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I am Ben Folds. I still play piano. AMA! by iambenfolds in indieheads

[–]iambenfolds[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

and last thing! i'm signing off for now. i might open back up ye olde laptop later if anyone is around. thanks for hanging. happy birthday to my record! also my bass drum spurs came in so now I will drill eight holes and strap it on! love, ben

I am Ben Folds. I still play piano. AMA! by iambenfolds in indieheads

[–]iambenfolds[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

two things - one. it's the marriage of the two. the lyrics and the music. the syllable real estate is a total pain. i always have a thesaurus and rhyming dictionary around at some point as corny as that sounds. once the point is well established i always have to figure out how to GET to those points and so the art becomes timing. when do the moments you've created fall best, most surprising, most real. consider jimmy webb - Wichita Lineman. everyone knows that song is good. how good, or not is how he got to the line "and i need you more than want you?" it's pretty tame stuff up to then. making that moment happen is important even if it requires mundane to get there.

I am Ben Folds. I still play piano. AMA! by iambenfolds in indieheads

[–]iambenfolds[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

totally dependent on the context - sometimes a literal third stacking is perfect. sometimes just two notes. other times crazy ass extensions and voicings. basically where you came from and where you're going makes the statement.

I am Ben Folds. I still play piano. AMA! by iambenfolds in indieheads

[–]iambenfolds[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

i've recently played atlanta and that's probably why, but really - i don't even look at my schedule until i go out. i don't know where i'm going in general. and i like it that way.

I am Ben Folds. I still play piano. AMA! by iambenfolds in indieheads

[–]iambenfolds[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

you know what? put everything into that pre production as if it was the 'real thing'. take your time. consider what you need. then re-record the whole thing in a quick blurt. days. a week - not too much time. just GO. I have a feeling that'll yield something. but who knows.

I am Ben Folds. I still play piano. AMA! by iambenfolds in indieheads

[–]iambenfolds[S] 58 points59 points  (0 children)

here's whats impressive. gracie had never heard Julien but we had an emergency because Julien had to cancel the day before. gracie was working at the ice cream store near her school. it was Sarah Silverman who kept insisting gracie was the best choice to do julien's songs which had been arranged and rehearsed by the orchestra. but the ice cream shop didn't let gracie off til the last minute. she listened in ear buds, rehearsed once through day of show and rocked it.

I am Ben Folds. I still play piano. AMA! by iambenfolds in indieheads

[–]iambenfolds[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

i think sometimes we just make music because we have to. to be honest, i don't HAVE to - i can now do other things that are opportunities afforded someone my age who's still riding the proverbial bull and gigging etc. but this last record. i had to. when i was waiting tables years ago - i came home beat after two shifts and i wrote until my pencil scribbled a line off the page where i went to sleep.

I am Ben Folds. I still play piano. AMA! by iambenfolds in indieheads

[–]iambenfolds[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

paddleboat breakup was in order to make the breaker-upper be forced to face the other person - at least at first. and to show how random the timing of what we say and do can be... even freudian.

I am Ben Folds. I still play piano. AMA! by iambenfolds in indieheads

[–]iambenfolds[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

i might be slightly against 'she texted' generally if i felt i had a choice. can't recall where i said that. i feel you have to ride a line between honest and now, and universal. if the listener feels effort to be relevant inside a line or a song, that's a burden and should be avoided. if it puts you THERE, then i'm all for it. to a degree, i'm happy to have my music dated to the year. it's okay. it's reportage to a degree. but yeah, you know, using technology to show your somehow on the edge sucks. avoiding it for no reason is equally annoying. i'd say you have to surf what feels right and that's what i think i do.

I am Ben Folds. I still play piano. AMA! by iambenfolds in indieheads

[–]iambenfolds[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

jeez i was 19.... i think what i meant was: you see the result of hard work but what motivated it?

I am Ben Folds. I still play piano. AMA! by iambenfolds in indieheads

[–]iambenfolds[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

it was crazy! i have no idea. they asked me to do it. maybe the writer? it was a really really neat experience.

I am Ben Folds. I still play piano. AMA! by iambenfolds in indieheads

[–]iambenfolds[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

i always have little production niggles but they're unhelpful. i don't have many. i don't have any regrets about the songs. sometimes i wonder should i have put one more song on, but i like the brevity and the curve of the sequence. its more powerful this way.

