Don’t Change Your Plans When MySpace approached Ben Folds Five about reuniting for a one-off show, the call came at the perfect time for bassist Robert Sledge. It was mid-2008, and he hadn’t played with Folds or drummer Darren Jessee in eight years, which was just enough time for old wounds to heal. “I was [...]

Since releasing Sounds Like This, the band’s fourth studio album, ALO has been the main focus of its members. While that statement might sound downright obvious, when you consider the plethora of side projects that the members are involved in — including singer/keyboardist Zach Gill’s commitments as Jack Johnson’s keyboardist — it’s a welcome change [...]

When a band gets back together there are two questions in everyone’s mind: “Are they going to play the old stuff?” and “Is it going to be as good as it was back then?” In the case of the Ben Folds Five, the answers are yes and yes. Despite the fact that the band are [...]

On May 22, Sara Bareilles will release her EP Once Upon Another Time, produced by her friend and fellow The Sing-Off judge Ben Folds. We spoke with the songstress about her newest creative collaboration, and what sets this EP apart. Check out the EP track “Stay” here. Do you consider “once upon another time” to [...]

Tomorrow, pop songstress Sara Barielles will release a new EP, Once Upon Another Time, recorded in Nashville with her Sing Off buddy Ben Folds, who served as producer. We’ll have an interview with Barielles for you soon — in the mean time, take a listen to the slow and soulful, string-laden track “Stay.” “Sara is [...]

22-year-old singer-songwriter Julia Nunes went from obscurity to 48 million views for her YouTube page in a few short years. She takes a hands-on approach to her career, creating her own videos, album art, T-shirts and more. Ben Folds is a fan; he took her out on tour after she posted one of her Ben [...]

Ben Folds The Best Imitation of Myself: A Retrospective (Sony Legacy) Rating: Ben Folds has said this collection was an honest attempt to make sense of his career, from Ben Folds Five up to his most recent collaborations with Nick Hornby, Neil Gaiman, and Amanda Palmer. Not so much, he said, a greatest hits collection [...]

How fast can you write and record eight songs? If you’re Ben Folds, Amanda Palmer, OK Go’s Damian Kulash, and celebrated fantasy writer Neil Gaiman, you’ll need about eight hours. That’s what the foursome of “creative internet addicts” will attempt to pull off on April 25, from 4 p.m. to midnight, at Boston’s Berklee College [...]

Ben Folds – Assembly Hall – Champaign, IL 1/25/2011 Ben Folds’ first solo record Rockin’ the Suburbs came out on September 11th, 2001 – not an easy release day to forget. I remember walking into the empty record store that day to get what solace I could from twelve new songs from a favorite artist. [...]

Rock novelist Nick Hornby may have penned all the lyrics for the new Ben Folds album Lonely Avenue, but that doesn’t mean the “Brick” singer is about to start writing books. “With a song, it only takes a couple of minutes to go back to the beginning and try it again to see if it [...]

Neil Young is now a comic book character. His likeness appears in “Neil Young’s Greendale,” a new graphic novel out this week via Vertigo, and imprint of DC Comics (we always thought Neil would be more of a Marvel man). The book was written by Joshua Dysart (who once penned a manga book about Avril [...]

Cover songs; every time you turn around, there’s a new one. Ben Folds cheers up Elliott Smith’s “Say Yes” as part of The AV Club’s ongoing Undercovers project; Folds wrote “Late,” off 2005′s Songs For Silverman, in Smith’s honor. Ben Folds covers Elliott Smith Strokes frontman Julian Casablancas steps into Bruce Springsteen’s shoes for this [...]