Ben Harper Makes the Perfect Trucker Jacket
Is there anything the singer-songwriter-skater can’t do?
I experienced my first contact high at a Ben Harper concert. This was a long time ago. And now that I think about it, maybe the euphoria I was feeling wasn't from the smoke wafting through the audience at all. Perhaps it was merely because Harper's a damn fine musician and just sharing the same room—that being a small St. Louis theater—elicited the kind of pleasure that's hard to find outside of a live music performance.
Harper has been making music for a quarter century and in that time he's released hits like “Steal My Kisses” and “Diamonds On The Inside,” and taken home Grammys for categories ranging from pop and soul to blues. It's clear that this guy isn't interested in picking a lane and staying in his comfort zone. He experiments. He dabbles. He speaks out against injustice. And he proves that taking risks pays off.
Take his next album, Winter is for Lovers, dropping next week. It's his first entirely instrumental project. Just him and his trusty lap steel guitar. Harper says all 15 songs are “original compositions imagined as a symphony. And it's purposefully produced to sound intimate and spare, as if I am playing in your living room.” At a time when concerts are on hold for the foreseeable future, the album seems perfectly timed.
It's a stripped-down sound—especially when compared to the majority of music today. But that's Harper. He's never been interested in what others are doing. I've always respected that about him. Harper has no problem being the oldest dude at the skate park. And it's definitely made his personal style stand out over the years. He's found what works for him, embracing classic sneakers, simple pocket tees and a variety of hats.
One of his style signatures is a good trucker jacket. Which is why he jumped at the chance to make the perfect one with Flint and Tinder for a limited-edition capsule collection. They took the brand's best-selling trucker silhouette and made a few design tweaks, cutting it from an amber corduroy fabric that's light enough to be worn inside but tough enough to withstand the damp chill of fall breezes.
I got an early preview of the jacket and love how it fits right off the hanger. It looks a bit like a relaxed leather jacket. And the fabric is made to only get softer as you wear it, allowing the shape to mold to your body as it develops a custom patina. Made in the U.S., it's built to withstand daily wear. Which is good, considering a jacket like this will always be in style. Just ask Harper—he's been wearing a version of this for decades.
Cord trucker,
$188 by Huckberry x Ben Harper
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