Dhani Harrison in new group with Ben Harper!

Dhani is teaming up with Ben and another musician, Joseph Arthur to form a band called Fistful of Mercy. They will be performing live for the first time August 26 in Seattle. Too bad I'm clear across the country. Anyway, here's a short article and the video for their first song!

http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/immacula...stful-of-mercy

Fantasic!!! Wow... this is amazing news.... great debut song and video. Wow...

Just.... wow!!!

*off to listen again*


Thanks for posting!!!!

from facebook~

"Listen to Fistful of Mercy Live tomorrow 11:15am on KCRW. 89.9 in Los Angeles, www.kcrw.com for the rest of you."


http://www.kcrw.com/

11:15am... be there or be square!

There have been some rumours in the Dhani fora about a new project but this is really far from what I hoped for.

When you listen to "Fistful Of Mercy" - the song, the first thing which you can notice if the acoustic sound of guitars and violin and awesome 3-person harmonies.

This song is amongst the most wonderful new musical experiences I have listened to the past few years.

I also beleieve to see Dhani so good in shape with this kind of music.

How did these 3 come together? We will dig deeper in to this.

Some surprise?

Dhani seems so 'at home' in this project.

I so much look forward to hearing more about this.

Ben Harper is new to me, however when you go to his website and listen to some audio it is quite in the same area as this project in terms of musical style.

http://www.benharper.com/

He does some John Lennon like guitar play ( For You Blue) on the Fistful Of Mercy song, and when you take his song "Thank Me In The Morning" it is close to Fistful Of Mercy in terms of sound.

On the website you can listen to his previous albums and I have played "Lifeline" of which I believe those who like the music of Bob Dylan, Tom Petty will love this. When you listen to "Younger Than Today" you will expect Jim K on drums and Jeff L as producer. "Paris Sunrise" sounds really terriffic with a great slide guitar.

He can also play quite hard rock which you can hear a.o. on "Keep It Together" on the Live album "
Live from the Montreal International Jazz Festival"


Joseph Arthur -

You will be surprised by his music.

Here is his website

http://www.josepharthur.com/

Go to "Downloads" and hear songs like "Too Much To Hide" or the songs from "Could We Survive" which have a high Ukelele potential.

So, first reaction from my side is...excellent !!!!!

I agree, FPSHOT! Excellent, indeed!

They are on now!
http://www.kcrw.com/

Amazing stuff!!! They're playing live and having a great time!

They just began "side two" of the vinyl....

This is just beyond words excellent....

You can watch the show here

http://www.kcrw.com/music/programs/m...stful_of_mercy

http://blogs.kcrw.com/musicnews/2010...on-ben-harper/

(The above linked page has various pictures from the performance)

Joseph Arthur, Dhani Harrison and Ben Harper chose KCRW’s signature music show Morning Becomes Eclectic to debut their new project – Fistful of Mercy. The band performed an intimate, secret show for a small group of friends and family at the Village Studios earlier this week for broadcast on Morning Becomes Eclectic today. You can stream itlive at 11:15am or check it out now on demand here: http://tinyurl.com/KCRWFistfulofMercy



Jason Bentley interviewed the trio between sets, delving into the formation of Fistful of Mercy, named after one of their own songs, and discovered it was conceived in the studio in just three days. The band joked about Arthur keeping them working until 5am but they all agreed the quick turnaround only enhanced their creativity and determination and allowed no time for egos to get in the way. According to Arthur, they never planned on the three-part harmonies, it just happened organically and “they all picked a note.”


The project is a true collaboration between three extremely talented musicians –and friends – which was highly evident in their live performance, as they joked around on stage in front of an audience that included Tom Morello, Michael Ostin, Rosanna Arquette, Lauren Graham, Paul Krauss, Sal Masakela and more.


After their marathon recording session, Harrison called legendary session drummer Jim Keltner into the studio to add his touch to the recording. The album – “As I Call You Down” –which will be out October 5 on the label founded by his dad, Hot Records.

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/17386/195306

In February, when Ben Harper, Joseph Arthur and Dhani Harrison arrived at the Carriage House studio in Los Angeles’ Silverlake neighborhood, they had three days booked and zero songs to record. “I thought I was going there to add some guitars or harmonies on Joseph’s album,” says Harrison, who was invited to the session by Harper, whom he befriended at a skate park in Santa Monica. “When I got to the studio, I saw Joe and asked, ‘What songs are we going to do?’ He said we hadn’t written them yet.” After three long days, the trio had recorded the nine acoustic tracks that make up As I Call You Down — and called themselves Fistful of Mercy, after the track of the same name. “I never thought we’d pull off an entire album, [I thought] maybe we’d get an EP,” says Harper, who credits Arthur as the catalyst who pushed for three songs a day. “The three of us were able to create something we never could have done on our own.”


With three acoustic guitars and three microphones, the team worked out musical arrangements, and then retreated to different corners of the studio to write. “We were each others’ lyric police,” says Arthur. ( “It was very ‘Wilbury’ style,” says Harrison, whose late father George was a member of the Travelin’ Wilburys.) Many times, Harrison threw out lyrical themes for inspiration. “Things Go ‘Round” is a throwback to John Lennon’s “Instant Karma,” imagining a world where people are immediately accountable for their actions. When Harrison called for a blues number, the trio quickly drafted “My Father’s Son.” Says Arthur: “It’s really about the three of our voices, and the harmonies. We’re basically singing together the whole time.”


