For More Information on Ben Folds Five
Last updated June 7, 1999. Send updates to
webmaster@fmaynard.com
The Band's Mailing Address
The e-mail address for Ben Folds Five,
bffmail@juno.com,
was discontinued effective August 9, 1998.
To send postal mail to Ben Folds Five, write to:
Ben Folds Five
P. O. Box 1028
Chapel Hill, N.C. 27514-1028
They maintain a mailing list for show tour dates and other band news and
may still be able to send you a lyric sheet for the first album. Be sure
to enclose a self-addressed stamped (US postage) envelope if you would
like a reply. They are also starting an e-mail mailing list (for one-way
distribution of info from the band to fans). To sign up, check BFF's
official web page.
Booking Ben Folds Five
North American bookings for Ben Folds Five are handled by
Marsha Vlasic
MVO, Inc.
New York, NY
Telephone 212-840-6011
Other Ben Folds Five Web Pages
Official Websites
- The Official Ben Folds Five
Web Site, run by the band. Up and running as of February 7, 1997 and
redesigned as of April 21, 1999. Features information on the band's albums
including lyrics, tour dates, merchandise, biographies, press clippings,
sound samples, and a virtual tour of Ben's house/studio. (Note: Graphical
browser required in order to make any sense out of this site.)
- Epic
Records' new Ben Folds Five Page
- Sony
Music
Belgium website Ben Folds Five page, with pictures and other info.
- Caroline Records Ben Folds
Five Page
with sections on Naked Baby Photos and the self-titled album.
Other sites run by fans of Ben Folds Five
These websites are run by individuals and generally contain significant
collections of information about the band:
- Scott A. Schneider's Ben Folds Five page,
which includes photos, the definitive FAQ, and a discography with images
of the album covers.
- Discography
Page maintained by Jared Pinkos is the most complete discography of
the band's works on the web. Includes promos, singles and imports.
- Leigh Nelson has devoted part of his website, Exit 13, to Ben Folds
Five. Check out his pictures, setlists and recordings of the band.
- Winston-Salem (Ben's home town) resident Patrick McDonough's
BFF Live Show Review Archive
also includes a copy of the Q&A that Ben did via e-mail through the
Armchair in 1996, as well as strange BFF tidbits.
- Alan "Qualitease" runs the Ben Folds Five
Trading Station, a clearinghouse for fans interested in trading
recordings of live shows.
- Paul
May's Ben
Folds Five Page, which includes a FAQ, links, MP3s and "People
on the Armchair", with photos and personal sketches of some of the
members of the Magical Armchair mailing list.
- Paul
Teeple's Ben Folds Five Page
- Will Brady's Ben
Folds Five site is based in the UK and is notable for its large
collection of photos of band members.
- Kyle's Clubhouse, a popular
repository of video and sound clips and tape trading contacts.
- Jackson
Cannery, Ruprecht's Ben Folds
Five Page
- UK Ben
Folds Five page maintained by Mark Piper
- Japanese Ben Folds Five
Page
- Allan Hsu's Ben Folds Five
Page has, among other things, audio clips of live shows and MP3
(MPEG) video clips.
- Dave Holloway's Ben Folds Five: Helmet
Heads page with interviews with Ben Folds and Darren Jessee,
links, a forum and more. (Not to be confused with fans of the band Helmet.)
- Whatever,
which features fan interpretations of the meaning of BFF song lyrics
- Michael Bluejay's Ben
Folds Five page. This is the guy who had the stick piano tattooed on his
shoulder, so you know he's serious.
- Many people have sites devoted to tablature and other transcriptions
of the band's music. Visit the Tabs, Fakebooks and
Transcriptions section of this site for a list.
- In case I missed any, Polyanna Rhee has a good collection of links
to other Ben Folds Five pages at her We Could Be
Happy Underground page.
- For a comprehensive list of fan-operated BFF sites, visit the Underground
Webring list of registered sites.
Real Audio Sites
Public radio station KCRW's
Morning Becomes Eclectic has featured the band several times and has
RealAudio excerpts on their site.
