Ben Folds Five Digest
Issue #107 - June 26, 1996
Ben Folds Five Digest, Issue #107
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Topics for Today:
Jellyfish
Re: Fleming & John
Re:Original demo tapes
Jellyfish
Ben Folds Todd
Sorry, but A little Jellyfish
dates....
Re: Ben Folds Five Digest, Issue #106
Spawn of Jellyfish
Jellyfish, Umajets, the evolving tangent...
Re: Neil and Ben
Lollapalooza stage schedule
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Date: Tue, 25 Jun 1996 08:46:20 -0400
From: Damflevy@aol.com
Subject: Jellyfish
Jellyfish were a great US late 80's/early 90's band that paid homage to some
great 70's pop music. Their first album had a strong Badfinger/Rasperries
influence, while their second disc had influences such as Queen, Todd
Rundgren and others.
I was lucky enough to see them live a number of times, and they did some
great covers such as Supertramp's "The Logical Song", Wings' "Let 'Em In &
"Jet" and some Badfinger covers too. Their live show was captured on
"JELLYFISH COMES ALIVE", a promo only live ep. I have seen this for sale as
an expensive used promo and an import in record stores across the US.
When I describe BFF to my friends, I say they sound like "Jellyfish
Unplugged" but with more bite or, excuse the expression, "balls".
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Date: Tue, 25 Jun 1996 09:20:42 -0400
From: Ed Crabtree <ecrab@ga.unc.edu>
Subject: Re: Fleming & John
On Mon, 24 Jun 1996, Kyle <kgroves@tej.com> wrote:
> I haven't read about anyone mentioning Fleming & John.
They have been mentioned before, maybe not in a while, but they definitely
come up.
> John Painter and Fleming McWilliams are apparently good buddies w/Ben
>Folds. > They thank the group in their album credits, likewise, Ben Folds
>Five thank > them. In fact on F&J's debut album Delusions of Grandeur,
>Ben plays drums on > a couple of cuts, including the lead-off single
>"I'm Not Afraid".
You forgot to mention he makes a cameo appearance in the video for "I'm Not
Afraid."
> The CD was released on a small label, R.E.X. last year, but re-
> released on a major this past March. Highly recommended...even for non-BFF
> fans.
The major label to which you refer is Universal Records.
It *is* great stuff. Ben calls them "the Carpenters of the 90's with Led
Zepplin's rhythm section." I think it was the _Alternative Press_ who
called them "pure pop gorgeousness." _Electronic Musician_ says they have
a "...'Kate Bush fronting Led Zepplin' sonic assault."
--Ed Rock
==============================================================================
Date: Tue, 25 Jun 96 11:16:30 -0000
From: 4rachuck@cris.com
Subject: Re:Original demo tapes
> >that the great majority of songs on the debut album had been recorded
> >previously in a more commercial and slick manner, but that the songs were
> >re-recorded to take advantage of the more lo-fi indie college radio kind
> >of market that they would be aiming for on Caroline Records. This person
> >implied that they "roughed up" their sound to have a better chance at a
> >deal on an indie. This person also inferred that other bands in the North
> >Carolina scene thought this amounted to a smarmy calculated sell-out.
>NAH! The demo's are pretty much the same as the released versions, if not
> more chaotic! The only real difference was 'Best Imitation' which starts
> really baroque and then goes ELO in the middle - it's GREAT! Otherwise the
> feel of the other tracks are pretty much the same as the album versions,
> with only a few lyrical/structural changes. Now the demo's of songs not
> used on the first LP are a different 'kettle' of 'fish' as they are mostly
> quite miserable and downbeat.
> [The demos are also a lot less "produced" or polished. To hear the
> "before" sounds like three guys noodlin' around, having fun with some
> catchy tunes, but the "after" hits you with a wall of sound that's very
> well done. I think a lot of the credit goes to producer Caleb Southern.
> -fjm]
Just to add to this a little, depending on what 'demos' you are refering
to, there is a good chance that what you are listening to is Ben by
himself(playing all the instruments)on a 4 track or maybe in a studio in
Nashville. Ben, like any other musician, has always been recording his
music in many different ways. I've been watching him do it since he was
about 10 years old. So basicly, don't put too much stock in what old band
demos sound like, they are always changing.
And yes, give a lot of credit to Caleb.
Chuck Folds
==============================================================================
Date: Tue, 25 Jun 96 11:16:42 -0000
From: 4rachuck@cris.com
Subject: Jellyfish
>First of all, Jellyfish is a San Francisco
> group, although each of the members actually comes from some other part of
> the country (Southwest, Southeast). The group was a four piece, but had
> guest musicians particularly on the Spilt Milk album (Jon Brion produces and
> plays guitar). The lead singer was a guitar player (Andy Sturmer), not a
> drummer, although Andy is credited with some percussion.
