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Ben Folds

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Ben Folds

Benjamin Scott Folds (born September 12, 1966, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina)[1] is an American singer-songwriter and the former frontman of the musical group Ben Folds Five. He is widely acclaimed for his prowess as a pianist, composer, songwriter, performer, and multi-instrumentalist.[2]

Biography

Early life and career

Because of his father's work as a builder and carpenter, Folds moved frequently throughout his childhood. As a result, making friends was difficult. Consequently, Folds became attached to a piano his father brought home when he was 9, the result of a barter trade his father made with a customer who was unable to pay for his work.[3] During this time, Folds listened to songs by Elton John and Billy Joel on AM radio, and learned them by ear. During his years at R.J. Reynolds High School in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and at Chapel Hill High School, Folds played in several bands as the pianist, bassist or drummer.

In the late 1980s, Folds (as a bassist) and longtime friend Millard Powers formed the band Majosha. The group released several locally-produced records. They played their first gig at Duke University's Battle of the Bands in 1988 and won. They played bars and fraternity parties for a while, and eventually put out a self-produced EP sold at a few local stores called Party Night: Five Songs About Jesus (1988). The record featured only four songs, none of which were actually about Jesus. Gradually, their popularity grew and they played larger and farther-flung gigs. They recorded Shut Up and Listen to Majosha in 1989. It contains, among others, the four songs from Party Night (remixed and/or re-recorded), "Emaline", and "Video". At about the same time, they did a dance mix of "Get That Bug" that was released in Japan.

Majosha broke up in early 1990, and Folds formed Pots and Pans with Evan Olson (bass) and Britt "Snuzz" Uzzell (guitar & vocals). Folds played drums. They only lasted about a month, after which Olson and Uzzell went on to form Bus Stop[4] with Folds' brother Chuck Folds on bass and Eddie Walker on drums.[5]

Folds eventually got a music-publishing deal and moved to Nashville, Tennessee, to pursue it in 1990. He played drums for a short stint in Jody's Power Bill, headed by Millard Powers, Bill Owsley (Owsley), and Jody Spence, Jody's Power Bill was later renamed The Semantics. Folds did not take a creative roll in the band. He again attracted interest from major labels. He ended up playing drums there as a session musician.[6]

"In Nashville, I was running eight miles a day, hanging out with my friends, walking around eating chocolate-chip cookies and playing a lot of drums, which I enjoyed. Life was easy. I was never frustrated -- even though I wasn't fulfilling my contract obligations. If you are failing in Nashville, at least your standard of living is nice. Nashville is a nice way to fail."[6]

Folds attended the University of Miami's esteemed School of Music on a percussion scholarship, but dropped out with one credit to go before graduating. He devoted a lot of time to working on piano technique. "I spent maybe six months just running scales with a metronome like a freak," Folds said. "I suppose that did something."[7]

Folds tells audiences about a jury recital while a student at the University of Miami’s music school. A jury recital consists of playing a prepared repertoire (and sometimes unprepared pieces from prior years of training) before faculty members who then apply a grade for the entire semester. Folds, a drummer, showed up with a hand broken from a previous night’s partying, but was required to play anyway. He ended up losing his scholarship, and threw his drumkit into a lake on campus.[8]

After leaving Miami, Folds moved to New York, where he began to act in theater troupes. He had previously done some theater in high school. He enjoyed it in 1993 to the point where he didn't want to keep pursuing a musical career.[6] He also played weekly gigs at Sin-é, famous for being the cafe which had helped start Jeff Buckley's career.

Soon after, Folds moved back to North Carolina. The trio of Ben Folds, bassist Robert Sledge, and drummer Darren Jessee formed Ben Folds Five in 1994[9] in Chapel Hill. As Folds put it, “Jeff Buckley was being signed at that time by Columbia and I was talking to Steve, his A&R guy, and somehow we knew the same people or something."

