THE MAGICAL ARMCHAIR

The Ben Folds Five Digest

Issue #127 - August 9, 1996



                     THE MAGICAL ARMCHAIR, Issue #127
 
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Topics for Today:
 
      BF5 & The Twilight Zone
      Re: Re: Reynolds High School
      BFF Sightings on MTV
      Response to Simpsons and Stevie
      Re:thank you
      Discography
      Ben's Answers!
      Ziggy's
      BF5 on TV
      ben folds five
      Blurb in RS
      UK dates - Reading - Aug 24th and...?
 
 ==============================================================================

 Date: Mon, 5 Aug 1996 05:02:21 -0400
 From: PowerVegan@aol.com
 Subject: BF5 & The Twilight Zone

 Frank wrote:

 >>  [Fact: Stevie Wonder played "Imagine", written by John Lennon of the
 Beatles, on a Baldwin piano at the Olympics closing ceremonies.
      Fact: Ben Folds plays a Baldwin piano, and Ben Folds Five have been
 compared to the Beatles.
      Coincidence? I think not. -fjm]

 Well, as long as we're talking coincidences, I was just at Wal-Mart (god help
 me, I had a good reason), and I was looking at the Beatles posters there, and
 they were playing Stevie Wonder on the store radio system, AND I was wearing
 my Ben Folds Five t-shirt while all this was happening.

 You want more?  Well, at our gig last night we played 48 songs, nearly all of
 our repetoire, EXCEPT for "Imagine" by Lennon and "You Are the Sunshine of My
 Life" by Wonder!  (We did play "Underground" by BF5.)

 And I didn't play a Baldwin but rather my Roland electric, although it was
 autgraphed by Ben.  And further, when BF5 first played Austin, they played at
 the Electric Lounge while the Presidents of the USA played at Emo's that same
 night, and Mindy LaBernz of the Austin Chronicle reviewed both shows, and our
 show last night was at Emo's, AND both those clubs' names start with "E", AND
 Emo's is right next door to the Blue Flamingo where we used to play regularly
 on Friday nights, and the Blue Flamingo has the same initials as Ben Folds.

 Spooky, huh?

 -- Michael Bluejay (Austin, TX)

 ==============================================================================

 Date: Mon, 5 Aug 96 07:55:41 -0000
 From: 4rachuck@cris.com
 Subject: Re: Re: Reynolds High School

 >So survery...anybody else claim RJR as their alma mater?
 Yes, Greg Humphries from Dillon Fence.
 >I know that Ben Folds lives in Chapel Hill, but my RJR is in
 > Winston-Salem, NC. Are we talking about the same school?
 Yes, Ben was born in Greensboro and grew up in Winston-Salem.

 ==============================================================================

 Date: Mon, 05 Aug 1996 11:29:23 -0500 (EST)
 From: jpinkos@lakers.lssu.edu
 Subject: BFF Sightings on MTV

 	This weekend I was watching Singled Out from Spring Break on
 MTV.  There was this guy in round 2 who said his name was Rob and "you
 should pick me 'cause I drink milk".  The guy looked and sounded just like
 Robert Sledge.  Any chance it could be him?  -Jared

 ==============================================================================

 Date: Mon, 5 Aug 1996 16:14:45 -0400 (EDT)
 From: "Marc T." <mjt7742@is2.NYU.EDU>
 Subject: Response to Simpsons and Stevie

 On Mon, 5 Aug 1996, THE MAGICAL ARMCHAIR wrote:

 >  because the slack jawed trogladytes like them, too?


             FLIMSHAW!!!



 >     [Fact: Stevie Wonder played "Imagine", written by John Lennon of the
 >  Beatles, on a Baldwin piano at the Olympics closing ceremonies.
 >      Fact: Ben Folds plays a Baldwin piano, and Ben Folds Five have been
 >  compared to the Beatles.
 >      Coincidence? I think not. -fjm]

   I heard the cover and I was sorely unimpressed.  It started off alright,
 but went into some boring, calculated stuff.  I had hoped Stevie could
 pull off one of Lennon's easiest and most satisfying songs.  But, I
 digress.
   I wouldn't start comparing BFF to the Beatles.  We wouldn't want
 any OASIS complexes on our hands.  And half of the Beatles' thing was
 popularity.  We aren't quite there yet.  Give it a few weeks.

