Biography - Ben Folds Five
Ben Folds Five, the BEST band in the whole wide world, is from a place called Chapel Hill, in North Carolina, USA. The band is made up of Ben Folds, the namesake and smart-ass cool guy who runs the show on piano, Darren Jessee, the drummer, and Rob Sledge, the bassist. The trio has had past success with "Brick", the sad song about a doomed couple and an abortion, but I think "Brick" is the most un-Ben-Folds-Five-like Ben Folds Five song (How's that for a description for ya?). Most of the songs are the upbeat, happy-sounding, sing-your-heart-out kind of songs. Ben Folds creates magic with his baby grand piano, despite the fact that the guitar-oriented pop world seems to have put itself in charge of what people are listening to. But if you found yourself at this page, you obviously realize that if music is good, people will listen to it. (If not, I think you got lost...) And Ben Folds Five is the best.
The first BFF album to hit stores was their self-titled album. Released in 1995, it didn't really get the recognition it deserved, especially here in Canada. It features titles such as "Best Imitation of Myself," "Julianne," "Underground," and "The Last Polka." The second album, Whatever and Ever Amen, was released in 1997, and contains songs such as "Brick," "Kate," "One Angry Dwarf And 200 Solemn Faces," "Song For The Dumped," and "Steven's Last Night In Town." The next album, Naked Baby Photos, is a compilation of early BFF songs and live versions. The studio recorded tracks include "Emaline," Tom and Mary," and "Eddie Walker." Some of the live tracks are "Underground," "Philosophy," "Julianne," and "Song For The Dumped." The live version of "Alice Childress" found on this CD happens to be the band's first live radio performance. The newest CD, called The Unauthorized Bioraphy of Reinhold Messner is described as more mature than previous albums. This gem features more mature songs, such as "Magic," a beautiful song which was written by Darren, "Your Most Valuable Possession," which is based around a message Ben's father left on his (Ben's) answering machine, "Mess," which is a "cowboy song" Ben wrote for his ex-wife (I think), and "Don't Change Your Plans". All are just awesome, but I can't help but be sad that the BFF we all fell in love with is growing up.
Just recently, in December of 1998, Ben Folds has released another CD, called Fear of Pop, which was his solo project. The cd, cheekily titled "Volume 1," features titles such as "Fear of Pop" (which the album is named for), "In Love," and "Still In Love," with William Shatner himself.
[Darren Jessee] [Ben Folds] [Robert Sledge]