WANTED:
en Folds carries his
own instrument when
his band goes on
tour.
No big deal — except that this
is no puny guitar case we're talk-
ing about. Folds plays piano.
And when his group, Ben Folds
Five, heads out from its Chapel
Hill, N.C., home base, he packs
a full-sized baby grand and
hauls it from gig to gig.
"I just think digital pianos are
awful," explains Folds, 29, whose
trio's self-titled album has been
hailed by many critics as one of
last year's best debuts. "I don't
even think they (digital pianos)
are an instrument. I couldn't
play a show on a digital piano;
the real thing's got too much life
inside it."
Folds and his bandmates —
bassist Robert Sledge and drum-
mer Darren Jessee — have
turned his piano devotion into a
fresh brand of rock that's
steeped in classic pop influences
(Elton John, The Beatles), de-
B
Piano Movers
livering their catchy songcraft
with punky energy.
"A lot of people will say it just
sounds like a '70s record, which
is fine with me. I don't care,"
says Folds, a multi-talented mu-
sician whose musical experi-
ences included Nashville
recording sessions, European
tours with the Duke University
Wind Symphony, Traverse City
summer gigs and a role in an off-
Broadway version of The Bud-
dy Holly Story.
"But I guarantee you, if I
played my music in '75, people
would think it was wrong— too
fast, not really perfect, dirty
sounding. Put on an old Steely
Dan record; we're definitely not
that." Folds calls his music
"punk rock for sissies."
Of course, dragging a piano
around the country hasn't en-
deared Folds to the owners of
the small clubs the group has
been playing. "Yeah, the reac-
tion you get is, 'Hold it! Hold it
right there with that thing! I
didn't expect this...today!' " Folds
recalls.
One particularly memorable
move was last fall at the Shelter
in downtown Detroit. The hall
had agreed to hire some profes-
sional piano movers. "Halfway
down the steps, they were in
trouble with it," says Folds. "I
said, 'You guys ever move a pi-
ano?' They said `Heh, heh. No.'
We got it down pretty much on
our own. So the promoter can-
celed the movers for the way up.
He figured we could do it our-
selves."
,
Gary Graff
lit Ben Folds Five performs at
8 p.m. tonight at 7th House, 7 N.
Saginaw St., in the Pontiac Arts
Building, Pontiac. Tickets are $8.
All Ages. Call (810) 335-3540.
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featuring
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Hill Auditorium,
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(313) 761-1451 or
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Kathleen Battle
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19th Ann Arbor
Folk Festival