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News from December 2005 and earlier: (Go to current items)
- XM Satellite Radio appearance: Ben appeared on the program
Mixed Bag Radio on satellite radio provider XM's The Loft
(XM Channel 50). The performance included selections from Songs for
Silverman and some older material as well. Shows are rerun from time
to time so check The
Loft's website for updates.
2005-12-21
- WASO DVD release: Epic released the live DVD Ben Folds
and WASO - Live in Perth on December 6. The show was recorded in March
2005 with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra in front of sell-out
crowds. The track list:
- Zak and Sara
- Smoke
- Fred Jones Part 2
- Steven's Last Night In Town
- Boxing
- Annie Waits
- Brick
- Evaporated
- Not the Same
- The Ascent of Stan
- Lullabye
- Narcolepsy
- Rock This Bitch
- The Luckiest
Ben plans a return to Australia next year for
a series of at least 11 concerts featuring symphony orchestras in Perth,
Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Adelaide.
2005-11-10
- Fifteen songs released on iTunes: Ben has recorded new
versions of 15 favorite selections which are being exclusively distributed
on Apple'siTunes
 music service. The songs, which include old favorites like
Boxing, Alice Childress, Philosophy, Selfless,
Cold and Composed, and Brick, along with recent songs including
Jesusland, Late and You to Thank, are interspersed
with short interviews about the songs and the making of "Songs for
Silverman". Musical selections are individually available for the usual 99
cents, but the interviews are only included if you download the entire
album for 11.99. (By clicking on the iTunes link above or to the left, a
portion of your purchase will go to support this website at no additional
cost to you.)
2005-08-22
- Jesusland video news: The video for the next single,
Jesusland, features a televangelist played by British TV star Matt
Lucas in a false-wig getup. In a mock religious broadcast "The Miracle
Report", Lucas is seen preaching alongside images of rundown America,
selling miracle water, culminating with Lucas singing along with Folds.
The single will be available for download in the UK on October 3, and the
video can be seen at the XFM
website this week. (Microsoft media viewer required)
More on
Matt Lucas and Little Britain.
2005-09-20
- Ben on Xfm X-Posure: The UK digital radio service Xfm will
feature Ben on the October 3 edition of X-Posure. The show features hosts
Claire Sturgess and John Kennedy playing the latest indie, rock and
alternative releases with in-studio live sessions and interviews. You can
listen online if you're not in the UK.
2005-09-27
- Official Fan Club Details Announced: The "official" Ben Folds
fan club has been launched, and promises a host of exclusives for Ben's
most loyal fans. For a mere $25 per year (in US; US$30 for Canada and
US$35 for the rest of the world), fans receive a welcoming package
containing an autographed photo, CD-EP, a membership card with your own
name on it, and other items. During the course of the year, members will
enjoy contest giveaways, pre-sale on show tickets, end of year bonuses,
and access to the fans-only website. Ben promises that this will be free
of underhanded record label marketing propaganda or hidden agendas. To
join, send your name, address and e-mail, plus a check or money order
payable to "Attacked by Plastic" to Ben Folds Fan Club, P. O. Box 2178,
Radio City Station, New York, NY 10101, or
The response so far has been overwhelming, to say the least, and this
without a mass mailing to the fan database. Welcome packages for those who
joined already are still being assembled (that's a lot of writing for Ben,
as you can imagine), so packages should be sent to fans already enrolled
sometime later in July. And for those who have asked, your year of
membership begins when the package is sent, not when you enrolled or were
charged.
Update 2005-07-19
- Landed video available for download: The first video
from "Songs for Silverman" has been released and is available for download
either in RealVideo or QuickTime
formats. Frally and Ben produced it, and it was shot with the band in
Adelaide. The music channel VH1 added Landed to its rotation Thursday,
June 23.
- Lucky 13: Selling 50,120 units in its first week in stores,
"Songs for Silverman" debuts this week at number 13 on the Billboard Top 200 album
chart. This is the highest ever for one of Ben's works; the previous high
was #38 for "Whatever and Ever Amen" during the height of Brick's
popularity.
