THE MAGICAL ARMCHAIR
The Ben Folds Five Digest
Issue #647 - November 25, 1997
Magical Armchair Digest Tuesday, November 25 1997 Volume 01 : Number 647
THE MAGICAL ARMCHAIR
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TOPICS IN THIS DIGEST:
Singles
Re: Brick in D.C.
The Band Speaketh, and Scorneth PA
Robert is nice/Celine Dion connection
Darren
Old friends?
Re: Eddie Walker
La Zona Rosa - the austin show
Ben Folds Five in Dallas!!!!!!!
Nekid Babies
Taping again, ALEX
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 24 Nov 1997 09:22:33 -0500
From: "Lance E. Johnson"
Subject: Singles
Hi, all!
Just a couple of things:
1. The best price that I have seen on the BF5 singles is at Tower Records.
They are only $7.99 each. As you prepare to get "Brick" on Dec. 8, check
there if you can.
2. As far as a BF5 cover, I think I have a great one: "Head over Heels" by
the Go-Go's. Great piano and bass bridge in there. What fun!
Thanks!
Lance
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 24 Nov 1997 10:25:39 -0500
From: James Campbell
Subject: Re: Brick in D.C.
Christina M. said....
>
> I heard Brick too on HFS. I think this is a trend...lets hope that it
> doesn't get too overplayed:)
> Tina
>
Why not??????
A.) It's good to hear HFS playing anything remotely
interesting.
B.) It's good lead-in music to all of their commericals.
c.) It gives me a reason not to have to flip to the
damn Mix-107.5 station (sp?)....
Overplay BF5!! I'm all for it!!
BTW, DC-Armfolk.....please arrive at the concert late
next week so that I'm guaranteed a spot by the stage
for the opening act Yazbek who really suck. There
is absolutely no reason why you would want to hear
these guys at all, so there is no rush to leave the
pubs early and fight late rush-hour traffic to
get to the show. Please take your time.......;^)
Seriously, however, if you're at all XTC-twinged (like
myself unfortunately) you'll take to Yazbek in only
a few spoonfulls....
Cheers,
- -- James
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 24 Nov 1997 10:47:35 -0500 (EST)
From: Patrick J McDonough
Subject: The Band Speaketh, and Scorneth PA
>Date: Sat, 22 Nov 1997 19:01:17 -0800
>From: "BFF_On_Tour@The.Road"
>Subject: BFF in Pennsylvania
>We listen.
>Actually, Ben Folds Five have played in Pennsylvania (an old indian word
>meaning 'Road Construction') 4 times in the past 6 months.
>So there.
Whoa! Lo, Fair Armchairites, it seemeth that the band lurketh on the
list, unbeknownst to us! However, I feel that someone has mistakenly
given the indian translation of "North Carolina" for the meaning of
Pennsylvania.
Linguistics aside, perhaps the Band is paraphrasing from the second book
of BFF, chapter 2, line 10: "All is fair, all is fair...in venue
scheduling?"
Patrick McDonough from Winston-Salem (mcdonpj@wfu.edu)
aka to Trey as "The Cookie Guy"
P.S. If the band is listening, did you guys ever get to play around with
the Hammond Organ and Rotary Speaker that the Old Pike keyboardist had,
since you let him play Ben's piano? For some reason I think it would have
lent an interesting new flavor to one of my favorites, "Video."
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 24 Nov 1997 10:14:28 -0600 (CST)
From: SCHUTTE
Subject: Robert is nice/Celine Dion connection
Hello again!
I am again writing about the Lawrence show, but that's only because I
found out something really cool: Robert is a very nice guy. Yes, I knew
this before, but something he did really demonstrates his niceness. I
have two friends who didn't have tickets to the concert. They aren't huge
fans, but they like the guys a lot. Well, my friends had been standing
outside for a long time because noone would let them in, so they went
around to the back of the club to see if they could get in back there.
They knocked and someone answered. They then proceded to beg this person
to let them in. The guy they were talking to said, "Well, I'm not really
supposed to, but, OK...just don't let anyone know I let you in". These
weren't the exact words, but you get the just of it. So, my friends went
in the back way. When BF5 came on, lo' and behold, the guy that let them
in was Robert! THey were like, oh my gosh, he, pointing to Robert, let us
in! What a nice guy robert is. wow.
