Interview by Emmanuel Rivet / www.swer.net - November 2003

Andy Factor was born and raised in Los Angeles. A member of the infamous Factor family, (for example in 1923, New York's leading narcotics dealer, joined with Al Capone to finance a massive stock fraud in London. The mastermind was John Factor, AKA "Jake the Barber" and half brother to Hollywood's leading make-up expert, Max Factor.) his parents were prominent west coast art benefactors during the explosive pop art movement of the 60s. While one half of the family pursued the family's tradition of crime, (and to some achievement) Andy followed the more noble family enterprise of arts benefactor. He went to UCLA Extension (Los Angeles) and took a music publishing class from Alan Melina, who quickly found him jobs at "Side One Management" and the publishing company he ran, "Famous Music."

After that, Andy joined Virgin Records (Los Angeles). He started in the mailroom. "I worked about every job there was to have there, he said. I finally made it there as a Vice President of A&R and got to work closely with the likes of Ben Harper, Elliott Smith and Heatmiser, Joseph Arthur, Sam Phillips and T-bone Burnett, Brendan Benson as well as some lesser known but equally talented people." He stayed at Virgin for about 13 years. In 1999, Andy left Virgin, but was retained to oversee the production of Ben's album Live From Mars. The following year he and JP Plunier partnered to record Jack Johnson's album, Brushfire Fairytales, and start Enjoy Records (since renamed Everloving.)

How did you start working with Ben Harper ?
Ben Harper was introduced to Virgin Records by way of the video department. Lydia Sarno, vice-president of Video was impressed with JP Plunier and a short film he made about Ben Harper. She brought this to the president of Virgin, Jeff Ayeroff, who was immediately interested in Ben. Because, ultimately the president signed Ben, they had the opportunity to choose their A&R rep. Frankly, I was the low man on the totem pole in a back office near the fire exit when JP and Ben appeared at my door, came in, sat on the floor, and offered me the job. JP will tell you he chose me because I had a pack of Winston's on my desk and he had a Winston’s barcode on his wrist.

What was your first impression ?
Conviction is infectious. They came with a vision. It was my job to provide them tools and the space to realize it.

Did you consider Ben as a bluesman, a rocker, a mix of the both ?
Ben was just an insanely talented guy. Originally it was all acoustic but by no means passive. It didn’t matter what Ben was or wasn’t. If you brought someone down to the Mint to see him, no matter whom, they would feel like they’d witnessed something very special.

What was your plan for his career ?
Common record business wisdom worked in a way that was counter-intuitive and we were constantly reminded at which scale we were working. There would be no media coverage for quite awhile. Fortunately Ben and JP had the resourcefulness self-promote and to create a profitable touring career early on. From that point we could afford to support opportunities as they came.

When did you understand it was a big deal ?
It was always a big deal to me. But I was reminded when I was watching him playing the guitar at The Mint… When I was getting calls from The Dust Brothers and Tony Alva. When I watched from backstage when he first opened for Pearl Jam. Or when I went to Paris for the first time and saw his face lined up and down the Champs Elysees.

How did you live Ben Harper's success in Europe ?
I always had better luck in France with everything I worked on. I never knew why. I assumed that the heads of the French company (Emmanuel DeBuretel) just had better taste and skills and that the European audience was more sophisticated. I was mostly glad that there was an income stream so that we could continue our efforts elsewhere.

Were you involved in art direction of albums ?
I remember that at first only my mom and JP liked the cover of “Welcome to the Cruel World” from the choices. But mostly I was involved in offering opinions and representing the vision. Arguing for the lettering on “Fight for you Mind” with the sales department for instance. Or why black and white is okay on “Will to Live”

Can you describe the evolution between first and fifth album, as for yourself and as for Ben ?
I’m proud to say that I became less involved with each album.
I felt more relevant to the process early on but as they developed their own sense of recording I enjoyed standing further back and involving myself more with managing the project through the company. The band was becoming a tighter element and there would be a lot of people in the studio. Every person in the room knew the difference between mediocre and great. Early on I was bringing around the engineers and mixers and after a while guys like Eric Sarafin and Todd Burke settled into recurring roles. I always tried to find a void and fill it rather than strictly define my role.
The evolution from album to album is apparent sonically. The first album was made in a studio on the office grounds. The mixing board had no automation. There were times we all had our hands on the board getting a mix. The second album sounds like our first chance to make a proper album production wise and is reflective of that time skateboarding in the parking lot, digging up all our old gear. Of course from that point his touring opportunities scaled up and he incorporated more amplification to make his presence known. The band had lots of playing time. It seemed natural that it would lead to the third album and it’s approach. Ben was playing Will to Live at shows before he recorded that album.

