It’s day 19, or maybe 742 — it’s difficult to be sure — of our COVID-19-induced isolation. Fortunately, today my morning holds the perfect punctuation point: A chance to catch up with Key West storyteller, musician and playwright Ben Harrison.
Harrison has been a fixture of Key West since the late 1970s when he arrived with his wife, artist and gallery owner Helen Harrison. The creative couple cozied into island life, bringing their own brand of lovable quirk to the already endearingly oddball community.
Eventually, Ben’s name became synonymous with the idea of barefoot success. A troubadour who rarely rests, Harrison has written and produced a play, published five books and recorded five albums of original songs. His most recent, “Side Effects,” is arriving at the perfect moment, the comfortable charm of a familiar voice telling everyone it’s going to be OK. With its strong musicality, wink-wink humor and disarming honesty, that’s exactly what the album delivers.
Since the stay-at-home directive prevents me from sitting with Harrison under the tropical foliage for our interview, I settle for a phone conversation. He answers with trademark charm, and within seconds we’re laughing as he gives me the number of his “fish guy” on Stock Island, a local who’s still supplying a steady stream of fresh seafood.
I realize before we’ve even started any semblance of a formal conversation, this is the precise appeal of Harrison’s work. You don’t have to be on the phone with him, or even know him personally, to feel this connection. There’s a generosity that comes across in his music and books. “Side Effects” is no exception.
For starters, the album is streaming free-of-charge on online music services Spotify, Pandora and Amazon Music. No need to plunk down any money or find a place to play a CD. It’s just there, waiting to be heard. Beyond the lack of any financial obstacles though, the songs share a generous breadth of emotions, tales and musical styles.
The idea for “Side Effects” came when Harrison was watching the news. The pharmaceutical commercials playing during the breaks warned of all kinds of reactions, but Harrison thought the news itself probably carried the most severe side effects. Harrison, with fellow music man Larry Baeder, decided to pen lyrics that were “fun and funny and wouldn’t really piss off either side.” Humor, with a little spike, is par for the course for the man who wrote a full-scale musical based on the true story of a man who kept his departed wife around the house for years after her death because of their “Undying Love.”
For Harrison, humor is an absolutely essential ingredient, but it’s not everything. The project began as a riff on the current political culture, but evolved into a reflective tribute to some of Harrison’s greatest influences, particularly Spade Cooley and Bob Wills, the “Kings of Western Swing.” After World War II, the country was in the mood to dance and band leaders like Cooley and Wills happily provided the soundtrack.
“As a songwriter, it can be difficult to pay tribute to other musicians because the work has already been done. But, while people may not recognize the titles, they recognize the sounds. So, Larry and I recorded the song ‘Shame and Roses’ as a tribute.” The song title refers to the title of a Cooley song merged with the title of a Wills song.
Anyone who’s listened to Harrison’s work expects creativity. They expect compositional skill. What they may not expect is vulnerability. It’s there, though, in the making of the music and in the refreshing honesty of the final product.
And it’s there in our conversation. Harrison walks through the process of recording “Side Effects” in New York and Nashville. In Nashville, he recorded with session players from the Grand Ole Opry — musicians who regularly play with industry giants like Reba McEntire, Dolly Parton and Lady Gaga. They’ve spent years honing their skills and can jump into any situation almost instantly.
“They give it their all,” said Harrison. “They’re just … good.”
When he stepped into that space, he said he felt as if he’d wandered into the room “emotionally stark naked.”
“For session players, it’s home, but for me, I went from the couch to the recording studio. I had plenty of time to refine the songs before recording — you have to be very deliberate with timing and tempo — but once you get in the studio, all of a sudden this music is exploding around you — pedal steel, bass. You’re listening and trying to make sure it’s capturing what you want.”
After all the hard work, “Side Effects” is now out in the world and despite everything going on, Harrison is pleased with the timing. “Your biggest fear when you start promoting a project is that no one will pay attention to it. But I think it’s a good time — people are ready to hear something different.
“They’re tired of the shows they’re watching. And this album is more introspective. The songs are pleasant to listen to…
It’s kind to your ears.”
