Guitar Player Magazine
July 2009
Stripped Down and Amped Up: Ben Harper and Relentless7 Wingman Jason Mozersky Reveal How They Crafted Gnarly Hooks And Transcendent Tones On White Lies For Dark Times
By Jimmy Leslie

(Excerpts from article)

“I’m going to shock you all with a record that peels the paint off the walls,” Ben Harper vowed to GP readers in his February 2007 feature. White Lies for Dark Times [Virgin] proves beyond any doubt that he is a man of his word. Harper has sidelined the venerable Innocent Criminals for the time being, and his new gang is hardcore by comparison. Drummer Jordan Richardson, bassist Jesse Ingalls, and guitarist Jason Mozersky honed their chops in a Zeppelin tribute bank, and they bring a similar thunder to Relentless7. White Lies presents blues-rock played with command and conviction, and it features an array of ripping guitar tones.

Produced by Harper, the record sounds as if it could have been recorded in the 1970s, although the songs reflect the urgency of the modern moment. They’re not overtly socially conscious – as has been the case with much of Harper’s previous output. This music is much more straightforward, and simply sounds as if Harper has tapped into the woe of the world, and wrenched that feeling out of his pen, his voice, and his instruments.

White Lies for Dark Times includes a couple of choice acoustic cuts, but it’s easily Harper’s most electric record to date. The new sound marks another significant step in the progression of an artist who spent his youth in his family’s shop – Claremont’s Fold Music Center – and was totally devoted to Weissenborn Hawaiian-style acoustic lap-slide guitars at the outset of his career. His quest to combine acoustic resonance with Les Paul balls eventually led to his signature Asher electric lap-slide, which is his workhorse in Relentless7. Harper saves most of his extended jamming for the stage, but the record nonetheless features some of his best-sounding and most memorable guitar playing. His scorching tones on tunes such as “Shimmer and Shine” and “Keep It Together (So I Can Fall Apart)” are earbud meltdown material, and his graceful solo on “Lay There and Hate Me” provides welcome melodic respite from the ruckus.

Jason Mozersky is integral to the guitar sound of Relentless7, and although he’s a Jimmy Page fanatic, he doesn’t deal in flash, instead bringing the requisite taste and poise of a wonderful wingman. His lead on the bombastic blues boogie “Why Must You Always Dress in Black” oozes cool, and demonstrates uncommon restraint. Mozersky’s understated nature also serves him well as a tunesmith. “Up to You” is a textbook example of how to select a few choice notes from a simple chord progression, and make them come alive with maximum vibe.

Harper and Mozersky have been buddies since 1998, when Harper helped land a record deal for Mozersky’s former bank – an alternative rock act called Wan Santo Condo – and had them open some shows on his Burn to Shine tour.  Mozersky also appeared on two cuts from Harper’s 2006 solo effort, Both Sides of the Gun. One of them, “Serve Your Soul,” also featured Ingalls and Richardson. Harper made another record with the Innocent Criminals – 2007’s Lifeline – before summoning the “Serve Your Soul” crew to Eldorado studios last summer, just to see what might happen.

You sure delivered on your promise of a paint-peeling record.

Harper: I’ve been gravitating towards this sound, but I couldn’t express exactly what was happening in the last interview because this band still had to be proven.

What about Jason’s guitar style made him the right player to complement you at this point in your career?

Harper: If you’re going to play blues-oriented rock or rock-oriented blues, you have to play both styles really well. Jason demonstrated that he could when I had him come play on Both Sides of the Gun. The track “Please Don’t Talk About Murder While I’m Eating” was giving me some trouble, so I asked Jason to try it. I didn’t even give him any direction. He just jumped in and played some John Lee Hooker-approved stuff that made the song come to life.

Mozersky: It was a fast track, and I immediately heard it as a fingerstyle Delta blues. I plugged Ben’s ’54 Les Paul goldtop straight into a tweed ’58 Fender Deluxe and cranked it up to get a really dirty tone.

Harper: After the session I checked out Jason’s Zepplin tribute band with Jordan and Jess, and they were incredible, so I invited them to play on “Serve Your soul.” I hadn’t envisioned it as a bank track because there were so many movements, and I thought it would be best to play all the instruments myself. Special things happen when you do that because you know where the idiosyncrasies fall. I never thought they’d get all the subtleties, but they did it so swiftly and with such force that I was left sitting there in disbelief. Chemistry is the most important thing for a band, and I recognized it right away with these players.

Were you planning to do a hard-hitting record ever since then?

Harper: I had an idea of where I wanted to go, but nothing could be further from the truth than for me to sit here and say that I really knew exactly what I was going to do. Some of the best things in my life have happened to me. The “Serve Your Soul” session was a signpost. The GP interview was another signpost. I ended up doing an impromptu set at the Bonnaroo festival with John Paul Jones on bass and Questlove [the Roots] on drums. That gig was the final signpost. After it went down, I decided that I needed to exist there – stripped down, straight-up guitar rock.

Jason, what was your Zeppelin tribute band called, and what was your angle on the music?