With nine acoustic and vocal tracks completed, Harrison was determined to ratchet the music up to another level. He instinctively called the legendary session drummer Jim Keltner, an old family friend. “I’d never done anything that I thought was worthy of calling Jim,” says Harrison. “We had an emotional conversation on the phone, and he heard some of the stuff we’d done, and he said he’d do it.” Keltner overdubbed percussion, Arthur added bass, and Harper (who calls Keltner the “Dalai Lama of the drums”) added some slide guitar. “These guys are so talented,” says Harrison of his bandmates, who will all hit the road together in October. “I can’t believe I get to call them my musical brothers.”

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/musi...ercy-kcrw.html

Fistful of Mercy is a new band with an intriguing pedigree, embodied by a trio of distinctive singer-songwriters: Ben Harper, Joseph Arthur and Dhani Harrison. From the first moments of the band's debut performance Tuesday night at The Village studios in West Los Angeles, the sound could be unruly or tranquil, unveiling a modern, quirkier take on the Crosby, Stills and Nash model, colliding folk, blues, eccentric pop and gorgeous three-part vocal harmonies.


The eight-song performance for about 100 invited guests was hosted by KCRW, which is broadcasting the concert at 11:15 a.m. Thursday on “Morning Becomes Eclectic,” previewing material from the trio's new album, “As I Call You Down,” set for an Oct. 5 release on Harrison's Hot Records West label. The songs were agonized and joyous, impulsive and restrained, exploring themes that Harrison listed as “love, God . . . music, peace.”
During much of the set, the trio sat with acoustic guitars, strumming jangly steel strings, with elegant slices of violin from Jessy Greene, who also appears on the album. Harrison moved to piano for the album's title song, as he, Harper and Arthur sang in warm harmony: “When I fall inside a hole I can't crawl out of / better give up my control as I call you down.”



The group then dove into some tough, agonized blues with “Father's Son,” a song inspired by Robert Petway's ancient “Catfish Blues,” harmonizing as Harper sliced away on an acoustic Weissenborn lap-slide guitar.


For the moment, Fistful of Mercy has yet to announce any tour plans, and remains a compelling side trip for the three artists: Harper already has another album completed with his band Relentless7, and Harrison's group thenewno2 just performed at this summer's Lollapalooza fest. Arthur is a post-modern folk-rocker who has known Harper for years, and they often spoke of collaborating one day; and Harper met Harrison only recently by chance at a local skate park. The new band wrote and recorded its debut suddenly over three long days.


They were joined in the studio by the acclaimed rock drummer Jim Keltner, who has performed with a long list of classic rock artists, including Harrison's father, the late Beatle George Harrison. “I haven't seen him since my old man was around,” the younger Harrison said between songs, “so it was heavy sessions.”


During the final minutes of Tuesday's show, there was a Beatles-like pop swirl on “Things Go 'Round” and a raw, cascading pattern to the instrumental “30 Bones.” Harper ripped and slashed on electric lap-slide for “Restore Me,” unfurling a tense, shimmering sound of melody and feedback, blending into the cooing of their voices: “You want it all, but you got to forgive. . . .”


The night closed with the urgent jangle of “With Whom You Belong,” and sounded the most like classic Crosby, Stills and Nash as they harmonized on words that could easily describe the roots of this new trio: “You find your way, to write your song / and come what may, I hope you find friends with whom you belong.”

Set list:

“In Vain or True”
“As I Call You Down”
“Father's Son”
“Fistful of Mercy”
“30 Bones”
“Restore Me”
“Things Go 'Round”
“With Whom You Belong”

Originally Posted by FPSHOT

You can watch the show here

http://www.kcrw.com/music/programs/m...stful_of_mercy

Dhani at 4.30 "My girlfriend's here"

Originally Posted by FPSHOT

[ When Harrison called for a blues number, the trio quickly drafted “My Father’s Son.”

This was one big question I had while listening to the broadcast.... did they write this one? Is this an old blues masterpiece I have never, ever heard?

Just fabulous....


"Things Go 'Round" has a Pretty Things type of feeling to it.

I took heaps of notes while listening, but since it's archived, everyone can just have a listen instead. This is super exciting!

They are hitting the road in October? Excellent!

It's not only a listening, it's a video which you can watch.

Originally Posted by FPSHOT



Dhani at 4.30 "My girlfriend's here"

Oh, drats! ;)

Originally Posted by FPSHOT

It's not only a listening, it's a video which you can watch.

Thanks, Rob, yeah, you're right. Sadly, my computer was messing up so it would only do audio.

Here are the guys playing that Seattle debut! They sound great!

Well, that's very cool. Dhani Harrison seems like such an outstanding young man.

Still sad that Paul didn't get into Them Crooked Vultures, but I hope there is some cool kind of supergroup in his future too.

Wow still havent heard the songs yet but am very interested.. the seattle show looks so small and intimate too!

Have loved Ben Harper's music for many years and finally got to see him last november opening for Pearl Jam, and he was great..Ben Harper also worked with "Uncle Ringo" as of late, so maybe there is more to this skatepark in santa monica than meets the eye..does one just go to a skate park and bump into Ben harper on his skateboard?!

As for Dave Grohl and Co suposedly turning down Paul's offer to join TCV, i suspect he may be exageting a little..Paul probably just offered to jam with them or be a guest..Grohl loves to exagerate and is a huge Beatles fan and has even played with Paul..doubt he would turn him down for real!!

what self respecting beatle fan would not be excited about being in a band with a beatle?! i think Grohl protests too much! lol