Harper Simon
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| Harper Simon | ||
|---|---|---|
| Background information | ||
| Birth name | Harper James Simon | |
| Born | 7 September 1972 New York, USA |
|
| Genre(s) | Indie pop Indie rock |
|
| Occupation(s) | Singer-Songwriter, Music Producer, Actor | |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar, Bass, Piano, Drums | |
| Years active | 1980 - 2001, 2005- | |
| Label(s) | Concord Records | |
| Associated acts |
Menlo Park, Sean Lennon, Bijou Phillips, Paul Simon | |
Harper James Simon (aka Harper Simon, born September 7, 1972) is an American singer, songwriter, musician and actor. He is the son of musician Paul Simon. [1]
Contents |
[edit] Biography
Harper James Simon (b New York City) began his journey as a musician at an early age. In 1973 at the age of 9 he appeared on the children's program Sesame Street with his father. Together they sang "Ricardo The Cowboy". [2] By 12 years old he was on the Graceland tour, as the guitarist who accompanied his father. Many of Paul Simon's lyrics include references to Harper, most notably "St Judy's Comet" and "Graceland". [3]. Harper, travel companion of his former stepmother Carrie Fisher, also regularly appears in pieces written by Fisher for the New York Times. [4]
[edit] Music
In NYC Harper frequently played music with his childhood friend Sean Lennon, son of famed musician John Lennon. Harper plays guitar on Sean's second album, Friendly Fire [5] and also appears in the film by the same name with actors Lindsay Lohan, Bijou Phillips, Sean Lennon, and Devon Aoki. [6] After attending Berklee School For Music in Boston, Mass., Harper moved to London for several years where he played with the band Menlo Park. [7]
In 2006 Harper performed in Afghanistan with female tabla player Suphala [8]]. Also in 2006 Harper recorded an album with Edie Brickell, current wife of Paul Simon and the lead singer of the band Edie Brickell & New Bohemians. [9] Other collaborations in 2006 include projects with Bijou Phillips [10], Carl Perkins on "Go Cat Go" [11] and with actress Jena Malone. Together, Harper and Jena wrote "Dry Tested", a song on which he also plays guitar. [12]
In 2007 Rolling Stone Magazine writer Austin Scaggs found Harper's work noteworthy and wrote about the musician in the January 2007 print edition. The article discusses Harper's first solo project recorded in Nashville, Tenn. Harper co-produced his as-yet-untitled album with legendary producer Bob Johnston, known for producing albums for Bob Dylan, including "Highway 61 Revisited", and Johnny Cash, most notably his albums "At Folsom Prison" and "At San Quentin" [13]. The pianist Hargus “Pig” Robbins and the multi-instrumentalist Charlie McCoy of "Blonde on Blonde" add to the sound with other musicians like Mike Leach and Gene Christman, known for their work with Elvis Presley. [14]
Harper's musical contributions also cover film and include the Abel Ferrara films "New Rose Hotel" [15] and "The Blackout" [16]
[edit] Humanitarian Efforts
In 2005 Harper participated in Quantum Shift, a concert that aided humanitarian efforts for survivors of the South Asian Earthquake that occured on Oct. 8, 2005, claiming more than 73,000 lives and leaving over 3.5 million people homeless in Pakistan. [17] He accompanied Suphala, Edie Brickell, Sean Lennon, Yoko Ono and Paul Simon on stage in NYC. All proceeds from this event were delivered in person by Suphala. [18]
Also in 2005 Harper performed for a benefit for Alliance Art, an organization that is dedicated to drug policy reform. [19]
[edit] Acting
Harper acted as a small child in 1980 in the film "One Trick Pony" [20] written by Paul Simon. Later he appeared in the films "New Rose Hotel" directed by Abel Ferrara, "Bringing Out The Dead" directed by Martin Scorsese [21] and "Friendly Fire" directed by Michele Civetta. [22]
