Ben Harper meeting

Kona · Post by **Kona** » 1 Jun 2000 1:25 am

Hi everyone, just wanted to share this experience.
Exactly a week after I bought my first lap steel - I walked into Gaslight Music (local Melbourne Music Store) and noticed a big sign hanging on the wall - BEN HARPER - IN STORE APPEARANCE 28TH MAY! First thing I thought was man..I gotta get my lap steel signed!

So I took half a day off work, braved 2 hours of cold Melbourne weather (news report that night said it had been the Melbourne's coldest weekend since 1951!)waiting in line and got a $60 parking ticket - but I got it signed!

As I was waiting in line, I took a peek to look at him and noticed he didn't look too happy. He wasn't smiling. I said this to the guys behind me and one of them said that they've never seen Ben smile! I started to think - uh oh - what if he refuses to sign the lap steel - coz maybe it's like disrespectful to deface such a beautiful instrument!

I got to the end of the line and pulled out my lap steel from my gig bag. He finally cracked a smile and commented "This is so cool". My lap steel is similar to the Weisennborn. He took a good look at it and admired it (Ben Harper dug my lap steel!!) and strummed it a bit. I asked him if he was going to visit the Maton Factory while he was in town. He said yes, he was going to go there as soon as possible. He began to tell me about the new lap steels they were making for him and their pickup configurations. He also told me which songs he had used the Maton for in the new album Burn to Shine.

In the end, he signed the lap steel, a CD and the cover notes of the album. Meeting Ben was a great! He seemed like a really cool guy (I noticed he made it a point to thank each fan individually for coming) and seemed to have a true passion for the instruments. Anyway..that's my brush with fame. I've got tickets to his show and I'm looking forward to it. Maybe I'll post a review.

Andy Alford · Post by **Andy Alford** » 1 Jun 2000 2:45 am

Thanks for your inspiring story.

klinke · Post by **klinke** » 1 Jun 2000 2:47 am

Man, am I envious...
The man is my biggest influence, his music is just so friggin good, man...
Id be very happy if youd post a review on the concert, he never plays in denmark..
If you meet him again, say hello from a fan in denmark

.

Peace
Dave

Jac Rosenberg · Post by **Jac Rosenberg** » 2 Jun 2000 6:56 am

wow kona, great story. ben has played here in vegas a couple of time. i saw him once. i was 10 feet from the stage, and standing just to the right of him. it was like a private lesson. he di 2 encours, the last being a 20 minute version of "voodoo chile(slight return)" AWSOME. have fun at the show, and please post a review. let us know if he does marvin gaye's "sexual healing". he turns that one upside down also.
jacman

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Joel Bloom · Post by **Joel Bloom** » 6 Jun 2000 3:08 am

G'day Kona,
Sounds like a great meeting you had with Ben Harper. I really enjoy his first album. see ya , joel.