What is your main contribution ?
I think my main contribution was being there. Being honest and sincere in representing something I believed in but more importantly, people I believed in. I know I introduced Nick Drake and Elliott Smith music to them. I had my hands on the mixing board for the first album. I showed them a Lonnie Toft 10” Sims deck from 1978. Hooked them up with Pearl Jam’s manager. I know Virgin never wanted those guys to produce themselves or make their own videos. They always blamed that for Ben’s lack of success. So I negotiated the egos and logic so they could create freely. I also recorded Ben’s track from the Nebraska tribute album in my house. Drove JP to the hospital in the middle of the night. Taught him how to play Hey Joe (I shit you not.)

What did JP bring to Ben's music and career ?
JP is the type of person who leads revolutions. The imaging is mostly his creation. Like the poster art of the Russian and Cuban revolutions, his influence was his inspiration.
Musically, JP brought a counter-point. Ben’s music was driven from his voice and guitars. JP understood the relevance of Hendrix, Marley, or Chuck D in his own life and in the lineage of blues and folk music. He conveyed that potential to Ben. He would go straight up to John Lee Hooker and say “Check this out.” I think he always made Ben believe that the sky was the limit. JP brought many instruments, colors, rhythms, breaks, and songs to the albums. Originally he brought most of the “new” approaches. Ben quickly interpreted the potential and relevance and applied it himself. Without JP, Ben would have been up against a sea of adversity in his career without his best friend and most trusted confidant. That’s why I’ve since gone into business with him.

How could you describe JP's personality ?
“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world ; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” - George Bernard Shaw

The first thing your teacher Alan Melina said was : "It doesn't matter what I'm going to teach you. It matters who you meet in this class."...
My career is the sum total of all the relationships I’ve grown over the years. This Christmas Michael Andrews has the #1 song in the UK with “Mad World” from the Donnie Darko score. He was the first guy I ever signed as an A&R guy at Virgin (from a band called The Origin.) JP and I run the label Everloving which released the score. I’ve worked with him every day since I met him. It was the same with Ben and JP. JP and I went into business together right after I left Virgin. We were both interested in Jack Johnson, which segued into the formation of Enjoy Records (everloving). We are preparing to release an album by Wan Santo Condo which Ben introduced us all to years ago. Joseph Arthur opened for Ben because I was working with Joe. Etc...

Why did you leave Virgin ?
That request came from my newly appointed boss. I was defensive about Joseph Arthur, who was at risk of the wrong influences. The company had given Elliott Smith’s contract (Heatmiser’s leaving member clause) to Dreamworks and I was denied new signings like Jack Johnson.

When/why did you decide to found Enjoy (Everloving) Records with JP ?
I had pursued Jack Johnson on a tip from Michael Andrews (see above) when I met Jack I learned they were fans of Ben Harper. They had met Ben and JP. They expressed interest in JP for management and production. I wanted to make this album at Virgin but had no support. When I left Virgin I got paid a small royalty on Ben’s US sales. Jack was unable to find a deal and JP was interested in working in the studio with Jack. I figured that and A&R guy makes records so I committed the Ben Harper check to the prospect of making a record and releasing it under the assumption that there was a model developed by our years of working with these guys. It required a small team and the help of all our friends. I needed to understand how records are sold from the ground up and then draw a safe path through the non-believers. In this way I still fill a void with Ben by offering another perspective with potential for success. With Jack, Ben has introduced another act into the world and received the benefit of Jack’s audience as well, at least in the U.S. where Jack’s audience is wider.

Can we imagine Ben Harper could join Everloving Records someday ?
We can dream and we can try to be worthy.