Ben Folds Five

In 1995, Ben Folds Five released their self-titled debut album (songs included "Philosophy" and "Underground"). The debut was followed by Whatever and Ever Amen in 1997, and the odds-and-ends compilation Naked Baby Photos was released in early 1998. Whatever spawned many hits, such as "Brick," "Song for the Dumped," and "Battle of Who Could Care Less." In 1999, the band released their final album, The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner, which included the hit, "Army."

Folds has described his former band as "punk rock for sissies,"(quoted from a Finnish Magazine)[citation needed] and his oddball lyrics often contain nuances of depression, melancholy, self-conflict, and humorous sarcasm.

Despite its presence on multiple Billboard genre charts, none of the songs reached the vaunted Hot 100, though they did show well on both adult contemporary and modern rock charts.

Solo career

As of 2006, Folds has released five solo LPs, including an experimental side project called Fear of Pop, which was released while Ben Folds Five was still together.

Folds' first solo release after the breakup of the band was Rockin' the Suburbs in 2001, on which he played nearly all the instruments, notably guitar, an instrument seldom used during the Ben Folds Five days. Millard Powers, Britt "Snuzz" Uzzell, and Jim Bogios joined him on the promotional tour of the album. A year later, he released Ben Folds Live, a collection of live solo recordings. In late 2003, two solo EPs, Speed Graphic and Sunny 16, were released, and a third, entitled Super D, was released in mid-2004.

Songs for Silverman was released in the United States on April 26, 2005. The album featured Jared Reynolds on bass and Lindsay Jamieson on the drums, thus returning to the trio format. This album includes the track "Late," a tribute to the late singer-songwriter Elliott Smith, and also features backup vocals from "Weird Al" Yankovic on "Time." (Folds had played piano for Yankovic's song "Why Does This Always Happen to Me?" on his Poodle Hat album. Yankovic also directed and appeared in Folds' video for the "Rockin' the Suburbs" single).

Folds also contributed to William Shatner's most recent album, Has Been, as a producer, arranger, musician, and backup vocalist. Shatner also sang vocals on Folds' Fear of Pop song, "In Love," which was performed live on Late Night with Conan O'Brien on January 22, 1999.

Folds has also had help from John McCrea, lead singer of the band Cake; his vocal stylings are featured on the Ben Folds song "Fred Jones, Part 2".

The soundtrack for the December 2005 (L.A. release)/January 2006 (wide release) animated film "Hoodwinked!" featured "Red is Blue", a ballad underlying a montage at the height of the sadness of Red, the main character. Folds' song fit well with the other pop songs on the soundtrack.

In May 2006, Folds contributed three original songs to the soundtrack of Over the Hedge, a DreamWorks production, as well as a cover of The Clash song "Lost in the Supermarket," and a remix of "Rockin' The Suburbs" with some new lyrics written to complement the script of the film -- to which Shatner contributed a spoken rant.

On October 24, 2006, Folds released Supersunnyspeedgraphic, the LP, a compilation of songs that were originally released on the EPs Sunny 16, Speed Graphic, and Super D. He announced on his MySpace blog that he planned to work on his next studio album in October 2006, although recording did not actually start until 2007.

On October 24, 2006, Folds became the first person to broadcast a live concert over MySpace. The concert was complete with pranks staged ahead of time by Folds, including a drunk man falling over the balcony during "Jesusland" and a suicide attempt at the end. The concert is also notable for featuring a "guitorchestra," a group of acoustic guitarists from Nashville who accompanied Folds on some songs, as well as a ringtone orchestra featuring members of the audience playing their cellphone ringtones in unison.

Ben Folds is producing The Dresden Dolls' Amanda Palmer's first solo album, Who Killed Amanda Palmer to be released in September 2008. He will also play on the album.[10][11]

During a concert at the National in Richmond, Virginia on April 11, 2008, Folds announced that he had completed his newest album, and played four new tracks from this album. He played the first track, "Hiroshima," at the same show in Richmond on April 11. He also debuted new music at an impromptu gig at the Exit/In on December 19, 2007 and at the Ann Arbor Folk Festival on January 25, 2008. Other new songs include "Errant Dog", "Effington", "The Bitch Went Nuts", "Free Coffee", and "Kylie From Connecticut". Folds played The 6th annual Langerado on March 8, 2008 and was a part of the lineup for the 2008 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, where he announced he was playing Bitches Ain't Shit for the last time. However he brought this song out of 'retirement' at Glastonbury 2008 telling the audience that a friend of his was getting married and they had begged him to play it as they were getting married.