Also, I was watching a Lifetime special about Celine Dion...don't ask me
why...my mom was watching it and I happened to be in the same room. Well,
they said that her record company was Sony 550, and I said to my mom,
"That's BF5's label", and as I said that, I saw their poster hanging on
the wall behind the lady from Sony who was talking. I thought that was
kind of neat.
That's all folks.
Have a beautiful day,
emily
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 24 Nov 1997 08:55:44 -0800
From: "Kamp, Marcus S"
Subject: Darren
In this month's Modern Drummer, there's a brief story about Darren.
It's pretty complimentary of the band (even if they referred to the CD
as "For Ever and Ever Amen") + talks about the success they're starting
to enjoy. There isn't much of an interview + what there is is mostly
about HORDE, but it's just cool to see them getting attention! Frankly,
I don't care if radio stations overplay Brick-that's what radio stations
do. That will increase BFF's success + income which can only be good.
We'll just have to let go of our ownership issues + be proud of our
boys! BTW, today's my birthday, so don't flame me:-)!
MSK
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 24 Nov 1997 13:05:01 -0500 (EST)
From: Chemweasel@aol.com
Subject: Old friends?
Hello fellow armcharians. I've been gone from the list for a couple o'
months, and was wondering if any of my old freinds are still here. My old
email was folds5@aol. I've missed all of you. If any of you still subscribe,
send me an email and help me get caught up on what's going on.
Brandon
p.s.
Didn't we get passed this brick thing about a year ago? When did it become
about abortion again? It's not. Never was. Never will be.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 24 Nov 1997 13:24:37 -0500 (EST)
From: Brad654@aol.com
Subject: Re: Eddie Walker
In a message dated 97-11-24 06:24:25 EST, you write:
> I heard that Eddie Walker played bass for
> Majosha (Ben'd old band) for awhile or something. To me the song sounds
> like a guy in a group home or a hospital or somwhere. At any rate, it has
> one of the coolest choruses around -- download it now so you can say you
> were hip to it before NBP came out!
Eddie Walker is the drummer for Snuzz and (I think) Bus Stop, too. Chuck
Folds is the bass player for these two bands, and I think Eddie also played
drums for Majosha (I could be wrong). Anyway, Chuck told me that the Eddie
Walker from the BF5 song is NOT the same Eddie Walker, but that the name just
fit.
Brad
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 24 Nov 1997 12:46:54 -0600 (CST)
From: "Adam 'DeLicious' DeLisse"
Subject: La Zona Rosa - the austin show
hey all,
well, i have safely arrived back in arkansas from my pilgrimage to
austin to go see the boys, and i would have to say it was definitely worth
18 hours total of driving. my parents thought i was crazy, but i have
been justified by how good the guys were. they played their normal set
list as with most shows, but added in a few things. they started playing
the blues and ben was singing "i don't know what the fuck i'm gonna sing
now." i guess the title of that song would have been "i can't play the
blues," cause that's the only thing they said more than once. then they
were like, "we can't play the blues, but we can do one thing," and they
broke out into "sweet home alabama" except some of the verses were towards
austin and what a shitty time they had in dallas the night before. later,
in underground, darren came up to the front and did his normal "i was
never cool in school...i'm sure you don't remember me." then robert told
us that he had always wanted to be a disco-diva and the band broke out
into a disco beat and robert got the whole crowd waving their hands so he
could sing disco-like "and now it's been ten years, i'm still wondering
who to be." it was pretty cool. later, in song for the dumped, in the
last verse where they take a pause, robert took the lead out of his bass
and started a beat on his hand that produced some note, and the other
boys picked it up and went with it. it was pretty cool too. what else
did they do? let's see, robert sang a song all by himself, but i didn't
recognize it. oh, and the beginning of julianne, ben was playing swing or
polka or something and then started singing the first verse over it, then
at the second verse, they started playing it normally. overall, i think
the crowd was a little more subdued than i expected them to be, but i was
certainly excited and yelling the whole time. it was wonderful. the boys
were awesome. and ben, if you're reading this, i was the one in the
budweiser hat that was sort of behind you while you were sitting at the
piano. you were pretty cool...
i hope that was sufficient to satisfy the armchair gods
Adam DeLisse
.
