison at the Internet Movie Database