Folds' new album will be entitled Way To Normal and will be released on September 30, 2008.[12]

On July 16, 2008, an anonymous user posted what they claimed was a "leak" of Ben's latest album on fan site BenFolds.org. The file contained nine tracks and was a mix of what appeared to be legitimate songs from Way To Normal and bizarre pastiches of foul-mouthed humor and melodramatic pop. It is generally believed by Folds' fanbase and some non fan people niggas that the file was leaked by Ben himself in an elaborate joke. [13]

Tours

After Ben Folds Five split, Folds' first tour with a full band was to support the album Rockin' The Suburbs. He was accompanied by Britt "Snüzz" Uzzell on guitar and keys, Millard Powers on bass and keys, and Jim Bogios on drums. Powers and Bogios later went on to join Counting Crows.

On a tour of Australia, Folds joined with solo artists Ben Kweller and Ben Lee to travel the country as The Bens, at the suggestion of a fan on Kweller's official Web site. The trio also went on to record a four-track EP together.

In the summer of 2004, Folds co-headlined an American tour with fellow singer-songwriters Rufus Wainwright and Guster. Folds again performed with Wainwright and Lee in the summer of 2005 as part of the "Odd Men Out" tour. In addition, Folds has performed with many other famous musical names, including Weezer and Tori Amos. After seeing The Fray perform with Weezer, Folds asked the band to join him for 12 performances in 2005.

Folds also has shown the intricacy behind his original sound by performing with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra (WASO) in March 2005, and with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) in November 2005. A DVD of Folds playing with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra was released in December 2005.

In early 2006 he toured Europe.

Folds performed with symphony orchestras again in August 2006 during a tour of Australia, which included performances with the Sydney Symphony at the Sydney Opera House, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Western Australian Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, and The Queensland Orchestra.

After his MySpace performance on October 24, 2006, Folds' tour performances began to feature a synthesizer, which he uses in many of the songs when played live. The synthesizer is a red Nord Lead II synthesizer.

Folds is currently touring the United States with drummer Sam Smith and bassist Jared Reynolds. Former drummer Jamieson was unable to continue touring due to a ruptured disc in his neck.

Folds toured with John Mayer as an opening act (though his set typically lasted an hour) in the summer of 2007. During this tour, Mayer sometimes joined Folds on the song "Narcolepsy", playing synth.

On May 9, 2007, Folds performed with the Boston Pops Orchestra. The orchestra's performance was marred when a fight broke out between two audience members in the balcony, although Folds had not yet taken the stage.[14]

During his concerts, Folds performs two of his concert traditions: palm-smashing and throwing his stool at the piano.

On January 16, 2008, it was announced that Folds will perform with the Nashville Symphony, opening their 2008-09 Pops season on September 7, 2008.[15]

On March 29, 2008, Folds played the Cage Center Arena at Berry College in Mt. Berry, GA. During contract negotiations he was asked by the administration to not play one of his songs due to its explicit lyrics, Folds refused - citing artistic freedom.

Ben Folds also recently performed at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania, and Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

On May 9th Ben Folds played his first completely solo show in years at Western Connecticut State University due to the fact that his bassist Jared Reynolds was with his wife who had just given birth to their first son.

Ben Folds played at the Glastonbury Festival 2008 on June 27th on "The Other Stage". The Dresden Doll's Amanda Palmer also appeared with him.

He played his first German festival on July 5th at Rheinkultur in Bonn.

Folds will also play at the Oxegen Festival in Ireland on Friday 11th July on the "O2 Stage" and at T in the Park 2008 in Scotland on Saturday 12th July on the "Pet Sounds Arena".

