Rock star shows opposing taste in cars

ForbesAutos: What do you miss from older vehicles that you would like to see reemerge?

Harper: I'd like to see a more elegant line. Well-designed exteriors crossed with an environmentally conscious fuel system for healthy transportation.

ForbesAutos: What would you like to see in a car that you have yet to see?

Harper: Well, the Toyota Highlander Hybrid is a cross between both worlds. I would like to see a very tasteful hybrid that doesn't look like it is the soccer-mom car. I'd like a sporty, three-row vehicle with storage in the back that doesn't look like it's for a soccer mom or like a flower delivery vehicle.

ForbesAutos: What was the first car you ever owned?

Harper: A 1950 push-button Dodge Dart. You push a button to start it. It was a big hit in high school.

ForbesAutos: Did it land you any ladies?

Harper: I would imagine it had the opposite effect with the ladies. You find a push-button Dodge that impresses. Mine had a permanent snowstorm falling from the roof. The roof was falling apart and it was probably asbestos.

ForbesAutos: Have current fuel prices changed your driving habits?

Harper: I drive way less. It has me on my bike and that is the silver lining — I get exercise. I also carpool and have gone hybrid.

ForbesAutos: What do you listen to on the road?

Harper: I've got John Prine in one car. He is one of the great songwriters of the last 100 years. In my other car I play lots of Zeppelin and Mos Def.

ForbesAutos: I know you aren't into labels, but what might you say your new album is about?

Harper: I am not a big message person. I don't like to define my own record. It sounds too self-ingratiating. I don't like to wax poetic into my own my process. It feels unnatural, you know? I hope people pull from the emotion that we put into it. We broke down some barriers working with each other, with me working with a band again after all this time.

ForbesAutos: How was going straight from touring back into the studio?

Harper: It was really intense. I have very high expectations for that process in terms of creativity and giving all of myself. I thought going right into the recording studio would be the best way to record an album that sounds as good as it does live. That exhaustion we experienced brought this record to life. You are dazed, but extremely focused. It takes a lot of focus to have 25 songs to perform before an audience. I wanted to take that live aspect to the recording studio. You don't ever play as well as when you are touring.

ForbesAutos: What kind of feedback are you getting about your album?

Harper: So far people are connecting in the places I hoped they would. It's a warm, personal record. It was all natural. There were no computers on this album. It was just the band and myself playing. We didn't use any computers. I am getting a really strong sense about the production, too.

ForbesAutos: Do you have a ritual or process before performing?

Harper: I used to have a ritual process. But I realized that you become dependent on it at an obsessive level. Now my process is to not think about it until I hit the stage.

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