Biography - Darren Jessee

Darren Jessee

The quiet, shy guy who's as peculiar as the rest of 'em

The Beginnings

Darren Micheal Jessee was born on April 8, 1971 (lucky for us!), in Houston, Texas. He grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina.

His Musical Career

During his life so far, Darren has been in a number of bands. In high school, Darren was in the school's marching band. He was in a band called Armageddon (which I know nothing about!). He played drums in 'In Limbo,' and they released a CD called "What?" Later, he was in a band he says his mother really liked, called How Town. (I really don't know much about any of these bands... so let's move on.) And then he found Ben Folds Five. (I know a lot about this band, and I bet you do too!)

Darren went to East Carolina University, where he studied classical music. He went to Nashville to find work. Luckily, he ran into Ben. There are zillions of stories of how the band got together, so this is all of what we know for sure.

In Ben Folds Five, he has written "Magic," "Leather Jacket," and the lyrics for "Song For The Dumped." He collaborated on "Where's Summer B.?," (How's that for consecutive punctuation? - .?,") "Brick," and "Kate," to name a few. (There are more which I am not going to list right now.)

Useless trivia and Darren tidbits:

Darren wanted to be a lawyer.
His mother bought him his first set of drums.
Darren says his parents have good taste in music.
His favorite song from the selftitled album is "Alice Childress."
Darren has a longtime girlfriend.
Darren is a vegetarian.
His girlfriend is also a vegetarian.
Darren played soccer in junior high.
Darren went to East Carolina University.
Darren also knows how to play slap bass and guitar.
Darren has an older sister named Deane.
Apparently, Reinhold Messner is the name Darren and his friends used on their fake ID's when they were still underage.
Darren recently bought a house with his girlfriend in New York. (I think.)
Ben Folds Five's first rehearsal was in Darren's apartment in Chapel Hill (I don't know where I got this from...email me if you think otherwise...)
Ben Folds Five signed their deal with Caroline during Darren's lunch break from flipping burgers. (I don't know if I believe this one...)
Darren's mother's name is Bobbie.
His father's name is Dick.
Darren's grandfather is the man on the front of TUBORM.
Darren once said that his New Year's Resolution was to stop jacking off into his own mouth.
In the liner notes for TUBORM, Darren thanked the bartenders of Chapel Hill.
Just recently, Darren has done a few solo shows with his guitar.