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

pop punk Pop punk (or punk pop) is a rock music genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop. It is defined for its emphasis on classic pop songcraft, as well as adolescent and anti-suburbia themes, and is distinguished from other pu ...

band

Yellowcard Yellowcard is an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1997 and was based in Los Angeles beginning in 2000. The band is recognized for having a distinct sound in their genre, primarily due to the prominent use o ...

, 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 four full-length albums, '' The Possibility and the Promise'' in 2005, ''Truth in Sincerity'' in 2007, ''Virtues'' in 2010 and ''The ...

and

HeyMike! HeyMike! is an American punk band out of Ventura County, California, United States. The band's name was originally used by singer/guitarist Steven Neufeld as the title of his early demo tapes from 1998-2001. HeyMike! resurfaced when Neufeld, ba ...

& This Legend. Benjamin Harper is Founder & 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 City H ...

. Alongside these projects, Ben is the Owner & 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, Ben Dobson, Todd Clary, Warren Cooke, and Sean Mackin after meeting at

Douglas Anderson School of the Arts Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, commonly known as DA or DASOTA, is a magnet high school in the San Marco neighborhood of Jacksonville, Florida, United States. The school opened in 1922 as a primary school specifically for African American stu ...

. The band released its first album, '' Midget Tossing'', recorded in Jacksonville Beach in 1997. Its second album, ''

Where We Stand ''Where We Stand'' is the second studio album by American rock band Yellowcard. It was released in 1999 (and re-released in 2004 and 2005). It was released by Takeover Records, a label created by one of the band's guitarists, Ben Harper. Th ...

,'' was released in 1999. After Dobson left the band, Harper asked friend

Ryan Key William Ryan Key (born December 17, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He is best known as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the pop punk band Yellowcard. He is the owner/operator of a recording studio in Jacksonvil ...

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 Camarillo ( ) is a city in Ventura County in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 70,741, an increase of 5,540 from the 65,201 counted in the 2010 Census. Camarillo is named for brothers Juan an ...

, after being signed to

Lobster Records Lobster Records is an independent record label based in Santa Barbara, California. It was founded by Stevan Lubarsky in 1991 in music, 1991. The label started with Bad Neighbor, a Montecito, California, Montecito-based rock band, with a huge local ...

. They then begin working on their next album. The group released their third album, ''

One for the Kids ''One for the Kids'' is the third studio album by American rock band Yellowcard. It was released on April 3, 2001 on Lobster Records and is the first Yellowcard album to include Ryan Key as lead singer and guitarist. It was produced, engineered a ...

'' 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, eleven singles, two live albums, two extended plays, one video album, and two compilation albums. Yellowcard with their original ...

'' in 2002. After the release of The Underdog EP, Warren Cooke left the band due to 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 pop punk band Yell ...

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 Suburba ...

, 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) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

, who were looking to sign

bands at the time. Yellowcard then began the recording of their major-label debut album ''

Ocean Avenue Ocean Avenue may refer to: Roads in the United States * Ocean Avenue (San Francisco), California, see Ocean Avenue/CCSF Pedestrian Bridge station * Ocean Avenue (Santa Monica), California * Ocean Avenue (Palm Beach), Florida; see * 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 "Way Away" is the debut single by American band Yellowcard. It is the opening track of their fourth album '' Ocean Avenue''. "Way Away" was released to radio on July 22, 2003. The song and music video both reflect the band's choice about leaving t ...

, and

Only One Only may refer to: Music Albums * ''Only'' (album), by Tommy Emmanuel, 2000 * ''The Only'', an EP by Dua Lipa, 2017 Songs * "Only" (Anthrax song), 1993 * "Only" (Nine Inch Nails song), 2005 * "Only" (Nicki Minaj song), 2014 * "The Only", by S ...

. 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 ''Truth in Sincerity'' is the second full-length album by the pop punk band Amber Pacific and was one of the most anticipated pop punk albums of 2007. It was released on May 22, 2007. The first singles from the album were "Fall Back Into My Life" ...

'' 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 inspire ...

. 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 Longineu W. Parsons III, 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 diverting interests.

Discography

;With

*'' Midget Tossing'' (1997) *''

'' (1999) *''

'' (2001) *''

'' (2003) *''

'' (2006) ;With

*''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 Lead guitarists Living people Musicians from Jacksonville, Florida Guitarists from Florida 21st-century American guitarists 21st-century American male musicians