{"id":13911,"date":"2023-03-09T08:30:45","date_gmt":"2023-03-09T08:30:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/?p=13911"},"modified":"2023-03-09T08:30:45","modified_gmt":"2023-03-09T08:30:45","slug":"ben-folds-found-lost-and-found-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/2023\/03\/09\/ben-folds-found-lost-and-found-again\/","title":{"rendered":"BEN FOLDS: found, \u00b4lost\u00b4 and found again"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

BEN FOLDS: <\/strong>found, \u00b4lost\u00b4 and found again<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

by Norman Warwick, thanks to the fantastic Paste on line team<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a similar fashion to the subject of today\u00b4s piece I spent hours in Rochdale Libnrary when I was a teenager, all those decades ago, poring over any auto \/ biography I could find of the musicians I loved listening to. I wanted to know how The Stones and The Beatles seemed to be so stardom-ready when the wide world first heard them. I wanted to know from where song-writers drew their inspiration. I wanted to know how to be one of them. Somewhere along this long trail of sidetracks and detours and sometimes cul-de-sacs, I heard of a Ben Folds who was then a Five<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Our regular readers know by now that I seem unable to walk in chronological directions and so they will be unsurprised to learn that I honestly can\u00b4t remember when I first heard either The Ben Folds Five or Ben Folds or whereabouts I lost them or him somewhere along the trail. A recent article in Paste on line has had me scratching about all of the above.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I could check all that by crawling through my record collections or my writing archives, but for now let\u00b4s just follow the road ahead to see where it might lead. (That has always been my philosophy).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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When Ben Folds was younger, Paste on line tells us, he\u2019d read through virtually every music magazine at his local 7-Eleven in Winston-Salem, N.C., trying to figure out where rock stars learned to be rock stars. Did they take piano or guitar lessons? Did they attend music college?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cIt just wasn\u2019t cool for a rock star to shout out to his music teacher,\u201d Folds writes in his new autobiography,\u00a0A Dream About Lightning Bugs: A Life of Music and Cheap Lessons<\/em>, out Tuesday. \u201cRockers were supposed to be completely self-taught, rolling out of bed one day with messy hair and a bong, and suddenly\u2014boom\u2014they were the shit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But how did Gene Simmons actually become Gene Simmons<\/em>? Folds attended band camp\u2014did Simmons? Did he know what key \u201cCalling Dr. Love\u201d was in? The Paste on line writer, Rayme Antrim,  put these questions to Ben Folds during an extensive interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell, you could read all of the interviews you wanted to, they were never going to pull back the veil and let you sort of understand how they got there,\u201d Folds tells Paste<\/em>. \u201cThere was no sense of giving back. Before you can understand someone\u2019s creative process, you have to understand where they came from and who they are.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Understanding Ben Folds\u2019 creativity is the crux of his book. Unlike the artists who hid their musical education and background while he was growing up, Folds wrote his memoir to tell that<\/em> story: how he learned how to play instruments, why he stuck with it and what creativity truly means to him. Without that incredibly detailed background, he says it\u2019s impossible to fully understand his career and his creative approaches. It\u2019s why he mentions every music teacher from kindergarten through college by name, spelling out how every class and every music lesson led to his accomplished back catalogue. He doesn\u2019t even mention the formation of Ben Folds Five until page 163 of 311.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI spent way too much time on childhood for the pure reason that anything that was going to be understood about what I made, had to be seen through that lens,\u201d he explains. \u201cYou have to understand who my father was. I think then it\u2019s helpful to see how he was. If it\u2019s interesting, and if it\u2019s compelling towards the story of creativity, then it would remain. Then, stories of my life that are batshit crazy, those would be loads of fun to talk about and would be really entertaining, didn\u2019t go in if it didn\u2019t serve that purpose. If something was terribly uncomfortable, I didn\u2019t want to talk about it. But if it did serve the purpose, I had to say it. I had to put it in.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those stories\u2014which range from a chapter about walking to piano lessons in the snow to hanging out with elderly parapsychologist regulars at a German restaurant after his polka sets (his first regular music job) and a lot more in between\u2014all serve the purpose of showing what actually led to Folds developing his own personal creative method and, in turn, influencing his own song- writing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it takes him a while to get there. Folds details his myriad music failures, including: getting kicked out of the University of Miami\u2019s music school in spectacular fashion (after which he threw his drum kit in the campus lake); playing in cover groups and wedding bands; attempting, and failing, to make music careers in London, Nashville and New York; fronting multiple groups with no label interest; and signing and getting dropped from various publishing deals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each stop along the way made him who he is today. The book wouldn\u2019t have been truthful without each story, as painful as they may be. And the process has been a rewarding one for Folds: He even suggests that everyone should write their own memoirs in their mid-40s. It helps you rediscover the truth in your own personal life, separating it from what you misremembered along the way, he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou would find some stuff that you realized was fiction\u2014I don\u2019t care how honest you are,\u201d he explains. \u201cAs it went along, I realized I was getting the job done even with the truth, even with the things that weren\u2019t exaggerated.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even though the truth may have been painful, a lot of these individual stories led to specific lyrics in Folds\u2019 back catalogue, many of which are inserted throughout this book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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For example, instead of telling the story behind\u00a0Whatever and Ever Amen<\/em>\u2019s \u201cBrick\u201d (which he writes is detailed enough on its own), he instead tells the entire tale of his relationship with his first girlfriend, including the abortion the song is about, with a major focus on the aftermath. Exhausted from working two jobs, he almost flunked out of high school while trying to help her recover both physically and mentally. The story ends with him driving her to the hospital where upon her release, his car got totalled. The next week, he borrowed his mom\u2019s Honda Civic, which was stolen that day. When his father told him to lie to the police and say he lost more valuable items than were actually in the car, he couldn\u2019t do it, resulting in the \u201cBrick\u201d lyric: \u201cShe broke down \/ And I broke down \/ \u2018Cause I was tired of lying.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Originally, the book was going to be even more centred around the lyrics, Folds explains:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI considered the form of it being based on my songs, but I felt like that was too\u2014I know this is funny to say because it\u2019s a memoir\u2014me-centric. It didn\u2019t allow me to tell the story of creativity. I kind of wanted a study of my songs to have someone walk away and think about the images in their life and what that brings up and how that might be a song for them and what\u2019s important and what\u2019s not important. For someone who knows all of my music, it\u2019s of a certain kind of interest. But for someone who doesn\u2019t know my music, I also wanted it to be of interest.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What results from this effort is an incredible memoir that\u2019s quite different from most other musician autobiographies. Folds absolutely succeeds in his mission to pull back the veil behind his process and show the world how it all came about. While some chapters paint him in a negative light, he\u2019s honest throughout, proving that it\u2019s possible to be legitimately objective and truthful about yourself if you\u2019re willing to commit to it. There are loads of entertaining stories\u2014even one that references a 2018 Paste <\/em>article<\/a>\u2014but it\u2019s the heartfelt ones that paint the picture of Folds\u2019 early life and struggles to get a career jump-started, that truly resonate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is a book about what I know,\u201d Folds writes in the first chapter. \u201cOr what I think I know. It\u2019s about music and how it has framed and informed my life, and vice versa. About the stumbles, falls and other brilliant strokes of luck that brought me here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That journey, beginning with a dream he had at age 3, is one of the most rewarding any musician has brought us along for in quite some time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After eight years, Ben Folds returns with the new single \u201cWinslow Gardens,\u201d alongside a new album What Matters Most<\/em> set to release on June 2 on New West Records.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The multi-talented singer\/songwriter, musician and composer from North Carolina first found success as the frontman and pianist of the alternative rock trio Ben Folds Five in the late \u201990s, and followed that a decade later as a solo artist, releasing Rockin The Suburbs<\/em> with hits like \u201cThe Luckiest.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His versatile approach to writing and composing, along with performing arrangements of his music with symphony orchestras and a cappella groups, has led to a varied career that includes an impressive 20-minute concerto with the Nashville Symphony in collaboration with yMusic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Folds has also written scores for classic animated movies such as Hoodwinked!<\/em> and Over the Hedge<\/em>. The jack-of-all-trades in music has brought a refreshing sound to the world of singer\/songwriters. It helps to know how to play the piano, bass and drums when making some of the best songs of the 21st century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His new single \u201cWinslow Gardens,\u201d is a light, springy tune backed by his iconic keys. The lyrics hint at a couple going away for a trip and finding themselves in that place much longer than expected. Ten weeks turns to ten years, while it all feels like just ten minutes\u2014you lose track of time as small routines with your loved ones become the only things that matter. The swirling, repetitive melody at the end of the chorus, \u201cYou started all over \/ We\u2019ve started all over again,\u201d makes you feel like you\u2019re in a that time loop with the characters\u2014and it\u2019s not particularly a bad feeling, but a comforting one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Listen to the new song, and check out the new records\u2019 artwork, tracklist and tour dates below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What Matters Most<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0TRACKLIST:<\/strong>
1. But Wait, There\u2019s More
2. Clouds With Ellipses (feat. dodie)
3. Exhausting Lover
4. Fragile
5. Kristine From The 7th Grade
6. Back To Anonymous
7. Winslow Gardens
8. Paddleboat
9. What Matters Most
10. Moments (feat. Tall Heights<\/p>\n\n\n\n