Mozersky: Well, we were called Pudge Zeppelin because we were all slightly overweight [laughs]. The name was funny, but we took the music seriously. The live Zeppelin package, How the West Was Won, had recently come out. Obviously, Zeppelin’s studio recordings were very elaborate productions with layers of guitars, so it was interesting to see how Jimmy Page broke things down to the part he thought was most vital to the song. I based my approach on the live versions, and we kept pushing the envelope with our own improvisations.

Harper: It’s cool to have a band that can break into pretty much any Zeppelin cover on a dime, and that is a component of this band live. We will delve more deeply into that eventually, lbut I want us to establish our own identity with this recording first.

What direction did you offer, and how did things develop once the sessions got going?

Mozersky:  Ben told me that he wanted the songwriting to be collaborative. I honestly didn’t do much preparation, but I did bring in a few ideas. For example, the first track we cut was “Up to You Now,” and I had the verse riff and the chords for the chorus. Ben wrote the lyrics on the spot, sang the vocals live while I led the band, and then overdubbed his guitar part later. We had the song done and missed in a few hours. That’s how we did most of the record, although it varied from song to song. About eight songs in, Ben said, “We’ve got a record – let’s for a band.” Of course, we were ecstatic.

It sounds like you put a tremendous amount of faith in these guys, Ben.

Harper: It’s true, but I actually developed that faith on the last Innocent Criminals CD. Lifeline was the first time I co-wrote a record with my band, and that experience prepared me for this one in a huge way. “Number With No Name” is another great example of how things were happening in real time. We walked in not having any idea of what we were going to record. Jason played that riff, it inspired me to write some lyrics, and the song was done quickly. I overdubbed the solo on a short-scale, depression-era National lap-steel that’s just begging o scream. It looks like a trashcan. I ran it through a Dumble combo, with the mic placed a few feet back. That was almost an accidental solo, really. I stumbled into it on the first take, or at least one of the first few takes. I used an exaggerated vibrato because the song called for something aggressive – bordering on frantic.

“Keep It Together (So I can Fall Apart)” has a badass riff with a cool lyric. How did you develop that song?

Harper: In that case, I had been sitting on the guitar riff for about six months before the lyric hit me. I had to wait until I had lived it enough to be ready to write that one. I tend to let songs finish themselves unless I’m in the studio writing on the spot. You’ve got to be inspired and open to let that happen. It’s like walking a tightrope because you have to be aware enough to stay out of your own way, and let the song come. It’s amazing how lyrical music can be, and vice versa. I feel fortunate to be able to marry the two instinctually.

“Lay There and Hate Me” has a great groove, and the solo on the bridge is a real standout.

Harper: We devised that entire tune around Jesse’s bass line, which is always fun to do, but that bridge was one of the only times during the session that we were caught not knowing what to play on guitar. Jason and I both kicked around some ideas that didn’t work, so I suggested we have a horn player come by, as I thought it would be cool to have one place on the record where there was a different texture. I plugged in my Asher, and played what I heard in my head as a sax part to demonstrate the idea. I was just toying around, but the guys all said, “That’s it.”

What was the vision from a production and tonal standpoint?

Harper: I believe in the power of great gear in the recording process, and I’m still committed to using mostly vintage gear in order to achieve a warm, rich sound. I brought my full arsenal of old amps, microphones, and guitars. But I brought some new stuff too, including my signature Asher lap steels. I’ve been incorporating them onstage for quite some time, and I started recording them through Dumble amps on Both Sides of the Gun. Now that sound is on full display.

What Dumbles did you use?

Harper: I used three Dumble Overdrive Specials individually. One is a switchable 1000/50-watt single 12” combo from the early ‘80s, which I call the “Black Carpet.” I used that for the “Number with No Name” solo. I brought another one with me that I bought from David Lindley. I was honored to be his first call when he decided to sell, because Lindley is a huge influence, and the amp is one of the first ten Dumbles ever made. It’s a 50-watt head with a 2x12 cabinet. The amp I used on the vast majority of the tracks once belonged to Carlos Rios, I believe. It’s a switchable 100/40-watt head with a matching 1x12 cabinet. I refer to it as the “Caramel” because its suded covering is that color. I’m so excited about the tone I’m getting. I’ve been reaching for it my entire life.

Can you explain how important Dumbles are in getting a tone that inspires you?

Harper: Well, I don’t want people to think that you need to have what I play in order to get a great lap-steel tone. If you roll off the treble, you can get a fine lap-steel tone on any number of amps. But where I’ve landed with the Asher/Dumble combination, the tone feeds back to me. Your tone should insist that you play differently, play better, and that you’re more satisfied with every note. Tone should represent a challenge ass well as an accomplishment.

How does your tone challenge you?

Harper: My tone emboldens me to take more risks, and it challenges me to write songs. Now my words come from my instrument and my amp.

Did you bring a load of gear as well, Jason, or did you use a lot of Ben’s equipment?