For not being a drummer, he certainly did a good job when I saw them live
a few years ago.
==============================================================================
Date: Tue, 25 Jun 1996 14:22:05 -0500
From: Hopalong Cassidy III <gmcnulty@students.wisc.edu>
Subject: Ben Folds Todd
Now that all the confusion that I created with my Jellfish mistakes has
cleared (and I apologize profusely for my really uneducated mistakes),
here's a crazy thought...wouldn't it be nice if Todd Rundgren produced the
next BF5 album? Hmmm...hey, it could happen, h's produced along the lines
of XTC and the New York Dolls and Meat Loaf and such. I dunno, I just think
that BF5 could become even BIGGER than life.
DJgeomacIV
Oh, and just so I don't create any more explosions, I'm not saying that Todd
Rundgren had anything to do with Jellyfish.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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==============================================================================
Date: Tue, 25 Jun 1996 13:59:43 -0600
From: dmw <dmw@lookingglass.net>
Subject: Sorry, but A little Jellyfish
>Date: Mon, 24 Jun 1996 08:46:04 -0700
> From: Doug Swan <dswan@path.org>
>
Here is some more correcting.
>The group was a four piece, but had
> guest musicians particularly on the Spilt Milk album (Jon Brion produces and
> plays guitar).
Brion only played guitar. Andy, ROger and the guys that did the production
work for their debut produced it.
>The lead singer was a guitar player (Andy Sturmer), not a
> drummer, although Andy is credited with some percussion.
No, Andy was the drummer.
The Umajets are
> made up of just one former Jellyfish member (Tim Smith-bass,guitar, vocals)
> and one former Smiths player (sorry, I forget his name).
It is Rob Aldridge, from Hollyfaith, not the SMiths.
>The rest of the
> band is fleshed out with some players from the Atlanta area (although Tim
> Smith and the former Smiths player live in Whitefish, Montana).
They are still based out of Atlanta (Tim is from there), their label is in
Montana. I am not sure what the future of the band is, someone forwarded an
email from Tim and he is playing bass with Sheryl Crow.
>The Grays are supposedly coming out with another
> album at the end of this year (although I hear the group is still not back
> together).
Last I heard/read is that they were broken up. Jason Falkner (ex JF and
Grays) has a solo album out in August.
Sorry to be so anal, JF is one of my favorite bands, but I wanted to clear
it up.
Once again, sorry for the NonBFF content.
David
*********************************************************************
* David Whittaker * *
* * 668 - the neighbor of the beast *
* dmw@lookingglass.net * *
*********************************************************************
==============================================================================
Date: Tue, 25 Jun 1996 16:14:32 -0400 (EDT)
From: Kate Cottle <kcottle@hopi.dtcc.edu>
Subject: dates....
Hi all!
The only two dates I know (and these are pretty solid) are Nissan
Pavilion on August 13 and Camden E-Centre (blech!) on August 16. Looks
like I'll be missing them, though--up to Plattsburgh to hear Phish that
weekend.
By the by, does anyone have any bootlegs of BFF or information
about their taping policy. I would be very happy to put my hands on some
live tapes since I never seem to be able to see them play.
Kate
I fear we are not getting rid of God because we still believe in
grammar. Frederick Nietzsche
It is never too late to be what you might have been. George Eliot
==============================================================================
Date: Tue, 25 Jun 1996 18:02:20 -0400 (EDT)
From: John Fagan <john17cd@bcfreenet.seflin.lib.fl.us>
Subject: Re: Ben Folds Five Digest, Issue #106
Yeah for all you jellyfish fans...I think the imperial drag cd is
terrible except for the song "A Boy or a Girl". Does not sound like
jellyfish or Ben at all. I can see comparisons to Ben Folds Five on
Jellyfish's first album "Bellybutton". Very pop and a lot of keyboards.
I still see Ben most influenced by Todd Rundgren and Joe Jackson. What
has Ben said his as far as his music influences?
John Fagan
john17cd@bcfreenet.seflin.lib.fl.us
==============================================================================
Date: Wed, 26 Jun 1996 00:29:49
From: Bruce Herrier <SashaHB@gnn.com>
Subject: Spawn of Jellyfish
Hey there. I just joined the mailing list, and I can't
believe all these Jellyfish fans. I thought I was the only
one. In fact, the whole reason I got into BFF was because
the radio compared them to Jellyfish. (This was when BFF
was opening for Heather Nova - a match made in hell.)
So, has anyone done a tally on how many Jellyfish spinoffs
there are? Are there now Grays splinter groups?
Just to add to the Jellyfish minutae:
1: Andy Sturmer was the lead singer and drummer
for Jellyfish. Even though he plays guitar, in
live shows he only played the drums.