- Ben's iTunes playlist: Ben has created a playlist on Apple's iTunes music service. Reflecting his
eclectic taste, the list spans the gamut from ELO to the Doves, the
Streets to Dinosaur Jr.
- Tour news:
Ben will be touring Australia in 2006 fronting various symphony
orchestras across the country. At least eleven shows are planned
beginning in Perth, where the first such show was performed, and
continuing in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Adelaide. Show itinerary
and dates will be announced.
Reviews of past shows:
TripleJ Radio
has posted some photos from the show in Adelaide during August 2005.
- "Brick" on new '90s compilation: The mega-hit from "Whatever
and Ever Amen" is on a new seven-disk Rhino compilation conveniently
called "Whatever: The '90s Pop Culture Box" and contains 131 tracks that
comprise the spectrum of pop music in the 1990s. While some argue there
are significant omissions, it's a comprehensive look back organized
chronologically and includes songs ranging from Oasis' "Wonderwall" to
"Here's Where the Story Ends" by the Sundays.
- New album is here; two singles now available: Ben's new album,
"Songs for Silverman", officially hit stores April 26. The first single,
"Landed", which was released to airplay and digital downloads (iTunes) February 1.
"Landed" also breaks into the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart at position
number 97 for the week of February 10. The second track to be released,
"Bitches Ain't Shit", a mellow cover of Dr. Dre's classic, is also
available from iTunes, where it has been in the top 10 downloads in the
week following its availability, and debuted at number 71 on the Billboard
Hot 100 list. (For those who have been asking, "Bitches" features drummer
Lindsey Jamieson on backing vocals.) Glenn Gamboa of New York Newsday says
"What makes Folds' version so impressive, though, is how lovingly he turns
the macho gangsta anthem into a memorable piano-driven ballad, surrounding
it in a perfectly nice song and throwing in sweet harmonies at
inappropriate times to get more chuckles." It'll be a bonus track on the
vinyl "Silverman" as well as the B-side of the "Landed" seven-inch single
which went on sale March 22.
"Silverman" will be available in several formats, including a unique
sandwich disc with a conventional red book CD on one surface and a DVD on
the other side which will include the Dolby ProLogic 5.1 surround mix and
a behind-the-scenes feature; a heavy vinyl dual-album (as in "phonograph
record") set; and a deluxe edition with a DVD "Making of" feature,
bonus footage and a 40-page booklet. Australian fans can get their hands
on a copy April 11.
Besides "Silverman", seven "lost classic bonus tracks" are
included on the long-rumored remaster of Ben Folds Five's "Whatever and
Ever Amen" released March 22. The tracks include Video Killed the
Radio Star, For All The Pretty People, Mitchell Lane, Theme from Dr.
Pyser, Air, She Don't Use Jelly, and Song For The Dumped.
2005-01-18; updated 2005-02-01
- Lots of press lately as "Silverman" is released, including:
(most recent items listed first)
- a story in Ticketmaster's web news site Live Daily about Folds' fall plans for shows, the Apple
Store performance, and release of the live DVD
- A short interview in Toronto's Eye Weekly
- An interview with Ben about "Silverman", in
Centredaily.com from State College, PA (Penn State University)
- Some early history worked in with the evolution of Ben's solo career
and a peek at the EPs and "Silverman", in The Providence Phoenix, by Matt Ashare
- A nice update, "Ben Folds an iconoclastic musician in a world of
pop", by Steve James of Reuters News Service in which Ben talks about
Elvis and his musical roots, and is compared to Billy Joel, Elton John,
Bruce Hornsby and Joe Jackson
- a story about "Silverman", the passage of time and gangsta rap in The Boston Globe, by Joan Anderman
- a recap of Ben's early career and solo works, interview, and review
of "Silverman" in The Portland (Me.) Phoenix, by Matt Ashare
- an article by Associated Press writer Michael
Felberbaum about Ben's idea of commercial success, Broadway aspirations,
the pop music business and his photography (as published in the Myrtle
Beach, N.C. Sun News
- a preview of the show and a short interview in NorthJersey.com, the online service of the Bergen
(N.J.) Record, by Ed Condran
- a story about the new album and how Ben's fans are more likely to
find his music online than at the mall, on MTV News Online
- a long article about Ben, what he's been up to, his adopted homeland
of Adelaide and the upcoming album in the UK newspaper The Guardian, by Oliver Burkeman
- an interview and story about the album in The Indianapolis Star, by David Lindquist
- a comprehensive cover article by Jason Killingsworth titled Ben Folds Outgrows the Industry of Cool, in Paste
magazine, a bimonthly new-music magazine that comes with a free sampler CD
(think CMJ). Killingsworth covers Ben's musical history in case you
weren't familiar with it, and goes on to describe the Silverman process in
detail. One of the most thorough articles on Ben in a long time. Read the
article online but buy the magazine for the goodies.