European Tour dates 2023<\/em> NOVEMBER<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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08 \u2013 Bath, United Kingdom @ The Forum
09 \u2013 Brighton, United Kingdom @ Brighton Dome
10 \u2013 Birmingham, United Kingdom @ Symphony Hall
12 \u2013 Oxford, United Kingdom @ New Theatre
13 \u2013 London, United Kingdom @ Royal Albert Hall
15 \u2013 Gateshead, United Kingdom @ Sage Gateshead
16 \u2013 York, United Kingdom @ Grand Opera House
17 \u2013 Manchester, United Kingdom @ O2 Apollo
18 \u2013 Edinburgh, United Kingdom @ Usher Hall
20 \u2013 Dublin, Ireland @ The Helix
23 \u2013 Zurich, Switzerland @ Kaufleuten
25 \u2013 Berlin, Germany @ Admiralspalast
26 \u2013 Wiesbaden, Germany @ Kurhaus
27 \u2013 Utrecht, Netherlands @ TrivoliVredenburg \u2013 Grote Zaal
30 \u2013 Paris, France @ La Cigale<\/p>\n\n\n\n


European Tour Dates 2023 <\/em><\/strong>DECEMBER<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

01 \u2013 Antwerp, Belgium @ De Roma
02 \u2013 Dudelange, Luxembourg @ Opderschmelz
04 \u2013 Essen, Germany @ Lichtburg<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Folds has also written scores for classic animated movies such as\u00a0Hoodwinked!\u00a0and\u00a0Over the Hedge. The jack-of-all-trades in music has brought a refreshing sound to the world of singer\/songwriters. It helps to know how to play the piano, bass and drums when making some of the best songs of the 21st century.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13918,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13911","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13911","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13911"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13911\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13919,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13911\/revisions\/13919"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13918"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13911"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13911"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13911"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}