Ben Folds / Ben Folds Five
Born September 12, 1966
Ben Folds Five formed 1994
A guitarless band may seem strange at first, but the piano, bass and
drums trio Ben Folds Five have dispelled any misgivings about their
ability to rock as loud and hard as the next band. Calling themselves
"punk rock for sissys," the band have been grouped with the nerd rock
movement of the mid-90s with one exception, Folds know how to write
catchy and clever pop songs that hold up after repeated listens.
The group's story is, in many ways, the story of its de facto leader
and namesake, Ben Folds. The son of a carpenter, Folds was born in
Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Upon graduating high school in the
mid-80s, the young songwriter drifted from place to place in hopes of
discovering a good scene to sow his brainchild. Throughout the decade
when hair bands ruled the airwaves Folds spent frustrating stints in
Miami, Chapel Hill, New York and Europe before landing in Nashville in
the early 90s. To spite the fact that Nashville was a songwriter's
mecca, or because of it, Folds found the city's approach to songwriting
frustrating and exclusive. While producers and managers wanted obvious
hits, Folds wanted, instead, to follow his own muse, a notoriously
eccentric one at that.
When Folds finally drifted back to Chapel Hill in 1994 he formed a
piano-based trio with bassist Robert Sledge and drummer Darren Jessee
and within weeks the band cut an indie single that attracted the
attention of Caroline. Their 1995 self-titled debut sold strong enough
to warrant the kind of major label bidding war that young bands
fantasize about. Eventually signing with Sony, the group released
Whatever and Ever Amen and continued the strenuous touring schedule
that the band had become known for. Releasing the singles "Battle of
Who Could Care Less" and "Brick" into a climate awash with sound-alike
guitar bands, Ben Folds Five and their witty, off-beat piano-based
music was a welcome difference and the group became critical and
commercial darlings.
Inevitable comparisons to piano composers of yore, such as Todd
Rundgren, Billy Joel and Joe Jackson, followed but the group fought
hard to maintain their individuality. Over the next two years Ben Folds
Five kept their name in the press by releasing songs on soundtracks, as
well as an album of outtakes, b-sides and early live appearances called
Naked Baby Photos. In early 1999 they released their third full-length
album, The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner. In November
2000, Ben Folds Five abruptly announced their split, shocking fans and
media. However, the trio quickly announced that all would be pursuing
individual projects. Bassist Robert Sledge was going to put his own
group together while balancing his tour efforts with former Squirrel
Nut Zippers multi-instrumentalist Tom Maxwell's group the Minor Drag.
Drummer Darren Jessee also went after similar opportunities, playing
club shows around New York City. Ben Folds didn't stop either, for the
singer/pianist contributed "Lonely Christmas Eve" for the How the
Grinch Stole Christmas soundtrack as well as the cut called "Wandering"
for the 2000 independent comedy 100 Girls."
Singer/pianist Ben Folds (born September 12, 1966, in Winston-Salem,
NC) is best-known as the leader of the power pop trio Ben Folds Five,
but has also struck out on his own as a solo artist. Despite playing in
bands in high school, his musical career didn't really get off the
ground until the late '80s, as a bassist for Majsha (the outfit issued
such obscure releases as Party Night: Five Songs About Jesus and Shut
Up and Listen to Majsha). Proving his multi-instrumental talents, Folds
also played drums in as a session musician in Nashville. After
relocating to New York, Folds started acting again (he'd done some
theatre in high school previously), and signed a publishing deal with
Sony Music. Moving back to North Carolina, Folds formed Ben Folds Five
in 1994. Whereas most alternative bands of the '90s specialized in
distorted teen angst rock, the guitarless trio was a refreshing break
from the norm. In addition to Folds, the trio also included bassist
Robert Sledge and drummer Darren Jesse, as their sound was more a kin
to such past power popsters as Todd Rundgren, Jellyfish, early Joe
Jackson, and such piano-driven artists as Billy Joel and early Elton
John. But like punk bands, Ben Folds Five put on a high energy,
blistering live show - which has turned them into a must-see live act.
The band was signed to the independent Caroline Records shortly
afterward, resulting in their self-titled debut one year later. Due to
airings of their humorous anthem, "Underground" (which poked fun at the
politics of the punk/alternative scene) on MTV's 120 Minutes and
constant touring, quite a buzz was stirring for the band by the time of
their second album - which was issued through Epic. Released in 1997,
Whatever and Ever Amen was pure pop perfection easily one of the year's
best releases (and perhaps the best power pop release of the '90s). The
band's songwriting and sound had improved even further, as evidenced by
such gems as "One Angry Dwarf and 200 Solemn Faces," "Fair," "Kate,"
and "Battle of Who Could Care Less," plus their whimsical tribute to
breakups, "Song for the Dumped." But it was the ballad "Brick" that
broke the band commercially - unlike the majority of their material
that was upbeat, the song contained melancholic music and vocals, as
the lyrics told the story of a teenaged couple who decides to get an
abortion (it has been speculated that the tale was autobiographical for
Folds). The single didn't hit until several months after the album was
released, which meant that the band stayed on the road for well over a
year, playing with such notables as Dave Matthews, Beck, and as part of
the H.O.R.D.E. 1997 festival - earning W.A.E.A. platinum status. While
1998 didn't see a new studio album by the band, BF5's former label
issued a 16-track rarities collection (Naked Baby Photos), as Folds
released his first solo album, Volume 1, under the pseudonym Fear of
Pop. Although the album went largely unnoticed, it included the song
"In Love," which included overly dramatic vocals from none other than
Captain Kirk himself, William Shatner (comparable in approach to
Shatner's must-hear 1968 album, Transformed Man) - which was performed
on the Conan O'Brien show shortly after the album's release. Ben Folds
Five regrouped with 1999' s The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold
Messner, which was a more mature work than its predecessors, although
the energetic lead-off single, "Army," showed that Folds' humorous
approach hadn't dulled at all.
~Allmusic.com