- a story about Ben and "Songs for Silverman" in the
Brisbane (Australia) Courier-Journal
- A reflection on his musical career to date and working with William
Shatner in Highly Illogical, Captain in the Sydney Morning
Herald
- Ben talks about playing and touring solo, the new album, and the
contrast between the US and Australia in the article Ben with the Breeze, in The Age, published in
Melbourne
- a feature article in Rolling
Stone
- Sydney Morning Herald review (free reg. required)
- a short take
in Friday Morning
Quarterback, a radio industry newsletter
Reviews of "Songs for Silverman":
- msn music
- Entertainment Weekly
- Kansas
City Star, by Brad Revare (as published in the Wilson County, Tex.,
News)
- The Hartford Courant, by Eric R. Danton, as publishes in
the Fort Wayne, Ind. Journal Gazette
- The Boston Herald, by Sarah Rodman
- Richmond Times-Dispatch, by Melissa Ruggieri (free
registration may be required)
- The Advance-Titan, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, by
Stephanie Barnard
- Lexington (Ky.) Herald Leader
- Minnesota Daily (University of Minnesota), by Claire
Josephy
- The Dartmouth, by Jennifer Garfinkel
- McKeesport, PA Daily News
- The
Edmonton Sun, by Mike Ross
- Jam!, by Mike Bell of the Calgary Sun
- Cavalier Daily, the University of Virginia student
newspaper, by Ian MacDougall
- The Onion A.V. Club, by Nathan Rabin
- USA Today, by Elysa Gardner (Yahoo mirror)
- Rolling Stone
- Richmond.com, by Paula Williams
- Pitchfork online music magazine, by Marc Hogan
- Associated Press writer Jake Coyle, via Yahoo
- New York Newsday, by Glenn Gamboa
- Wisconsin Badger Herald, by James Advison
- New York Post, by Dan Aquilante
- The Oxford Student, by Mark Taylor
- Nashville City Paper, by Ron Wynn
Stories about and reviews of the Odd Men Out tour:
Other items in the news:
- Writer Doug Moe of Madison, Wisconsin's Capital Times must be a Ben
Folds fan - in his article Man, it's tough being the man, he makes extensive
references to Ben's song The Ascent of Stan in referring to the
flack Madison mayor Dave Cieslewicz is taking for some comments he made
about local real estate agents. You'll find yourself singing along with
the article.
- Author Tom Reynolds has compiled a list of the 15 most depressing songs. Brick
ranks #13, right behind Kenny Rogers' famous classic, Ruby.
- contactmusic.com has a story about Ben talking up UK urban music star Mike Skinner and his
band The Streets' latest album A Grand Don't Come For Free. Folds
says Skinner has done a great job documenting the experience of growing
up. "The lyrics are so inventive, but they're honest and vulnerable as
well."
