You have to do what you believe in.
If I'm inspired and music inspires me, then I will continue to play it.
But I would never insult the people that love this music and I would never insult the blessing of music in my life and I would never insult myself by playing uninspired music.
We went for the best overall feel on each song. There are no musical overdubs at all. It's a true live record; it's one of the few true live records out there.
The Blind Boys are truly the deepest well of American musical heritage you can discover.
So it's not so much that I set out to do something different, it's just that the songs themselves require their own individual voice and attention.
Right now I'm listening to a lot of different things but I listen to a lot of classical music. Eventually I would like to compose and perform classical.
If it comes out sounding like Dixieland jazz or classical or punk or rock or even slightly metal, that's because that's where I'm going to find inspiration.
I'm really looking forward to, not more of the same, but a continual growth.
I'm not going to do the Ben Harper house record or the Ben Harper drum 'n' bass record.
I refuse to make uninspired music.
I refuse to age disgracefully in rock 'n' roll.
I really feel there's no limitation on what this band can do in the studio or on the stage. That's an empowering feeling - that we can bring a song to life.
I love being on the road, I love playing.
I just want to keep doing what I feel.
Folk is bare bones music.
As long as the songs are strong, I think you can express yourself in any style and have it be soulful and have it be your own voice.
The only way that you can find any semblance of a rule, or make any semblance of your own rule, is to tear up the rulebook. Throw it out, burn it, throw it away, and make your own rules.
The advice I have for new artists is this - write great songs and play them live as often as possible. Get residencies all over town and crush it.
I grew up with a heavy diet of gospel, folk, and blues because those are kind of the cornerstones of traditional American music.
