( Rolling Stone ) -- In February , when Ben Harper , Joseph Arthur and Dhani Harrison arrived at the Carriage House studio in Los Angeles ' Silverlake neighborhood , they had three days booked and zero songs to record . `` I thought I was going there to add some guitars or harmonies on Joseph 's album , '' says Harrison , who was invited to the session by Harper , whom he befriended at a skate park in Santa Monica . `` When I got to the studio , I saw Joe and asked , 'What songs are we going to do ? ' He said we had n't written them yet . '' After three long days , the trio had recorded the nine acoustic tracks that make up `` As I Call You Down '' -- and called themselves Fistful of Mercy , after the track of the same name . `` I never thought we 'd pull off an entire album , [ I thought ] maybe we 'd get an EP , '' says Harper , who credits Arthur as the catalyst who pushed for three songs a day . `` The three of us were able to create something we never could have done on our own . '' With three acoustic guitars and three microphones , the team worked out musical arrangements , and then retreated to different corners of the studio to write . `` We were each others ' lyric police , '' says Arthur . ( `` It was very 'Wilbury ' style , '' says Harrison , whose late father George was a member of the Travelin ' Wilburys . ) Many times , Harrison threw out lyrical themes for inspiration . `` Things Go 'Round '' is a throwback to John Lennon 's `` Instant Karma , '' imagining a world where people are immediately accountable for their actions . When Harrison called for a blues number , the trio quickly drafted `` My Father 's Son . '' Says Arthur : `` It 's really about the three of our voices , and the harmonies . We 're basically singing together the whole time . '' With nine acoustic and vocal tracks completed , Harrison was determined to ratchet the music up to another level . He instinctively called the legendary session drummer Jim Keltner , an old family friend . `` I 'd never done anything that I thought was worthy of calling Jim , '' says Harrison . `` We had an emotional conversation on the phone , and he heard some of the stuff we 'd done , and he said he 'd do it . '' Keltner overdubbed percussion , Arthur added bass , and Harper ( who calls Keltner the `` Dalai Lama of the drums '' ) added some slide guitar . `` These guys are so talented , '' says Harrison of his bandmates , who will all hit the road together in October . `` I ca n't believe I get to call them my musical brothers . '' Copyright © 2010 Rolling Stone .
They call themselves Fistful of Mercy , after the track of the same name . The trio had recorded the nine acoustic tracks that make up `` As I Call You Down '' The band will hit the road together in October .