Mozersky:  Both. I pretty much played a different guitar and amp combination on every song, but I did have an overall setup strategy for the studio. Before the session, I bought a ’64 Vox head and a 2x12 cabinet. The rig was set up in a little soundproofed fort right next to where I was standing in the main room. The idea was to achieve some degree of separation, while also being able to feel what was happening. I find that’s really important for me in order to play my best. I split my signal to an early-‘70s 100-watt Marshall head, which was running through a Bogner 4x12 cabinet in another room. There were two mics on each cabinet – one close, and one a bit further away, and sometimes I used both amps, like on “Number with No Name.”  On other songs, such as “Why Must You Always Dress in Black,” I just cranked up the Vox. I cut my rhythm tracks on both of those songs with an Epiphone hollowbody from the ‘30s or ‘40s that I borrowed from a friend, and I grabbed Ben’s Les Paul Junior for the lead on “Dress in Black.”

Your phrasing is very sparse, especially considering the frenetic pace of the tune.

Mozersky: I grew up listening to Albert King and Freddie King, and that taught me that what you don’t play is as important as what you play. “Dress in Black” moves along at a brisk tempo, and sometimes the best thing to do in that case is take the opposite approach with the lead, by playing something really sparse. Also, I listen to the drubs as much as I do the guitar – I played drums for years before I switched to guitar in high school – and that’s all I did from there on out.

Can you explain how you use various vibratos to make a note sing?

Mozersky: It’s hard to explain. I use different vibratos depending on the effect I want to get. I spent a lot of time learning how Eric Clapton and B.B. King used vibrato. They’re very different. I’ve just kind of assimilated various techniques from my influences, and rolled them into my own style.

The Ben Harper Signature Martin received a rave review in GP’s January Issue. Did either of you play that on White Lies for Dark Times?

Harper: No, but I tour with it.  Fishman’s Ellipse Matrix Blend system is so well dialed that it allows me to play at high volumes without worrying about feedback – and that’s been a revelation. I went with Martin’s M size because it delivers the low end of a dreadnought without being so over-encumbering as to give up definition in the mids and highs. I put everything I ever learned about acousitc instruments into that guitar from scalloped bracing to a more vintage-looking finish. In 20 years they are going to be some of the best-looking guitars out there. I put my target logo on the headstock rather than my signature, which I realize is a bit out of the ordinary. I wanted to instrument to be defined by the player, and I think that’s more difficult to do when a guitar has someone else’s name on the headstock.

There aren’t too many guitars coming out with Adirondack spruce tops these days. Do you prefer it to Sitka spruce?

I think that tends to get overworked in arguments about acoustic guitar woods. I’ve heard great-sounding instruments made from both, so it’s hard for me to say. I’m not a snob about either one.

Do you have any thoughts on miking acoustics?

Harper: There are a hundred different ways to record an acoustic, but there’s usually only one right way for a particular song and moment. It’s about paying close attention to your sonic environment, and what’s going to bring out the best in that song.

Do you play any of your Weissenborns on this CD?

I only played acoustic lap-slide in one spot on the record, for the solo on “Faithfully Remain.” It’s a Lyon & Healy Bell Hawaiian harp guitar. It doesn’t actually have harp guitar strings, but they call it a harp guitar because it basically has the chamber of a harp. It sounds so rich and full – like a Dobro and a Weissenborn combined. When you play Dobro of Weissenborn after playing the Lyon & Healy, it’s laughable.

You’ve come a long way from your origins as a strictly acoustic player. Describe the progression.

Harper: I started out playing bottleneck, and quickly shifted to acoustic lap-steel because I was personally able to get more out of it as a player and songwriter. My early slide influences included Robert Johnson, Son House, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Black Ace and Sol H’opi’i. Taj Mahal gave me my first paying gig, and it was the honor of a lifetime. I was just starting to dig deeper than the acoustic lap-steel tradition allowed, by experimenting with different ways to reproduce the sound live. As much as I was dedicated to playing acoustic slide blues, I was also a huge fan of electric guitar players such as Jimi Hendrix, Duane Allman, and Lowell George, so I had always been looking to amp it up. I think songs on my first record, such as “Whipping Boy” and “Like a King,” represent how I was pushing the envelope on acoustic lap-steel. It quickly demanded that I get a solidbody instrument, especially for use at high stage volumes, just to keep my acoustic instruments from turning to dust.

Did you go through a vintage electric lap-slide phase?

Harper: I went through the vintage lap-steel thing fast and furious. I tried very single one – Nationals, Supros, Fenders, Gibsons – but none would do because they were all built with only one pickup. I essentially needed roundneck options on a lap-steel, which didn’t exist. Billy Asher understood where I was reaching, so we collaborated on my signature model. He honeycombed the body, and laminated the top. The Series II included a pair of Seymour Duncan ’59 humbuckers, and that’s the instrument I use the most right now.

What’s your favorite instrument, Jason?

Mozersky: It’s a ’65 Gibson Firebird III, which was a transition model. It has a reverse body shape, and a non-reverse headstock with banjo tuners. I play it a lot live, and I used it on “Up to You Now.” For that particular track, I ran it through an MXR Micro Amp, and an Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man delay, which is my favorite pedal in the world. I split my signal into Ben’s late-‘50s Fender Twin and a Princeton Reverb.

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