Benjamin Eric Harper (born November 14, 1980) is an American rock musician. He is best known for being the founder & former lead guitarist for the American rock band

Yellowcard Yellowcard is an American rock band who formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1997. Their official lineup currently consists of lead singer Ryan Key, lead guitarist Ryan Mendez, bassist Josh Portman and violinist Sean Mackin. Primarily a pop- ...

, as well as for the bands

Amber Pacific Amber Pacific is an American pop-punk band that formed in 2002 in Federal Way, Washington. The band has released five full-length albums, '' The Possibility and the Promise'' in 2005, '' Truth in Sincerity'' in 2007, ''Virtues'' in 2010, ''The ...

and HeyMike! and This Legend. Benjamin Harper is founder and CEO of

Takeover Records Takeover Records is a punk rock record label based in Long Beach, California, United States. The company was founded by former Yellowcard guitarist Ben Harper and his friend Greg McDonald in 1997. Artists Current *Bracket * HeyMike! * River Cit ...

. Alongside these projects, Harper is the owner and founder of Takeover Live, a broadcasting and media production company that specializes in live-streaming bands along with giving artists a platform to share their sound on.

Music career

Yellowcard (1997–2005)

Harper Founded Yellowcard in 1997 with

Longineu W. Parsons III Longineu Warren "LP" Parsons III is a French-born American rock musician. He is best known as the former drummer of the American rock band Yellowcard. Early life Parsons has been playing the drums since he was five; he played with his father, L ...

, Ben Dobson, Todd Clary, Warren Cooke, and Sean Mackin after meeting at

Douglas Anderson School of the Arts Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals * Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking * Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civi ...

. The band released its first album, '' Midget Tossing'', recorded in Jacksonville Beach in 1997. Its second album, '' Where We Stand,'' was released in 1999. After Dobson left the band, Harper asked friend

Ryan Key William Ryan Key (born December 17, 1979) is an American musician. He is best known as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the rock band Yellowcard. He is the owner/operator of a recording studio in Jacksonville, Florida, called The Lone ...

to be the band's new lead singer. The band then released the '' Still Standing EP'' in early 2000. Shortly after the release of their EP, Todd Clary left the band, Key then filled in as the rhythm guitarist. The members moved to Camarillo, CA, after being signed to Lobster Records. They then begin working on their next album. The group released their third album, '' One for the Kids'' in 2001 and followed up with ''

The Underdog EP The discography of Yellowcard, an American pop punk band from Jacksonville, Florida, consists of ten studio albums, twelve Single (music), singles, two live albums, four extended plays, one video album, and three compilation albums. Yellowcard ...

'' in 2002. After the release of The Underdog EP, Warren Cooke left the band for personal reasons. The band later asked close friend

Peter Mosely Peter Michael Mosely (born June 6, 1980) is an American rock musician. He is one of the two guitarists and vocalists and the pianist for the American punk rock band Inspection 12, as well as the former bassist for the American rock band Yellowca ...

from

Inspection 12 Inspection 12 is an American pop punk band from Jacksonville, Florida, founded by Robert Reid, Dan McLintock, John Comee and Scott Shad. They have released two full-length recordings internationally, one on Honest Don's Records and one on Suburb ...

, to become the band's new bass guitarist. After Yellowcard released The Underdog EP the band signed with

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

, who were looking to sign

pop punk Pop-punk (also punk-pop, alternatively spelled without the hyphen) is a rock music fusion genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop music, pop. It is defined by its fast-paced, energetic tempos, and emphasis on classic pop s ...

bands at the time. Yellowcard then began the recording of their major-label debut album '' Ocean Avenue'' in late 2002. Mosely left during recording of the album due to personal problems. The band then asked Alex Lewis to join as the bass guitarist. Yellowcard released their album ''Ocean Avenue'' on July 22, 2003 reached No. 23 on U.S. ''Billboard'' 200, the album was a commercial success in the United States with the hit singles Way Away, Ocean Avenue, and Only One. In early 2004, Lewis left the band after Mosely rejoined as the band's bassist. In 2005, Harper went with the other band members to Los Angeles while Key and Mosely moved to New York City to create new material for their next album. During the following months, tensions arose between the band members. In an interview with MTV News, he said that he was finished with writing the guitar tracks for the album and that he was leaving the band. He was replaced by Ryan Mendez from the band Staring Back.

Amber Pacific (2006)

After leaving Yellowcard, Harper joined Amber Pacific as their rhythm guitarist, replacing Justin Westcott. Harper left the band before recording their second studio album, '' Truth in Sincerity'' in October 2006.

HeyMike! (2008–present)

In 2008, Harper joined the band as the new lead guitarist alongside Steven Neufeld, Justin Cabrera, and T.J Arriaga. HeyMike! reconstructed its original trio in 2009 when Josh McDonald came back to continue his bass playing duties. Harper remained with the band and the quartet toured in the United States and Japan throughout 2009. In 2010, HeyMike! finished recording their third record and second full length album titled ''Pop and Circumstance'' which is Harper's first recorded appearance since Yellowcard's

Lights and Sounds ''Lights and Sounds'' is the fifth studio album by American Rock music, rock band Yellowcard, released on January 24, 2006, in the United States through Capitol Records. ''Lights and Sounds'' is Yellowcard's first concept album, which was inspir ...

. HeyMike! also toured in Europe and played a limited engagement of shows in the United States. "Pop and Circumstance'' was released on April 19, 2011.

This Legend (2014–present)

In June 2014, Harper formed a new band with former Yellowcard drummer and good friend

, Chris Castillo (lead vocals and rhythm guitar) and Steven Neufeld (bass guitar) called This Legend. The band played several shows across the U.S. The band has been on hiatus since that first tour because of the members diverging interests.

Discography

;With

*'' Midget Tossing'' (1997) *'' Where We Stand'' (1999) *'' One for the Kids'' (2001) *'' Ocean Avenue'' (2003) *''

'' (2006) ;With HeyMike! *''Pop and Circumstance'' (2011) ;With This Legend *''It's in the Streets'' (2014)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harper, Ben 1980 births American rock guitarists American male guitarists American lead guitarists Living people Musicians from Jacksonville, Florida Guitarists from Florida 21st-century American guitarists 21st-century American male musicians