ROCK star cameos can still put Sydney to silence. Even after playing hostess to everyone whos anyone, when marquee acts collide, we are impressed.
So when Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder sauntered on to the stage of a North Sydney theatre to join his mate Ben Harper (pictured above with Vedder), a frisson of excitement rippled through the room. Vedder was on a surfing holiday and Harper had just played the 2001 East Coast Blues And Roots festival. They performed Indifference and the crowd went nuts. Harper says his friendship with Pearl Jam is a long one.
Watch your webisode with Pearl Jam, Ben Harper and more.
"I have known the Pearl Jam guys since I first met Jeff [Ament] when he was coming to my shows in 1994; so I’ve known these guys for a long, long time," Harper says.
But they have shared more than a few drinks backstage. They have rallied for the same causes and surfed the same waves.
So no one could be surprised that Harper’s new band Relentless7 would be invited to join Pearl Jam — and Liam Finn — on their Australian stadium tour.
At the very least, you know touring with friends is going to get you a decent rider, lights and sound. Then it’s up to you to try to blow the headline act out of the park.
Harper lets a huge laugh rip when asked if it gets competitive out there.
"Listen man, it’s not sports and I refuse to approach it as such," he says.
"Liam and Eliza Jane [Barnes], myself and Pearl Jam, we all want to go out there and set fire to some s..., we do. But no one on Earth, not one band — except maybe Zeppelin — can come on after Pearl Jam, end of story. It’s not about competitiveness. They are Pearl Jam and they are an absolute force of nature. Hail, hail, hail Pearl Jam."
Harper, who has surfed his fair share of Australian and Californian waves, won’t even take Vedder on in the ocean.
"My dear, you don’t seem to understand what I am getting at. I don’t have a chance. I will wax his board, I will get out there and set it up for him. I love to surf but Eddie, he was born to do it, man."
So is there anything Harper can do better than Vedder? He isn’t saying so but a legion of Australian fans would back the Relentless7 frontman if the pair were to guitar duel. And, as evidenced by current photos, Harper is getting some serious air on stage during his gigs.
“Yes, I am. I am able to utilise my skateboard skills on stage," Harper says.
“Matter of fact, after the Austin City Limits festival, Perry Farrell [Jane’s Addiction] came up and asked, ‘How do you get that much air? Do you jump off the drum riser?’. Nah, that’s cheating. I’ve got hops and the music, it’s the thing that is gettting me lifted."
When he’s not leaping like he’s Michael Jordan, Harper is sitting down with the lap steel. He cracks up when asked why the quality of chairs he has on stage with Relentless7 are of the school-hall fold-up variety rather than something more suitable for a rock’n’roller.
"You are killing me! Yeah, you’re right, in the past I have brought out actually fancy chairs on tour and they got smashed. And then I used to have a blanket over them so you couldn’t see ... damn it, you are calling me out on the chairs. I can see it now: ‘He’s got some nice guitars but he’s a tightwad when it comes to his chairs’."
In the end, neither the chairs nor the competition matter because Relentless7 are already on top of their game.
"I am turning 40 this year and taking it on the chin. Pearl Jam have the best fans in the world so I am stoked they picked us to come to Australia. And right now, it is on with Relentless7, it is on fire," Harper says.
So when Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder sauntered on to the stage of a North Sydney theatre to join his mate Ben Harper (pictured above with Vedder), a frisson of excitement rippled through the room. Vedder was on a surfing holiday and Harper had just played the 2001 East Coast Blues And Roots festival. They performed Indifference and the crowd went nuts. Harper says his friendship with Pearl Jam is a long one.
Watch your webisode with Pearl Jam, Ben Harper and more.
"I have known the Pearl Jam guys since I first met Jeff [Ament] when he was coming to my shows in 1994; so I’ve known these guys for a long, long time," Harper says.
But they have shared more than a few drinks backstage. They have rallied for the same causes and surfed the same waves.
So no one could be surprised that Harper’s new band Relentless7 would be invited to join Pearl Jam — and Liam Finn — on their Australian stadium tour.
At the very least, you know touring with friends is going to get you a decent rider, lights and sound. Then it’s up to you to try to blow the headline act out of the park.
Harper lets a huge laugh rip when asked if it gets competitive out there.
"Listen man, it’s not sports and I refuse to approach it as such," he says.
"Liam and Eliza Jane [Barnes], myself and Pearl Jam, we all want to go out there and set fire to some s..., we do. But no one on Earth, not one band — except maybe Zeppelin — can come on after Pearl Jam, end of story. It’s not about competitiveness. They are Pearl Jam and they are an absolute force of nature. Hail, hail, hail Pearl Jam."
Harper, who has surfed his fair share of Australian and Californian waves, won’t even take Vedder on in the ocean.
"My dear, you don’t seem to understand what I am getting at. I don’t have a chance. I will wax his board, I will get out there and set it up for him. I love to surf but Eddie, he was born to do it, man."
So is there anything Harper can do better than Vedder? He isn’t saying so but a legion of Australian fans would back the Relentless7 frontman if the pair were to guitar duel. And, as evidenced by current photos, Harper is getting some serious air on stage during his gigs.
“Yes, I am. I am able to utilise my skateboard skills on stage," Harper says.
“Matter of fact, after the Austin City Limits festival, Perry Farrell [Jane’s Addiction] came up and asked, ‘How do you get that much air? Do you jump off the drum riser?’. Nah, that’s cheating. I’ve got hops and the music, it’s the thing that is gettting me lifted."
When he’s not leaping like he’s Michael Jordan, Harper is sitting down with the lap steel. He cracks up when asked why the quality of chairs he has on stage with Relentless7 are of the school-hall fold-up variety rather than something more suitable for a rock’n’roller.
"You are killing me! Yeah, you’re right, in the past I have brought out actually fancy chairs on tour and they got smashed. And then I used to have a blanket over them so you couldn’t see ... damn it, you are calling me out on the chairs. I can see it now: ‘He’s got some nice guitars but he’s a tightwad when it comes to his chairs’."
In the end, neither the chairs nor the competition matter because Relentless7 are already on top of their game.
"I am turning 40 this year and taking it on the chin. Pearl Jam have the best fans in the world so I am stoked they picked us to come to Australia. And right now, it is on with Relentless7, it is on fire," Harper says.
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