- A short story about the making of the "Landed" video in The Adelaide Advertiser
- The New York Times' Playlist column (free registration required) featured Ben
talking about what other artists he's currently listening to
- Ben reflects on his earliest Star Wars experience in an article about celebrities' Star Wars memories, by
Larry Carroll of MTV News
- A story about vinyl phonograph records and record collectors in the
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, which mentions Ben Folds
in the same breath as Bruce Springsteen as artists who insist on releasing
vinyl regardless of sales numbers (coincidentally, Springsteen debuts an
album at number 7 this week, six places ahead of Ben)
- story about the upcoming summer tour by Jaclyn Arndt in
Soulshine, a Toronto-based online new music magazine
- Ben dreams of play and longs for beachcoming in
clamdiggers and black socks, in the Adelaide Advertiser
- this quirky
column in The Nashville Scene by a columnist for the paper who
lives near Ben but is afraid to introduce herself
- a mention in a story in the Lexington (Kentucky) Herald Leader
about how Apple's iPod and other music players are aimed at the likes of Ben Folds fans.
Show reviews include:
- Recent Radio and TV appearances: Ben has appeared on
the following:
- The Late Show with David Letterman, Thursday, June 23
- Xfm Online, the UK online radio station
- World Cafe, the US syndicated
public radio show, on Friday, April 22
- Last Call with Carson Daly, Tuesday, May 3 (segment
recorded April 25)
- Late Night with Conan O'Brien, on NBC-TV Tuesday,
April 26, 12:35 AM ET/PT (early Wednesday)
- CBS's The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, rescheduled to
Wednesday night, May 4, 12:35 AM ET/PT (early Thursday morning)
- Air
America's Morning Sedition show, May 13, 8:10 AM
- Ben sat in with Steve Earle on his radio
show, "The
Revolution Starts Now", broadcast by the radio network Air America. Sunday night, January
30. Due to copyright restrictions we cannot post the show here, though we
understand some offshore fansites are posting it. Ben chatted about living
and working in Nashville, retold the tale of how he got hooked up with
William Shatner, and played tracks by Shatner (That's Me Trying and Has
Been) as well as by Ben Lee (Gamble Everything for Love, from his
forthcoming album), the Shins (Kissing the Lipless), the Streets (Dry your
Eyes) and the Zutons (Pressure Point). Interesting side note: The Shins
album "Chutes Too Narrow" from which the track comes is currently selling
well at Michigan State, my alma mater.
- Folds contributes music to political documentary: A new
documentary project, Red White & Blue: A Tale of Two Americas, examines the
sharp division in the US between the so-called "Red" and "Blue" states, or
states which lean toward the conservative dogma and Republican politics
versus those which are more liberally-minded and supportive of Democratic
representation. Currently in the fundraising stage, the producers intend
to film this spring and hope for a September film-festival release. Ben is
said to be contributing "Jesusland" to the soundtrack, along with artists
including Big Head Todd & The Monsters, Natalie Merchant, the Samples, and
Cowboy Junkies. More on the progress of this project as it develops.
2005-04-17
- Celebrity hobbyist: Ben did a segment on the DIY Network
program Celebrity Hobbies recently, showing his collection of
vintage cameras and talking about photography. Check the network website
and your local cable listings for a repeat of episode CHS-204.
- A little help for my friends: Ben Lee's upcoming mix tape
project, titled A Mix Tape, features Ben Folds along with Kylie
Minogue, Ash, and the Eels, among others.
In other recent collaborations, Ben makes a guest appearance on former
Toad the Wet Sprocket frontman Glen Phillips' new recording, "Winter Pays for Summer".
Folds and Andy Sturmer of Jellyfish contribute vocals on the new effort
with an all-star studio band including the likes of Elvis Costello's
drummer Pete Thomas and guitarists Jon Brion, Michael Chavez and the Goo
Goo Dolls' Greg Suran.
Ben also returned a favor to Chris
Stamey, former DB's frontman, with vocal help on last summer's release
"Travels in the South". Stamey helped edit Ben Folds Five's pivotal
"Whatever and Ever Amen" album.
- Shows postponed due to illness: In addition to the Nov. 6 and
7 shows, the UK tour has also been postponed. Ben was hospitalized
due to a severe upper respiratory infection. The tour has been
rescheduled to June 1-17, 2005 in the same cities, just in a different
order. The new dates are on the tour dates
page. Tickets for the cancelled shows will be honored at the
replacement gigs, but fans can instead return their tickets to the place
of purchase for a refund if desired.