/ \
/ V \
/ \
/ V V V \
/ V V \
/ V V V \
/ \
/ V V V V V V V \
/ V V V V V V \
/ V V V V V V V \
/ V V V V \
/ V V V V V V V V V \
/ V V V V V V \
/ V V V V V V V \
/____________________________ \
...............and people say there is no beauty in math..............
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 23 Nov 1997 15:59:17 -0600
From: "Eric Russell"
Subject: Ben Folds Five in Dallas!!!!!!!
Hey guys and gals of the Magical Armchair!! The show here in Dallas
on Friday the 21st was one of the best that I have ever seen!! They
went through their usual set list and of course had She Don't use
Jelly and Dumped for their encore. Some cool things to mention: as
Robert came back on stage for the encore, he threw his sweat-drenched
face towel into the crowd, which I PROCEEDED TO
CATCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I also got Ben's set list and they gave me
a free Whatever and ever amen album. You know the best part about the
whole show?, it was absolutely FREE!!!!!!!!!!! That's right, no money
needed to see the guys, no cheesy ticket scalpers, and since the club
was over 21. I could get in. Also, during the show, when they went to
play Stevens last night in town, he had the roadies put The MAgical
Armchair onto the top of the baby grand and he sat in it to do the
song. It was very cool. He piano was a Steinway and Bros. for those
of you that are counting and Ben was wearing a cool courdoroy jacket
and pants, complete with his cute little Converse tennis shoes.
Any how guys, that is my two cents, I enjoyed the show and they said
that they will be back in Feburary...
Peace, Love, and Benness,
Eric
"I said what you wanted to hear, and what I wanted to say, so I will
take it back, let all of the dishes intact, let them beeeee
broken....."-Ben Folds, the finest!!!
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 24 Nov 1997 13:37:30 -0800
From: justin@gcnet.com (Justin)
Subject: Nekid Babies
Hey-
What's going on armchair loonies? This is Justin, finally back on-line
after the Lawrence concert. (Joe, Ben, Robert, Darren, if you're reading
this, I'll get the South Park tape out real soon). Man it rocked!!! I'm
doing a review for the local paper, and I got some quotes from the guys
Wednesday night for it. According the Darren this was one of the best
concerts they've done anywhere. He could just be saying that, but I doubt
it. Ask those who were there, it was awesome! I parked my car right behind
the tour bus and I made some connections with some arm chair people (it was
nice to meeet you all!) Overall, the Granada was an okay place to hold a
BFF concert, I just wish that the losers that were smoking crack behind me
would have left. Man did I have a headache! The sound was okay, and the
openers were very solid. I went out and got the Travis CD yesterday, and
it's gold! The improvised stuff they did was really funny. (Rasin' the
Roof, Danny Manning is my neighbor...) The encore preformance of "She Don't
Use Jelly" sounded really good, I didn't think they could pull that one off
in concert. Shame on me for doubting them. I've heard some people complain
about "Steven's..." when they do it live, but I loved it. Especially the
Chumbawamba parody in the middle of the song.
Lots of people have been asking about the new album, and I found this
offical press release. Sorry if this has been posted, but I don't think it
has because people are still asking about it. This includes a track list.
Enjoy!
The Caroline Records Press Release:
********************************************************************************
Ben Folds Five "Naked Baby Photos"
(Caroline 7554 - CD)
Street Date: January 13, 1998
"It's weird to look through all the scrapbooks and see all these naive
looking, sometimes tired pictures of shit you barely remember. We kinda got
emotional about it, I guess. Well, maybe we just hadn't had enough sleep
that day, but anyway...here they are, made public for the first time, our
Naked Baby Photos" - Ben Folds
This is the album that Ben Folds Five fans have heard the band was
preparing - capturing both the studio side of the band as well as their
live performances upon which they have deservedly built a massive
reputation.
Naked Baby Photos' 16 tracks include 8 soon-to-be favorite studio songs -
featuring "Emaline," "Eddie Walker," "Tom and Mary," "Bad Idea," and "For
Those Of Ya'll Who Wear Fannie Packs." Five of these studio tracks have
never been available before - despite their frequent inclusion in the
band's current live sets. The remaining three studio tracks include: the
ultra-rare, out-of-print debut 7" of "Jackson Cannery," the original
version of "Bad Idea" (which the band consider superior to the released
version), and a live in-studio KCRW performance of "Alice Childress."
