Ben Folds Five is a band who started in 1994. Ben Folds Five is a trio not
a quintet, which it is often mistaken for. The band originated in Chapel Hill,
North Carolina. Ben Folds Five is known for it's half punk and half alternative
sounds. The famous band Styx and the famous band Journey have given Ben
Folds Five music the title of "punk rock for sissies."
In the late 1980's, Ben Folds played bass in a band called Maj=sha. The
band was not very successful. Maj=sha only cut one record not giving itself a big
name. In the early 1990's, he played drums in a group called Pots and Pans.
Folds then moved to New York after Pots and Pans broke up. He did some
theater work and signed a publishing deal with Sony Music for his singing.
This publishing deal allowed him three weeks to return to Chapel Hill and
form a new band. Ben Folds Five then originated. The trio includes three band
members with much experience under their belts. The lead singer and pianist
Ben Folds has been in many bands mentioned earlier. The bassist Robert Sledge
formerly played with a band called The Toxic Popsicle. The drummer Darren
Jesse was a former member of Limbo.
Soon after the trio got together, they released a single, "Jackson Cannery,"
which lead to a deal with a New York based publishing company called Caroline.
Ben Folds states he feels more comfortable in littler towns like his own back
home. So for their first year or two, they only stayed in local towns and small
Getting the piano sound popular was not easy for this band. The sound
popular then was the grunge distorted-guitar sound. Ben Folds knew it was
going to be tough to become popular without that guitar sound. But still persued
Folds states, "I won't compromise-we just don't play if there's no piano. If
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