Prescott Now: What’s the story behind your band’s name?
Sir Harrison: I established my name in 2002 when I moved back to Arizona. I went from Harrison and The Blues Kings to the Sir Harrison Band.
I was on assignment in Honduras while working for CBS, I was in Copan Honduras shooting a story around the Mayan ruins. One of the nights I met an archeologist from England and she took me to the ancient pyramid at night, I jokingly said I was knighted so I started logging off on some emails as Sir H. Anyways years later I was trying to think of a new band name and remembered my old email name, Sir H aka Sir Harrison. People started to connect and remembered my band name.
Prescott Now: how long have you guys been playing together?
Sir Harrison: I’ve always played with veteran/touring musicians that help me grow to what I do know. I use a couple of drummers and bassist and sometimes different saxophone players from Phoenix that played with me for the past 10 to 15 years. They are well versed in all genres of music, blues, jazz, funk, rock, etc.
Prescott Now: How do you connect with your audience during a show?
Sir Harrison: It’s the soulful energy of our music, it’s intense at times. We want every note to be meaningful, we project our heart and soul and the audience gets it.
My music is definitely blues based. I was more of a blues player when I started at age 13. The current sound is upbeat blues, soul, funky, slight jazzy, blues rock and sometimes R&Bish. The music is a sound of our own.
Prescott Now: What is the most memorable moment of your career so far?
Sir Harrison: There are several memorable moments, when opened up for Richie Havens in 2003, he pulled me aside and said to me with pride, “I will see you again” …huge compliment. All the professional touring musicians that I played with, it taught me a lot and helped me grow to the musician I am.
A few years back we won the Arizona Northern Blues competition, which sent my band to compete in the international blues competition in Memphis — that was a huge honor to represent Arizona.
Back in January I became the first Native American to be officially inducted into The Arizona Blues Hall of Fame. It is a tremendous honor.
Prescott Now: What advice would you give to your younger self?
Sir Harrison: Stay humble, always learn from other musicians, keep an open mind and ear out for different styles of music. Most of all, listen to your heart and soul.
Prescott NOW: What motivates your band to perform?
Sir Harrison: You would almost have to ask them. We always challenge ourselves to do our best but always make sure our heads are in the right place. My band members love what we do. It’s the connection we have as musicians and our friendship.
It’s when we have those magical nights and moments. It’s when we made that soulful connection with each other and our fans.
Prescott NOW: What brought you to Prescott?
Sir Harrison: I was in the process of moving when I lived in Phoenix but then COVID hit. I just dumped $8,000 on my recording project, which I never finished, and my truck near that time was totaled by a drunk driver.
I was now down on my luck when a friend offered me a place to stay in Prescott. Prescott was the only town that still had live music during the pandemic. So that’s what brought me here.
See Sir Harrison band play at the Windsock Lounge July 11, 12, 7-11 p.m.
