Ben Folds

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Birthday:

12 September 1966, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA

Birth Name:

Benjamin Scott Folds

Height:

178 cm

Folds first found mainstream success as the leader of the critically acclaimed, platinum-selling Ben Folds Five. He has gone on to have a very successful solo career, recording multiple studio albums, a pair of records documenting his renowned live performances, a remix record, music for film and TV, as well as numerous collaborations with artists from Sara Bareilles to William Shatner.In 2012, Folds reunited with Ben Folds Five and released a new album, "The Sound of the Life of the Mind." The band continued to tour the world in 2013 and released their first live album, "Ben Folds Five Live," this summer.A Nashville resident, Folds owns and operates the historic RCA Studio A, where legends of all genres of music - Elvis Presley, the Monkees, Eddy Arnold, Dolly Parton, Tony Bennett and the Beach Boys - have recorded.Folds, who serves as a member of the board of directors of the Nashville Symphony, is composing a piano concerto that he will debut in 2014 as a part of a global symphonic tour. He has also enjoyed a special relationship with symphony musicians, having performed with some of the world's greatest orchestras.A member of the distinguished Artist Committee for Americans for the Arts, Folds is also an outspoken advocate for music therapy and music education. Show less «

People ask me what this song's about... I was asked about it a lot, and I didn't really wanna make a big hairy deal out of it, because I jus...Show more »

People ask me what this song's about... I was asked about it a lot, and I didn't really wanna make a big hairy deal out of it, because I just wanted the song to speak for itself. But the song is about when I was in high school, me and my girlfriend had to get an abortion, and it was a very sad thing. And, I didn't really want to write this song from any kind of political standpoint, or make a statement. I just wanted to reflect what it feels like. So, anyone who's gone through that before, then you'll know what the song's about. - Explanation of the song "Brick", 1997. Show less «

The reason I stop playing songs is usually because I get sick of them, and then they find themselves back into the set list at some point.

I'm older than I was, and I'm still washed-up, and I haven't changed my music one iota. It's just much easier to do this when people are bei...Show more »

I'm older than I was, and I'm still washed-up, and I haven't changed my music one iota. It's just much easier to do this when people are being nice to you. Show less «

There is still some art in pop music. But it can't happen if you're not inspired.

Now that I have found someone, I'm feeling more alone... than I ever have before.

Maybe this is wrong, but I feel like I craft my songs carefully enough that I still find that fifteen years after having written one, it sti...Show more »

Maybe this is wrong, but I feel like I craft my songs carefully enough that I still find that fifteen years after having written one, it still works for me - I'm not cringing. Show less «

I'm aware that I'm very fringe, and it's nice that way.

Everyone, when you're a teenager and you're growing up, you do feel like your life is dramatic enough to be on a TV screen, but we know that...Show more »

Everyone, when you're a teenager and you're growing up, you do feel like your life is dramatic enough to be on a TV screen, but we know that it's not. Show less «

The clock never stops, never stops, never waits. We're growing old. It's getting late.

The nature of honesty is that if someone has information or knows something about you that you don't want heard, then they have power over y...Show more »

The nature of honesty is that if someone has information or knows something about you that you don't want heard, then they have power over you. Show less «

With the a cappella groups, every voice is like one string on a guitar, one note on the piano, or one cymbal, and you don't have the luxury ...Show more »

With the a cappella groups, every voice is like one string on a guitar, one note on the piano, or one cymbal, and you don't have the luxury of falling back on anything. Show less «

Everybody knows it hurts to grow up... and we're still fighting it.

I do have that mindset - that most good art comes from some turmoil, from someone trying to come to some equilibrium, or come up and get a b...Show more »

I do have that mindset - that most good art comes from some turmoil, from someone trying to come to some equilibrium, or come up and get a breath. Show less «

I'm really good at writing 'almost hits'.

A lot of 18-year-olds are like old men. They think they've seen everything.

Because I write very simply, but inside the simplicity, there's a lot of subtlety. That's what I'm proud of.

You never know when you put out an album that's unique whether it'll get beat up for it or not.

The way I see it, there's only one melody for any song.

In many ways, I've chosen to be plain, almost too plain, too self-effacing. Like, if I record a vocal and I don't like the way it sounds, I ...Show more »

In many ways, I've chosen to be plain, almost too plain, too self-effacing. Like, if I record a vocal and I don't like the way it sounds, I would have them turn it up and take the reverb off it to make it as plain as possible. Show less «

Billy Joel and Joe Jackson were both great, and they both play piano.

My job is to be some sort of music/lyric psychic, to figure out that that's the right song to not fight the lyric.

I used to do this big rant at the end of some gigs with Ben Folds Five. The band broke into this big heavy metal thing and I started as a jo...Show more »

I used to do this big rant at the end of some gigs with Ben Folds Five. The band broke into this big heavy metal thing and I started as a joke to scream in a heavy metal falsetto. I found myself saying things like: Feel my pain, I am white, feel my pain. Show less «

It's a tough thing to know that when you're making your album, you're going to end up collaborating with, say, Wal-Mart, on your artwork. Th...Show more »

It's a tough thing to know that when you're making your album, you're going to end up collaborating with, say, Wal-Mart, on your artwork. That just sucks. And the pressure behind getting the numbers real fast is, to me, dizzying. Show less «

But I really do have a soft spot for the solo shows. Any musician who writes and sings will tell you that's the center of it, that is it. It...Show more »

But I really do have a soft spot for the solo shows. Any musician who writes and sings will tell you that's the center of it, that is it. It's almost like there's something church-like about it and you gotta go back there, if you're a songwriter that sings your material. Show less «

Rock and roll is - and should be - a kid's place.

My idea is to play with the people who you know want to get it right. Then it's fun and easy to record, and you can get down to details, lik...Show more »

My idea is to play with the people who you know want to get it right. Then it's fun and easy to record, and you can get down to details, like taking out cymbals so the verse doesn't dwarf the chorus, something like that. Show less «

Even though I live in America more, I feel like when I go to Adelaide, that's when I get to go home.

I'm not really a strange person or anything, so if there's music I like, usually there's other people who like it too.

Why would I want to sound like Joni Mitchell? I've got Joni Mitchell records, and they're great, and I couldn't possibly be that good.

Next door, there's an old man who lived to his nineties and one day passed away in his sleep. And his wife, she stayed for a couple of days ...Show more »

Next door, there's an old man who lived to his nineties and one day passed away in his sleep. And his wife, she stayed for a couple of days and passed away. I'm sorry, I know that's a strange way to tell you that I know we belong. Show less «

The press is like any business. It's a group of really intelligent individuals that ends up being one slathering, one-eyed, drooling monster...Show more »

The press is like any business. It's a group of really intelligent individuals that ends up being one slathering, one-eyed, drooling monster. Show less «