The 8 live tracks (recorded in Chapel Hill, Tokyo, and London) capture the
band's in-concert intensity which has made them one of the hottest live
acts around. Here are standout live versions of crowd-pleasers from both
their studio albums including "Underground." "Philosophy," and "Song For
The Dumped." Three of these live tracks are new, not even available as
studio versions, including a cover version of Built To Spill's "Twin Falls."
The band chose all of the songs on "Naked Baby Photos". Ben produced the
collection and wrote all of the liner notes. Robert Sledge co-desiged the
artwork for the package.
Side One (the studio tracks)
Eddie Walker
unreleased from first album sessions
Jackson Cannery
(original 7" version from a limited run of 500 sold by the band at their
first shows)
Emaline
unreleased from first album sessions
Alice Childress
(live at KCRW)
Dick Holster
unreleased from the Stiff Johnson sessions
Tom And Mary
unreleased from first album sessions
For Those Of Ya'll Who Wear Fanny Packs
(recorded at a soundcheck. Rare UK b-side)
Bad Idea
(original demo version with different lyrics)
Side Two (live)
Underground
(live at Ziggy's: Winston Salem, NC 8/12/95)
The Ultimate Sacrifice
(live at Lupo's: Providence, RI 5/28/97)
This has only been performed live.
Satan Is My Master
(live at Ziggy's: Winston Salem, NC 8/12/95)
This has only been performed live
Julianne
(live at LA2: London, England 11/26/96)
Song For The Dumped
(live at LA2: London, England 11/26/96)
Philosophy
(live at De Meikweg: Amsterdam, Holland 3/18/97)
Twin Falls
(live at Club Quatro: Tokyo, Japan 2/26/96)
This is a cover of a Built To Spill song which has only been performed live.
Boxing (live at Club Quatro: Tokyo, Japan 2/26/96)
********************************************************************************
And there you have it. Well, take care everyone. Have a good Thanksgiving,
and look out for those killer turkeys!!!!
p.s. anyone looking for a low quality bootleg should e-mail me, I had a pal
record the concert...but he screwed up and held the recorder weird, so he
got more odf the crowd singing then Ben. The good news is, when they sang
songs no one knew no one sang along, so they turned out fine. The
improvised stuff sounds great, so it's one of the only copies of "Danny
Manning is My Neighbor" and "Carry on my Wayword Son." If anone has a good
copy of "Theme From Dr. Pyser" I'd love to trade for it. L8er.
Justin =) Parlette
GCHS Debater and Oh My God! They Killed Kenny!
Quote O' The Year:
"I see that there is evil
And I know that there is good
And the in-betweens I never understood
Would you look at me I'm crazy
But I get the job done
I'm crazy but I get the job done"
---Ben Folds Five "Philosophy"---
"And so you see, Simon and Simon were not brothers in real life, only on
televison."
---Eric Cartman on Asian Culture
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 24 Nov 1997 15:40:39 -0500
From: Jessica Brandt
Subject: Taping again, ALEX
>To me the above means that they do not allow taping...
>This means that if a security guard notices that you are taping the show
>and he (the guard) decides to destroy your tape and take your batteries the
>band will say nothing.
I got this off of Frank's page. I know i read someplace else (i think on
the MA where Doug, their tour manager, posted stuff about taping) that they
don't mind.
"Can I tape a live show? Can I take pictures?
The band has no objection to making a tape recording of a show with a
handheld tape recorder, as long as it is for your own
personal use and not for distribution to anyone else. They will not give
soundboard feeds or patches and you cannot interfere
with any of their equipment."
>I do not mean to scare away tapers. Many bands only allow stealthing
>anyway. The chances of you getting caught by some guard are *VERY* slim.
>Jess do you tape?
yes i do. Do you? sorry if ya got caught.
jess
"All the boys are monsters;
All the girls are whores.
But when you lose the one you love,
There's always plenty more."
-Squirrel Nut Zippers
------------------------------
End of Magical Armchair Digest V1 #647
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