Personal life

Folds has been married four times, and divorced three times. From 1987 to 1992, he was married to Anna Goodman, who co-wrote the lyrics to several of his songs, including "Alice Childress" (the character in the song is someone in a mental institution who threw mop water on Anna), "The Last Polka" from the album Ben Folds Five, "Smoke" and "Kate" from Whatever and Ever Amen, and "Lullabye" from The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner.

Folds met his second wife, Kate Rosen, in December 1995, and married her in December 1996. She was a lighting operator for Ben Folds Five while they toured. They divorced in December 1997.

He married his third wife, Australian Frally Hynes, in May 1999. The couple had two children, Louis Frances and Gracie Scott. Hynes helped record several of Folds's music videos, including "Still Fighting It" which also starred the couple's son Louis. Hynes contributed to "Root to This" on Fear of Pop: Volume 1, and can be heard on the end of the track "Dog" on 2003's Speed Graphic (EP). She is also featured on the cover to Ben Folds' EP Super D, released in 2004. They divorced in April 2007.

He recorded a song for each of his twin children on two of his albums — the song "Still Fighting It" on Rockin' the Suburbs for his son Louis, and "Gracie" for his daughter on his album Songs for Silverman. The song "The Luckiest" was originally written for the 2000 movie release, Loser (directed by Amy Heckerling) but was deleted from the movie when the scene it was written for was cut. It re-emerged the following year on the album "Rockin the Suburbs".

Ben and his wife Fleur Folds live in Nashville, Tennessee.

Work with William Shatner

According to the track "Meeting Shatner" on the iTunes original album released in 2005, Ben Folds and William Shatner became good friends after he did a speaking part on the track "In Love." This led to them later collaborating on each other's projects including Ben Folds involvement in Priceline.com and Over the Hedge, and the work on Shatner's album Has Been.

William Shatner had a cameo appearance in the music video for "Landed." Folds produced and arranged Shatner's album Has Been, with most of the songs co-written by Folds and Shatner. Through his friendship with William Shatner, Folds appeared in a late-1990s advertisement for Priceline.com, and his song "Landed" was used in a 2006 Hilton Hotels commercial. Shatner later starred in the 2006 animated film Over The Hedge, whose soundtrack features songs by Folds, including a reworking of "Rockin' the Suburbs" featuring Shatner.

In 2007 a ballet called "Common People", set to Has Been, was created by Margo Sappington (of Oh! Calcutta! fame) and performed by the Milwaukee Ballet. Shatner attended the premiere and had the event filmed. This footage became Gonzo Ballet, a feature film due out in 2008, which includes interviews with Ben Folds, William Shatner, and Henry Rollins.

Discography

Main article: Ben Folds discography

References

  1. ^ "Ben Folds". MTV. Retrieved 2007-07-30. {{cite web}}: Text "Music Artist" ignored (help); Text "Videos, News, Photos & Ringtones" ignored (help)
  2. ^ Credits from "Rockin' the Suburbs" list Folds as the main instrumentalist on piano, drums, guitar, and vocals. "Additional" instrument artists are credited.
  3. ^ According to Ben Folds on his iTunes Originals interview titled "My Inner White Man Came Out In Full Bloom"
  4. ^ Ben Folds biography - 8notes.com
  5. ^ Bus Stop - Self Titled
  6. ^ a b c Ben Folds Five - Winston-Salem Journal review
  7. ^ Chute, James (2003-08-01). "Interesting Ben Folds article from the San Diego Union-Tribune". The Dent. Retrieved 2007-07-30.
  8. ^ Ben Folds Bares All Live - Ben Folds Live [PA] - Ben Folds - Epinions.com
  9. ^ VH1 Bio
  10. ^ Dresden Doll Preps Solo Debut | Spin Magazine Online
  11. ^ THESHADOWBOX.NET :: View topic - Speculation: Solo Album Title
  12. ^ Paste - Ben Folds talks new album and release date (July 8, 2008 )
  13. ^ Buell, Grant. "Way to Normal Leak". BenFolds.org. 2008-07-16.
  14. ^ Fight breaks out at Boston Pops - MUSIC - MSNBC.com
  15. ^ https://www.nashvillesymphony.org/main.taf?p=1,1,3,1,6,1&EventID=0809-S2
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