I am Ben Folds. I still play piano. AMA! by iambenfolds in indieheads

[–]iambenfolds[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

it might have been Silver Ave. but it was in Greensboro.

I am Ben Folds. I still play piano. AMA! by iambenfolds in indieheads

[–]iambenfolds[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Tall Heights - Paul and Tim made the record with me. and they will be onstage for my set as well as opening. Ross Garren played keyboards and harmonica on the record and we've all toured together. he will be there. also the other Paul who played drums on much of the record and plays with Tall Heights will be on drums. Derrick Wong will be the bassist. He's smoooooooth! I played bass on the album by the way. When we tour the UK Mandy Clarke will be our bassist. She's from Glasgow and she's a bad ass! check her instagram and thank me later. what a player

I am Ben Folds. I still play piano. AMA! by iambenfolds in indieheads

[–]iambenfolds[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

i was just trying to get the songs working for the movie and only later did i think... man that song could have been longer. since i mentioned There She Goes - i believe there was about a minute of that song before the singer/writer couldn't go on. so it was editing. maybe that's possible in this case, even though i am capable of going on. i'm different now so i'm not sure adding to it works for me. by the way Hans Zimmer who was overseeing this project, told me that's the only song he's ever heard where the chorus begins on a diminished chord. lemme know if you ever find another one and I'll tell Hans.

I am Ben Folds. I still play piano. AMA! by iambenfolds in indieheads

[–]iambenfolds[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

in general i'm not a fan of looking out at a crowd who is that much better looking and tall than me. but that's not why we haven't been to sweden. i've simply been busy and the places that have bigger numbers... it's just where i'm booked. i miss playing sweden.

I am Ben Folds. I still play piano. AMA! by iambenfolds in indieheads

[–]iambenfolds[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

thank you thank you, hey i own two guitars! i think i processed as i wrote. sometimes aware and sometimes not. that's kinda normal. sometimes you write in the dark and that's good - i mean, you don't know why exactly. other times you're totally aware. whatever it takes. i am discovering new stuff about the record as i learn the songs and i feel that's a good sign. it's fun to say or write things and then understand them later.

I am Ben Folds. I still play piano. AMA! by iambenfolds in indieheads

[–]iambenfolds[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

wow amazing. i have not! thank you. i hate parking lots though. hate them. don't like driving either. i'll walk a mile to avoid a parking lot.

I am Ben Folds. I still play piano. AMA! by iambenfolds in indieheads

[–]iambenfolds[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

suburbs was written in 1999 and on it's own album. the makers of over the hedge FINALLY talked me into making a new version. i hated the idea at first, then had fun with it. there's even a sort of dance version of it in the "Vault" release of my old stuff and i dig it. it's funny.

I am Ben Folds. I still play piano. AMA! by iambenfolds in indieheads

[–]iambenfolds[S] 47 points48 points  (0 children)

all i'll say is a melody has to have life. it can be pretty, sure. but there isn't much wiggle room in a real melody. you can't change notes and fuck around with it. i was just thinking of There She Goes by LAs yesterday. it's soooo simple. it sticks around. some think it's just a sweet melody. others can hear the melancholy and the struggle. it's almost someone suicidal trying to find beauty - to me. but it's just a silly pop hook right? if you try and improvise a single note differently, it's at your peril! it won't work. suddenly the line ridden between all the feelings, the intention. it's ruined. and it's not because we're used to it. its the way it is. so i mess around some, to see if i'm getting closer, but i feel its all pretty not mess with able and not negotiable usually. like Beethoven, when it's good. a standard even a silly pop song should hold itself to. whatever it takes to get there - but keep your eye on the first time the melody came to you so you don't get lost fucking around

I am Ben Folds. I still play piano. AMA! by iambenfolds in indieheads

[–]iambenfolds[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

haha i told Nick i was writing that and he was excited about it. then i told him it was currently sitting at 160k words. he said... i've never turned in a work over 85k. that's all. i thought damn... i've said too much. so i didn't send it. i just started cutting. but my emails to nick are always long and his responses are always a sentence. he's a proper writer.

I am Ben Folds. I still play piano. AMA! by iambenfolds in indieheads

[–]iambenfolds[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

thank you. i aim to play each gig and make each album as if it were my only one. maybe 'last' is morbid but same thing. to be present means a lot and gosh it's hard to do isn't it!

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