Ben also writes:
i'm very sorry and disappointed to have had to reschedule my UK tour.
rarely in my career have i had to do this; i take missing a show very
seriously. but in this case there was no choice. short of taking daily
cortisone shots and having roadies prop me up on stage, it wasn't going to
happen. i got very run down and got a nice respiratory infection, which
the doctor has warned me to take care of since i recently had pneumonia.
we are rescheduling the tour for the spring and i promise i'll get healthy
and play my ass off, old and new music, requests and extra dance moves.
i'm sorry i'm not there right now and i hope this whole thing doesn't
screw up anyone's schedule too badly.
ben
In addition to the rescheduled shows, an additional London show has
been added for May 31, at Hammersmith Apollo.
More on ticket refunds: Bowling Green State University will
refund all tickets purchased, according to an article in the Bowling
Green News. Those returning their tickets will receive an immediate
credit to their credit cards, or will receive a check in the mail from the
University if they paid by cash or check. There is also some doubt as to
whether the Bowling Green show can be rescheduled. It depends in large
part on the availability of both the facilities at Bowling Green and Ben's
schedule, which calls for quite a bit of touring in the coming
months.
2004-11-05; updated 2004-11-07, 2004-11-10
- Third EP now out; Shatner CD now on sale; Ben's full album
delayed: After hitting a snag in printing the jacket (trouble getting
the colors to come out right), Ben's third EP, "super d", is finally
available. Pre-orders have been shipped. It's being distributed by the
same channels as the previous EPs: iTunes exculsively for online downloads, and attackedbyplastic.com and select independent music
retailers for the hard copy.
The EP includes "adelaide", "kalamazoo", "rent a cop", and covers of
Darkness' "Keep your Hands Off My Woman" and Ray Charles' "Them That Got".
William Shatner's opus, meanwhile, is in stores. According to Ben, who
wrote and produced much of the new record, "It's totally wild - a total
departure from anything you've heard." Shatner mixes it up with the likes
of Aimee Mann, Henry Rollins and Joe Jackson.
All this means that Ben's full-length CD is being pushed back to April
or thereabouts, though a single could come out in February or so. Most of
the tracks are laid down as of this writing but it's not tuned and
certainly not finished enough yet for a release, but once the Shatner
project is out on the street, Ben will put the finishing touches on his
own work prior to hitting the road for tours of the UK and Japan, some US
college dates, and quite possibly another US tour this fall. Ben's been
working at Javelina Studios in Nashville, where Elvis Presley recorded,
and he's working with artists such as bassist Jared Reynolds, who's sided
for Alison Moorer and Todd Snider, and former Departure Lounge drummer
Lindsey Jamieson.
More information in this story from Reuters News Service.
2004-06-22; update 2004-07-09, 2005-01-02
- More Shatner news: In a small Iowa town presumbaly to make
preparations to film a motion picture about the mythical birthplace of
Capt. Kirk, Shatner has admitted, after nine days of filming, that the
project was not a movie but rather a reality
TV show about the townspeople's reaction to a film crew invading their
town. People of the town of Riverside are actually pleased with the
turnabout. "I am tickled to death. I think it will help promote us,"
quipped a local service club member.
2004-10-03
The October 1 show at the Lloyd Noble Center at the University
of Oklahoma was abruptly cancelled a few hours before the show,
much to the disappointment of the fans (not to mention Ben). After
driving to Oklahoma from Maine, Ben and his band and crew found "the sound
equipment [that the hall provided] was seriously underpowered for a rock
show with a grand piano in a gym," Ben wrote in a letter to
fans, and when corrections could not be made, Ben decided to postpone
the show. "I feel bad about cancelling. I've never done that kind of thing
before. But I couldn't play a shitty sounding gig just because someone
wanted to cut a few corners." Tickets for the October 1st show will be
honored at the to-be-scheduled makeup show, which Ben promises will be a
good one: "I'll play shit that I never ever play, requests, all kinds of
shit."
