Ben Folds
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Benjamin Scott Folds (born September 12, 1966 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina) is an American singer-songwriter. While he has gained fame as a pianist, he is also adept at guitar, bass, and drums. He originally gained fame as a member of the rock band, Ben Folds Five. Ben has released four solo albums: Fear of Pop: Volume 1, Rockin' the Suburbs, Ben Folds Live, and Songs for Silverman. Fear of Pop was released while Ben Folds Five were still together; Suburbs, Live, and Songs for Silverman were released afterwards. Since Fear of Pop is highly experimental and Live is a collection of live solo recordings of mostly songs originally recorded with Ben Folds Five, Rockin' the Suburbs is Ben's first proper solo release, in which he recorded most of the instruments himself. In late 2003 two solo EPs: Speed Graphic and Sunny 16 were released, with a third entitled Super D released in mid-2004.
Ben resides in Nashville, Tennessee with his wife, Frally Hynes, and two children, Louis and Gracie. The family also spends a few months each year in Frally's hometown of Adelaide, South Australia, a city immortalised in his wry, nostalgic song Adelaide. He often tours Japan, the United States and other parts of the world.
Folds' tours are famous for his solo act as "a man and a piano," often having the audience become involved by "playing" the accompanying instruments (such as the trumpet and saxophone harmonies in "Army"). His concerts are charismatic, yet calm - an enjoyable experience for most. And although Folds is constantly putting out new songs, his concerts never forget classic fan favorites such as Army, Kate, Fired, etc.
Folds also produced and arranged the most recent William Shatner album, Has Been (2004); he previously worked with Shatner on the songs "In Love" and "Still in Love" for Fear of Pop.
Folds described his former band, Ben Folds Five, as "punk rock for sissies," and his oddball lyrics often contain nuances of depression, melancholy and self-conflict. While he was with the band Ben Folds Five and since his departure, Folds also provided a number of songs for film soundtracks. Some of these include "Lonely Christmas Eve" for the film How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (2000), a rendition of the Beatles' "Golden Slumbers" for the film I Am Sam (2001) and "Wicked Little Town" for the film Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001). He also appears on No Boundaries, a benefit album for the Kosovo Refugees with the song "Leather Jacket".
On a planned tour of Australia, Folds teamed up with solo artists Ben Kweller and Ben Lee to travel the country together as The Bens, at the suggestion of a fan on Ben Kweller's official website. The trio also went on to record a four-track EP together, entitled The Bens.
In summer of 2004, Folds co-headlined an American tour with fellow rockers Rufus Wainwright and Guster. His fourth solo album entitled Songs for Silverman was released in the U.S. on April 26, 2005, featuring Jared Reynolds on bass, and Lindsay Jamieson on the drums. This album includes the track "Late", a tribute to the late singer-songwriter Elliott Smith, and also features "Weird Al" Yankovic on "Time." Folds is slated to perform with Rufus Wainwright and Ben Lee in the summer of 2005 as part of the "Odd Men Out" tour.
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Discography
Ben Folds Five
- Ben Folds Five (1995) - Passenger/Caroline Records
- Whatever and Ever Amen (1997) - 550
- Naked Baby Photos (1998) - Passenger/Caroline
- The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner (1999) - 550
Ben Folds Solo
- Fear of Pop: Volume 1, 1998, Sony
- Rockin' the Suburbs, 2001, Sony
- Ben Folds Live, 2002, Sony
- Songs for Silverman, 2005, Epic
- Songs for Goldfish, 2005, Epic
Solo EP's
External links
- Official Site (http://www.benfolds.com)
- Fan Site benfolds.org (http://www.benfolds.org)
- Joey's Guide to Ben Folds Five B-Sides and Rarities (http://www.geocities.com/rarebff/benfolds/)
- Fan Site thesuburbs.org.uk (http://www.thesuburbs.org.uk)
- Ben Folds Lyrics Database (http://benfolds.bluni.com)
- Audio interview with Ben Folds (http://www.phoenixfm.com/boa/ben-folds.php)de:Ben Folds