Guitarist Michael Ward has known singer/songwriter Ben Harper for a while. Ward had been in the Wallflowers for seven years, and during his tenure with the band, Harper opened for the Wallflowers.
But the connection was deeper than mutual respect.
"My wife knew his ex-wife, and we had some mutual friends, and we always talked about making music together but didn't get to until last year," said Ward during a phone interview from his home in Los Angeles. "Then I did a couple of things with him last year, and this year, when Marc (Ford) was called back to the Black Crowes, the guitarist slot in Ben's band opened up and I got the part."
A few years ago, Ward got into cycling.
"There was a buddy of mine when I was in the Wallflowers whom we took on tour as a roadie," said Ward. "He was always happy and easygoing. And I thought, 'How come this guy is enjoying life more than I am?'
"I found out he was a cyclist, and he introduced me to the bike."
Ward said it was like discovering music again. "I went all out with the bike. I mean I had a bike when I was a kid, but I didn't do anything like I do with it now."
Ward is so serious about bicycling that he was able to hook up with six-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong.
"He's my training partner," said Ward. "And he's a great friend."
Through Armstrong, Ward met announcer Phil Liggett and a bunch of people who helped the guitarist with a new project — a children's book.
"Mike and the Bike" is Ward's foray into writing and publishing. Like Madonna, John Lithgow and Jamie Lee Curtis, Ward is a celebrity who decided to write a book for kids.
Unlike some of the others, Ward did the book out of love for his topic.
"Bicycling has been so much a part of my life that I had tossed around the idea of writing a book," he said. "Then I was diagnosed with diabetes a couple of years ago. And I was told that the bicycling saved my life."
That inspired Ward to go forth with the book, which, by the way, is published by Cookie Jar Publishing, a little company based here in Salt Lake City.
Once he got the idea, he knew he wanted to do an accompanying CD. The first voice he thought of as narrator was sports commentator Phil Liggett, the "voice of cycling," who has, among other things, called 32 Tours de France.
"I met Phil through Lance and talked to him about the project," Ward said. "He said 'great. Meet me at a convention in Las Vegas, and we'll pound it out.'
"When I boarded the plane the day I was going to meet with Phil, I didn't have a single word written," Ward said. "I wrote the entire book in 45 minutes. And when I presented the draft to Phil, he said, 'Great. Let's do it.' And, I'm proud to say, the book is word-for-word what was on that draft. Nothing was changed."
After Liggett recorded his part, Ward met with artist/guitarist Bob Thomson who illustrated the book and sent it off to the publisher.
"They worked all-nighters getting this done," he said. "And I'm fortunate to have been able to work with them."
In addition, Ward asked his 5-year-old son, Tennessee, to sing some songs on the CD.
"I wrote some songs for the book and he sang," said Ward. "And to tell you the truth, that little CD is one of the biggest accomplishments of my musical career."
Speaking of musical careers, Ward has quite the resume.
"I've been so lucky with how my career has gone," said Ward, who formed School of Fish and has performed with Shelby Lynne and John Hiatt. "There have been a lot of ups and downs in my career, but I've been lucky and met some good people along the way."
Ward got his first guitar when he was 10. He was inspired by Kiss.
"I grew up in the '70s and Kiss was my band," he said. "I wanted originally to be a drummer because Peter Criss was my favorite member. Then I turned on to Ace Frehley and that was it."
"Mike and the Bike" was released nationwide today.
If you go
What: Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals, Tom Freund
Where: Kingsbury Hall
When: Thursday, 7:30 p.m.
How much: $35 (sold out)
Phone: 467-8499 or 1-800-888-8499
E-mail: scott@desnews.com