2004-10-06
- Creem interview: Venerable rock magazine Creem, no longer in
print but still alive online, is running an interview with Ben as told to Brian Hoekstra at the
Detroit-area show last June.
- On tour with Ben Folds: ProSoundWeb.com has posted a four-part article about touring with Ben from a
professional staging technician's perspective. Interesting reading if
you'd like a peek at what goes on behind the
scenes.
2004-04-06
- Folds beats Frodo: "The Bens" was the #1 download
on Apple's iTunes music
service on Tuesday, Jan. 6, shoving the Lord of the Rings soundtrack
out of the top spot. Ben's songs are consistently popular on the iTunes
service, frequently appearing in lists of songs also downloaded by
purchasers of many tunes.
- "the bens" EP released in the UK and US:
UK fans can now order the bens from a UK source, recordstore.co.uk.
attackedbyplastic.com is now shipping the US release of
the four-song CD EP which was sold during the Australian tour
with Ben Lee and Ben Kweller earlier in 2003. The cover art is different
from the Australian release, so completist collectors will want to get
another copy.
"the bens" is also available online at Apple's iTunes online music
store, for 99 cents per track or $3.96 for all four. It's one of the
rotation of featured artists on the iTunes home page.
2003-12-16 updated 2004-01-06 with thanks to Eric W
- 'sunny 16' released: Ben's second of three EPs to be released
this year became available September 30. Fans can order through attackedbyplastic.com now.
Ben writes of his latest work:
if i was starting over again and had to make a demo tape,
i'd use this EP. it represents a big part of what i do very naturally.
part of me thinks i'm an idiot for 'wasting' this recording on a limited
release EP, but i'm really into this method of recording and releasing
quickly and making it all about music, so here it is. at this moment as
i'm typing away on my computer on a plane to chicago, i'm feeling like
it's one of my best records. and i'm just warming up because i'm headed
back into the studio to make another EP, 'super d', for release in
november.
i'm playing piano, drums, synthesizer, and some bass on this one. john
painter (of fleming and john) produced and took care of most of the
bass, some background vocals and string arranging.
about the EP's and album coming up: my plan at the moment is to take
three songs from the EP's and put them on the full length. i may arrange
and record them differently.. i'm not sure. the rest of the full length
album to be released early next year, will be new.
The songs include "there's always someone cooler than you", "you've got
to learn to live with what you are", "all you can eat", "rock star", and
"songs of love". All are by Ben except the last, which was penned by Neil
Hannon of The Divine Comedy, who toured extensively with Ben last year.
The Japanese radio market, driven by Ben's popularity there, has charted
"cooler than you" following a successful run (#12) for "in between days"
from speed graphic.
And about that full length album... word has it that it is finished and
plans are being made for a release date sometime this spring. Touring will
accompany the release, along the usual pattern of college dates first,
most likely midwestern shows to start, but east coast fans will not be
ignored either.
Here's what Ben writes about some of the songs on 'sunny 16':
all you can eat - when it was an embryo of a song, i played it at a
few gigs and called it 'they give no fuck'. the bulk of the song was
written the day it was recorded and i realized it should be called 'all
you can eat'. i've always said i'd write one love song and one political
song. i think this is about as political as i care to be in my music.
rock star - i played the sketch of this at a few gigs and had the
crowd sing the backups, so it might sound familiar to a few people. it's
actually about a waiter but i wasn't able to make that clear in such a
short song.
songs of love - [Neil Hannon] is one of
my favorite songwriters, one of the best voices in pop music ever, and
one of the finest human beings in the western world. other than that,
he's pathetic. i could launch into an essay about divine comedy but i'll
spare you. i hope i did this song some justice -i'm not sure if i'm
worthy.
Updates 2004-02-03
- Celebrity playlister: Apple's second-generation iTunes Music Store,
which has carried Ben's EPs, also features Celebrity Playlists, with
selections based on what various musicians are listening to. Ben is one of
the featured artists. (You need the iTunes software in order to access
this list, and the software is only available for Mac OS 10.1 or later, or
versions of MS-Windows.)
