Ben Harper Quotes

Musically, I try not to box things in. I try to just play around this spectrum of influences: soul, jazz, and hip-hop.

I've always had a close connection to both rock and classical music.

My songwriting and my style became more complex as I listened, learned, borrowed and stole and put my music together.

I've done the country, done the pop-rock, done the super-hard electro.

I can play punk rock, and I love playing punk rock, but I was into every other style of music before I played punk rock.

Taxi drivers used to ask me what kind of music I did, and I'd say, 'Well, it's kind of jazz, soul, classical' - but that makes no sense to anyone.

I try to get underneath the skin of all kinds of music, and I never know what's going to inspire me and what makes me crazy.

Musically, my palette is eclectic.

I want to explore all genres.

I listen to all kinds of music and sometimes I try to do something that's referential to an era or a genre, but it still sounds like me.

Just based on the primary adage of the necessity breeding innovation, it was just like 'Well, what makes me the guitar player that I am?' and I feel like I listen to so much different music, and I'm a student of so many genres of music, and I feel like it's fun to apply those things and anything super applicable to any type of music.

That's kinda what happened to me: I listened to jazz, country, R&B, rock 'n' roll. And when I sat down to write a song, I had all these influences comin' through.

I came up playing in both punk rock bands and hip-hop bands, and I found a more universal way of reaching people, especially with music that has a message to it.

I can't just turn over and sing disco or rock.

Had I joined a straight rock band, I'm sure my drumming would be a little bit different right now.

It's the coolest part about writing music. I don't know how other people work, but so much is derived from some amalgamation of all these different songs that I love. That's why they jump all over the place.

I love jazz and pop rock and country. I grew up listening to Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Def Leppard, AC/DC, Anne Murray - if I hear something really great... I want to be a part of it.

When I got out of the Nazz, I had it in my mind that simply to be eclectic was an important aspect of making music. It was something that I derived from The Beatles.

I like everything from hard-style techno to rock n' roll.

I equally love both, classic rock and hip-hop. I love all music, really, and I really use classic rock a lot. I'm heavily influenced by that melodically in my music. I can't really separate the two.

I can make any type of music, so I wouldn't want to describe myself as having one type of sound. I think music is about keeping it diverse.

Some people think I'm a rock 'n' roll musician and some think I'm a jazz musician but, for me, there is no difference.

I love... different kinds of music. I like classical music and pop music. I like alternative, and I like rap, hip-hop, and I kind of collected all these things that I love, and they infused my sensibilities, and I just wanted to sing because it felt like it needed to come out of me.

When I was younger I didn't really know what genre of music I'd want to do because I'd always done so many different types, so many impressions.

Music is a huge part of my life, I enjoy every genre of music from jazz to country, and I even get down with a bit of hip hop.