2: Sturmer sings backup on the Black Crowes
Amorica album. Amorica was produced by Jack
Joseph Puig (anybody know how to pronounce that?),
the guy who produced the Jellyfish albums.
By the way, the Refreshments are unfortunately going to be
huge just like their Tempe brethren the Gin Blossoms
(neither band can get out of the same jangly midtempo 4/4
rut, although lyrics to Banditos are amusing.)
Sorry for all this non-BFF talk - just had to get it out of
my system.
Bruce Herrier
Phoenix, AZ
==============================================================================
Date: Wed, 26 Jun 1996 10:57:13 -0400
From: Reid Davis <reid.davis@cadnet.com>
Subject: Jellyfish, Umajets, the evolving tangent...
First, a few obligatory words to make sure I don't get flamed... I love Ben
Folds Five! They are great! When are they coming to Atlanta again?
At 06:26 PM 6/25/96 -0700, you wrote:
>The Umajets are made up of just one former Jellyfish member (Tim
>Smith-bass,guitar, vocals)
Right. Circa "Spilt Milk". (Tim was not on the "Bellybutton" album.)
> and one former Smiths player (sorry, I forget his name).
Survey says? [RAZZ!] Nope, wrong answer. Rob Aldridge is "the other guy"
in Umajets and he was in a band called Hollyfaith that put out one rather
poorly-selling album ("Purr") on Epic, but was a local fixture here
(Atlanta) for many years before that. Rob's something of an acquantance -
his brother is a friend of mine, and he (Rob) helped me out some with gigs
when I was managing a band.
>The rest of the band is fleshed out with some players from the Atlanta area
>(although Tim Smith and the former Smiths player live in Whitefish,
Montana). Really? That's funny. Whenever I call Rob & Tim's local number
someone usually answers. But I haven't called in a few months. It's
entirely possible they could have moved. Where did you get your info?
Umajets actually started as an acoutic duo with Rob & Tim called "Thing 1
Thing 2" as a musical outlet when both Rob & Tim were burned out from the
blowups of their separate bands.
ALSO, Jason Faulkner (The Greys & Jellyfish circa "Bellybutton") has a
fairly prominent role on Eric Matthews' Sub Pop CD "It's Heavy In Here" -
mostly guitar work.
Ben Folds is a great guy, isn't he? ;->
-Reid
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
==============================================================================
Date: Wed, 26 Jun 1996 12:19:29 -0400
From: JohnH1968@aol.com
Subject: Re: Neil and Ben
In a message dated 96-06-25 01:02:10 EDT, "d.p.w." <jgore@nrv.net> writes:
> The Nissan Pavilion is in Bristow, Va, which is a couple miles south of
DC.
This may be considered trivial, but to clear up a couple of things stated in
DPW's message: 1) Nissan Pavilion is not "a couple of miles from DC." It's
about 32 miles away. For a 7 pm weekday show (like the one we're discussing)
you should probably allow a good two hours to get there if you're coming from
DC. 2) It's actually west of DC, not south, though if you were to stop in
Bristow or even Manassas (the nearest "big" town) it would be clear that you
are in The South.
And yeah, DPW is right, it *is* a nice place to see a concert, especially if
you have access to a teleportation machine. Otherwise, you have to drive,
which is a pity because it's accessible by exactly one road. So it's a good
thing it's a nice venue, because if it wasn't there's no way in hell it would
be worth the time and aggravation you inevitably face when trying to get to
or
from there.
But what the hell, I'm going anyway. :-)
--------------------------------
John Heaton JohnH1968@aol.com
john_heaton@wellstone.senate.gov
http://users.aol.com/oscarfan/
We will never return to Earth, which is protected by ultra-powerful
super-animals we cannot mentally control!
- Brain-Globe of Rambat, in Adventure Comics 293
==============================================================================
[kamea wrote on the Odds mailing list:
Is there any chance BNL, ODDS, and Ben Folds Five will ever be on the same
tour together? They could play a big song called "Eat my Old Apartment
Underground"
hahahahaha! BNL actually have played a couple dates with BFF
though.
This was posted on the Metallica newsgroup, so you can plan your
Lollapalooza day accordingly:
Main Stage Show Schedule - Doors Open at Noon
Psychotica 2 pm
Screaming Trees 2:50
Shaolin Monks 3:45
Rancid 4:35
Ramones 5:35
Special Guest 6:45
Soundgarden 8
Metallica 9:30
Second Stage
You Am I 1:40
Cornershop 2:50
Ruby 4
Ben Folds Five 5:10
Girls Against Boys 6:20
Beth Hart Band 7:30
Third Stage
Capsize 7 2:15
Lutefisk 3:25
Moonshake 4:35
Chune 5:45
Shaolin Monks 6:40
Stay tuned for the List Name Contest... coming up next! -fjm]
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