- First of three EPs on sale:
The first of Ben's three EPs, titled "speed graphic", has been released
and is on sale
online at attackedbyplastic.com, the
new website set up to promote the EP series, and which has short samples
of each of the 5 songs. Sales are going very briskly, thanks to the many
fans who clamor for Ben's music, and the first 500 copies, autographed by
Ben, sold out in two hours. The EP features the new song "give judy my
notice", along with a cover of the Cure's "In Between Days". The second
EP, titled "sunny 16", will include a cover of either "Songs of Love" by
The Divine Comedy (whom Ben toured with extensively last year) or Devo's
"Through Being Cool." "sunny 16", named for a photographic rule-of-thumb
for exposing film in full sunlight, is slated for a September 30 release.
Recording on the second EP is complete, and the third as-yet-untitled EP
is due out in November. In addition to online sales, the EPs will be
available on CD at shows, via download from Apple's iTunes service, and on
vinyl from selected record stores. Although currently on sale online only
via the US-based site, the Australian, Japanese and UK sites for Ben will
be selling the EP to fans in those countries shortly.
The move to self-releasing EPs shows Ben's contempt for the major
record label's publicity system and pop radio's dependence on it for
airplay. In so doing, Ben says he can do the music he likes to do without
worrying about its marketability or the label's reaction. He is committed
to Epic for future releases, and says some of the songs on the EPs
will be used on the next full-length album, to be recorded this fall for
an early 2004 release.
2003-07-03; update 2003-07-23; update 2003-07-24;
update 2003-07-28; update 2003-08-18; update 2003-09-10
- More on "speed graphic": Ben writes, in an item on the official website:
hi,
ben here. i just finished an EP. it's called "speed graphic". it has 5
songs on it. it will be available in the next couple of weeks, during
which time i'll be finishing another EP called "sunny 16", to be released
in september. a third EP will be recorded (no name yet) for release in
november. a trilogy of EP's. a full length cd will come out at the
beginning of the year, for those who don't like EP's. i have 24 hour
access to a studio now, so i'm using it.
quietly releasing my music as EP's allow me to get it out there as i
finish it. with a minimum of hype. it's for people who buy my music
anyway. it won't be sold in the big ass chains, because that puts the
price up and starts the big ass machinery - press, radio etc. then i have
to pose naked at the piano, and really, i'm not a piece of meat, you know.
the music will be available at gigs, and online, and on vinyl in some
smaller stores.
a few of the tunes on the EP's are older songs that i never recorded in
a fancy studio until now. a lot of them are brand new, and there's also
the odd cover song.
at the beginning of the year, the full length cd will come out.
THE EPS
speed graphic:
it's mostly piano bass and drums. john painter, of fleming and john
recording and playing bass behind the recording console (i could see his
head bobbing up and down through the glass). jim bogios, formerly of the
'rockin the suburbs' touring band, now playing with counting crows, plays
drums on a few songs, and lindsay jamieson, of the english band, departure
lounge, plays drums on a song. tracks recorded live through old shit,
which breaks all the time, into a massive tape machine, which also breaks
all the time and mixed in an afternoon.
1. in between days - old cure song
2. give judy my notice - i just wrote it last week
3. protection - old song written with anna goodman and never recorded
for
real
4. dog - old song written with evan olson and never recorded for real
5. wandering - the lost folds/jessee collaboration. kinda like brick
in
that he wrote the chorus (the part people like to sing 'she's a brick' ...
'all this wandering' etc) and i wrote the rest (the part that leads up to
the part people like to sing). he passed me the chorus a few years ago. i
tried to do it justice...
sunny 16:
we're in the studio recording this one right now. i'm playing drums on
a
few songs, but mostly it's jim bogios on drums and john painter on bass.
we're booking in a string quartet for next week. possible songs include:
you've got to learn to live with what you are
rockstar
there's always someone cooler than you
songs of love (by divine comedy)
they give no fuck
adelaide
we'll see what i actually get finished.
anyway. that's all i know for now. better get to work...