FAQ
Scott Schneider maintains a
Frequently Asked Questions file on Ben Folds Five.
Usenet Newsgroups
There are several Usenet newsgroups where discussion of Ben Folds Five
has taken place. Some of them are:
Or use the DejaNews search tool below.
What about merchandise?
The band has
merchandise available to fans via their
World-Wide Web page. Several T-shirts, a poster, and the Whatever and
Ever Amen songbook are available. Or call 888-BENFOLDS5 in the US.
Orders may also be phoned to +1-603-742-4377, faxed to
+1-603-742-4707 or mailed to:
Ben Folds Five
P. O. Box 546
Dover, NH 03821
USA
Band T-shirts are also available from CDSquare. They offer two new "Reinhold
Messner" shirts as well as several previously available including the
"Middle C Ringer" and the burgundy shirt with that famous line from "One
Angry Dwarf".
Can I tape a live show? Can I take pictures?
The band has no objection to making a tape recording of a show
with a handheld tape recorder, as long as it is for your own personal use
and not for distribution to anyone else. They will not give
soundboard feeds or patches and you cannot interfere with any of
their equipment.
Any sort of profiteering, be it financial or material (blank cassettes)
from Ben Folds Five show recordings is considered to be an unfair practice
and that takes advantage of the band's liberal policies. Abuse of this
policy may result in the band revoking taping privileges for everyone.
All kinds of photography, including both still and video taping, are
not permitted. The band no longer issues photo passes. Accredited
journalists may obtain photographs from the band's publicity firm or from
the label.
These policies may be overridden by regulations at the venue where they
are playing, so be sure to check first. If a venue prohibits taping or
photography, the band will go along with the venue.
Search engines
- Search
for Ben Folds Five references
- Search
for Ben Folds Five references:
-
Caroline Records
For more information on 
write to:
Passenger/Caroline Records
104 West 29th Street, 4th Floor
New York, N.Y. 10001
In the U.K.:
Caroline Records
12 Barleymow Passage
Chiswick
London W4 4PH
Caroline Records will put you on a mailing list for information about the
many other bands on their labels.
Recommended if You Like Ben Folds
Five
- Bus
Stop, a Greensboro, N.C. band currently on hiatus which features Ben
Folds' brother Chuck on bass, along with Eddie Walker and, on occasion,
Ben on piano or guitar. Evan Olson
left the band in 1997 and has released a solo album, One
Room, and the remaining members (Chuck, Eddie and Britt Uzzell) formed
Snüzz. The quartet still play occasional private engagements
in the Greensboro area as The Blind Tiger Band. Bus Stop have four
albums in release:
- No Parking (Self-released, produced by Ben Folds and John Painter,
1992)
-
A Little Faster (Ripe & Ready Records; 1995)
-
Miracle Time (Ripe & Ready Records; 1995)
- Bus Stop (I Want My Daddy's Records, 1995)
- Fleming & John,
from Nashville, which features Ben on drums here and there. Their albums
include:
- Owsley, a brash young
singer-songwriter from Anniston, Alabama, who once was joined by Ben Folds
in The Semantics, worked with Shania Twain, and who now (and again) plays
with Millard Powers, Ben's partner in Majosha. Will Owsley's style
combines elements of Todd Rundgren, Wings and Aerosmith with the flavor of
the deep south, all of which show through on the eleven tracks of his
debut self-titled
album on Giant Records.
- Built To Spill,
a Boise, Idaho band that have become a favorite of Ben, Darren and
Robert. At shows, they cover BTS's song "Twin Falls". Check them out on
their albums:
- Jellyfish, a
band, now broken up, with a sound similar to Ben Folds Five. Check out
-
Bellybutton (EMI/Capitol; 1990), their first album
-
Spilt Milk (EMI/Capitol; 1993), their best-selling and most widely
acclaimed album
The Chapel Hill/Triangle Area Scene
The Chapel Hill, N.C. area whence the band hails is very active
musically. Some resources to find out more:
Send mail to webmaster@fmaynard.com with
corrections, additions or comments, or to subscribe to The Magical
Armchair, the Ben Folds Five Internet mailing list.