Fistful of Mercy (that’s Ben Harper, Joseph Arthur and Dhani Harrison) throws its first punch
Kevin Bronson on
3
By Liam Gowing
What do you get when you combine a funk-folk journeyman and an indie rock singer-songwriter with the son of a rock music icon? A hell of a lot of secrecy, apparently. At least that was the case Tuesday night when KCRW music director Jason Bentley welcomed a star-studded audience to The Village Recording Studios for a hush-hush taping of today’s Morning Becomes Eclectic guest artist, Fistful of Mercy.
Fistful of what?
Yes, folks, it’s a brand-new “supergroup” consisting of Ben Harper, Joseph Arthur and Dhani Harrison, who, despite writing and recording an entire album of songs together, didn’t have so much as a MySpace page until yesterday. Yet they hit the stage to an audience that included RATM guitarist Tom Morello, and actors Daryl Hannah, Rosanna Arquette, Peter Krause, Lauren Graham and Adam Goldberg.
- ||| Listen: Fistful of Mercy appears on KCRW’s “Morning Becomes Eclectic” at 11:15 a.m. today.
“Super,” of course, is a relative term, and as the trio sat down, picked up their acoustic guitars and began playing – with Harrison and Arthur calling out introductory four-counts on top of one another – it began to feel like a misnomer.
“Since I fucked it up so badly should we do it over again?” asked Harper as the slightly wobbly first tune, a melancholy strummer titled “In Vain or True,” faded out.
“What happened?” countered Arthur in Steven Wright-style deadpan. “I think it ended well.”
“We’re really nervous,” Harrison explained after the laughter subsided. “This is our first gig,” he added later.
In hindsight, it may have been the best beginning possible. Released from the burdens of being perfect, the trio–augmented by violinist Jessy Green–loosened up and immediately began to have fun, cracking jokes at each other’s expense and dropping hilarious anecdotes between the songs, which got better and better as they soldiered on.
Thoughtful stuff full of soul and spirit, the eight-song set tended toward a comfortable, mid-tempo center. But with Harrison alternating between piano and guitar, Arthur switching between guitar and drums (pinch-hitting for legendary session player and elder Harrison sidekick Jim Keltner, who plays on the album due out on Oct. 5), and Harper playing characteristically searing lap-steel leads, the all-acoustic trio sounded surprisingly full. And the Crosby, Stills and Nash-style three-part harmonies they layered onto the songs were impressive, though the best tune may have been the soaring mid-set instrumental, “30 Bones.”
What was perhaps most impressive about the songs, however, were their lightning-in-a-bottle origins: Each was written in the studio, edited in the round using a method Harper jokingly called “the lyric police,” then recorded on the spot, in marathon sessions that dragged well into the wee hours.
“Three songs the first day, three songs the second day, two songs the third day,” said Harrison, glancing at Arthur, who booked the sessions and pushed his cohorts to complete their collaboration in the allotted time.
For Arthur, the sleep deprivation was the key. “Derangement,” he said, “is such a creative tool.”
Cheering and clapping away, the audience seemed to agree.
Photo by Noah Abrams
||| Watch: Fistful of Mercy performing “Restore Me” at the taping:
So Joseph Arthur likes to work continously through the night and not sleep….not surprising. That’s a classic trait of someone with narcissism…which he has 100%. I wonder how long Harrison and Harper will put up with him?
that’s funny because ben harper is one of the biggest narcissists i’ve ever known.. and i know him well. the humble me act is just that. i wonder how long those two egos are going to be able to work together- each one being utterly fakely modest and gracious. puke. so self indulgent, so typical.
haha…really? Harper too! wow, poor Harrison then. Well I personally know Arthur but I had no idea Harper was a narc too! Although narcissists often gravitate and befriend each other so it’s not surprising. Maybe they ‘get off’ on each other’s self-importance…lol.
Yes, the fakeness comes through unbelievably. It’s so obvious now. In their defense, they do produce good music at least but I doubt this band will last.
* Note to fans:…like these people from afar but don’t EVER get to know them on a personal level ….trust me on that!