- Transcript of Ben's live chat: Here is a transcript of Ben's live
online chat session on Monday, July 28, 2003, courtesy of Don Walter.
2003-07-30
- Ben producing Shatner: William Shatner's record is finished,
and those who have heard it are raving about it. Not a goofy piece, like
some of his previous work, it's a "real recording" that will appeal to
many, including Ben's fans. Rolling Stone has run some pictures and will
be mentioning it in "Random Notes" soon. It's due for a spring release.
The two
worked together on Fear of Pop, Ben's first solo effort. "Vol. 1" was
issued in 1998. Country musician Brad Paisley also makes an appearance on
the record. Paisley and Shatner became friends during the video shoot for
Paisley's song "Celebrity", in which Shatner makes a cameo appearance.
2003-07-03; updated 2004-01-08; updated 2004-02-03
- Ben's music in Japanese beer commercial: Asumi from Japan lets
us know about a commercial
[kirin.co.jp: Quicktime required] for Kirin's Maltsquash
malt liquor, which features "Jackson Cannery". As previously noted, Ben is
considered among the forefront of American pop culture in Japan.
2003-05-16
- News of Darren and Robert: Ben's former drummer, Darren
Jessee, has put together a new band, Hotel Lights. Originally titled
Remover, the band had to change its name due to the existence of another
band which already has that name. They played some shows in November and
are working on a full album, which should be done sometime in March.
2003-11-17; updated 2004-02-03
Robert Sledge, meanwhile, has teamed up with Ben's former bandmate
Britt Harper "Snuzz" Uzzell and Django Haskins. Their band, International Orange,
will be on tour this spring with dates in New York, the DC area, North
Carolina, Tennessee and elsewhere.
2004-03-29
Check our Ben Folds Five page for
more on what Darren and Robert are up to.
- Noted music novelist writes about "Smoke": Nick Hornby, known
for his many books with pop music undertones, among which "About a Boy"
and "High Fidelity", have been turned into major motion pictures, writes
about Ben's song "Smoke" in his latest book, "Songbook". Hornby calls the song "one of the wisest
songs about the slow death of a relationship that I know" and goes on to
say it's "lyrically perfect". Read more in this article
[msnbc.com] by Newsweek's Seth Mnookin.
2003-03-11
- TUBORM picked by MOJO in upcoming book: The music magazine MOJO is producing a
book called
"The MOJO Collection", a decade-by-decade rundown of the
magazine's choices of the greatest albums of the last 50 years, with each
page featuring a different album and the story behind how the album was
made. Ben Folds Five's final work, "The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold
Messner," is among the selections featured. The book is being compiled by
Bill DeMain, a member of the pop duo Swan Dive and author of "Behind the Muse: Pop and Rock's Greatest Songwriters".
It's due for a fall release.
2003-05-27
- International Ben Folds Meetup Day: An online service, meetup.com, has started a monthly Ben Folds meetup for fans around the
world to get together locally and discuss Ben and Ben Folds Five. The idea
is that fans from around the world contact each other through the site and
arrange a meeting place in their localities to get together. The sessions
happen on the third Monday of each month at 7PM local time wherever you
are. Check in and sign up to meet some fellow fans in your
area.
2002-12-27
- Songbook now available! The long-awaited song
folio for rockin' the suburbs has been published by Hal Leonard
Music and is now available for purchase. You can find it in music stores
or online, but purchases made through this website (click on the link
above or the picture to the left) help to support the site and the Magical
Armchair.
2002-12-16
- New book features quotes from Ben:Mouthing Off: A Book of Rock and Roll Quotes, due to be
released in May, contains quotations and photographs of rock & roll,
metal, punk and indie musicians. Described as "a fun, funny and
entertaining book that you'll have a hard time putting down", several of
Ben's quotes appear in John D. Luerssen's compilation, which is due to be
released in May.
2002-04-21
- Current tour
dates
- *(The Knoxville Pulse is actually talking about musician Jeff Maynard, but I found the reference amusing.)
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