 ==============================================================================

 Date: Tue, 6 Aug 1996 13:05:34 -0700
 From: Lisa Hargus <Lisah@88net.net>
 Subject: Re:thank you

 Frank-  thank you thank you thank you.  this intenet interview type stuff
 is great...I really enjoyed reading the BFF personalized response to fans'
 musings.  I'm completely sucked in.  This is where I write something very
 clever to show how much I've benfitted from being a fly on your wall-but
 I'm at a loss...By the way please tell Ben that Blain the yak and I are
 very close and he would have been quite good food.  Since the heart attack
 he's retired the easy cheese and opted for rice cakes.

 bye

 Lisa

  To the band: I was at your SXSW showcase this year (March-Austin...ring a
 bell?)  AND HAD A GRAND OLE TIME.  After you guys played the bar started
 giving out free pitchers to lure the audience into staying for the next act
 but it was clearly your crowd.  MY GOODNESS!!  It was fun and crazy--do you
 remember/did it bother you that there wer lots of problems with the
 mix--that and the fact that it was only a 45min set were the only droplets
 on my parade.

 ==============================================================================

 Date: Tue, 06 Aug 1996 15:28:56 -0500 (EST)
 From: jpinkos@lakers.lssu.edu
 Subject: Discography

 My apologies to the list members if my new web page has caused any
 misconceptions.  The singles are imports which supposedly means you can't
 get them in the US.(Although, I've never had a problem finding them at my
 local record stores).  I added links to places where you can find most of
 the CD's on the discography.  The page has been changed for the better.
 I hope it does not cause any more problems.  Sorry-Jared Pinkos

 ==============================================================================

 Date: Tue, 6 Aug 1996 18:37:30 -0500
 From: DAN FRANKE <deerlick@execpc.com>
 Subject: Ben's Answers!

 Three Cheers to Ben for his insightful, witty and downright funny answers.
 This idea is 1000% better than any article that Spin could write.
 I can't wait for part two.

 Dan

 "The Music that you listen to is the Soundtrack for your Life"

 ==============================================================================

 Date: Tue, 6 Aug 1996 23:26:18 -0400 (EDT)
 From: Jenn Halter <jlh4935@email.unc.edu>
 Subject: Ziggy's

 the BFF show at Ziggy's in WS is on Sat. Aug. 17--  I may need a ride
 from Chapel Hill!!  If anyone in the area is thinking about going please
 let me know!

 jlh4935@email.unc.edu

 jenn

 PS:  Ben says a suprise gig at the L&S huh?  I wonder what they would use
 as their alias---but i would love a "new songs show" at the Cradle!!

 ==============================================================================

 Date: Wed, 07 Aug 1996 22:43:38 EDT
 From: Ned Norland <nnorland@walnut.prs.k12.nj.us>
 Subject: BF5 on TV

 I was just flipping channels and stumbled onto some Japanese programming...i
 decided to watch for a moment, and within seconds i notice a Ben Folds Five
 poster in the background...they only showed it for a second and it was
 blurry, but i was sure...they showed it for one more moment about a minute
 later... the show was called "Fujisankei" on WMBC...it seemed like some
 Beverly Hills 90210 type thing...i just thought that it was really really
 keen...

 -nednorland
 nnorland@aol.com
 nnorland@walnut.prs.k12.nj.us


 -----Princeton Regional Schools takes no responsibility for the
     accuracy or content of the above message.

 ==============================================================================

 Date: Wed, 07 Aug 1996 11:48:54 -0600
 From: rjamasio <rjamasio@lis.ab.ca>
 Subject: ben folds five

 hi!
 Can i join yer list?

 ABOUT ME:My name isn't rjamasio, that is my mom.I AM JUNEBUG, at least that
 is what i'm calling myself right now.(i'm also a big pumpkin fan). My
 cousin, Tyler, in Salt Lake gave me a tape with a whole bunch of ben folds
 five songs on it and i was almost immediately converted...They're awesome! I
 play piano and i'm gonna try to figure out some stuff. so sign me up, if you
 would.

 Laters,
 *junebug*

       "hand me my nose ring!" -bf

 ==============================================================================

 Date: Fri, 9 Aug 1996 03:52:56 -0400
 From: SashaHB@aol.com
 Subject: Blurb in RS

 Dont know if the rest of you read Rolling Stone (I'm cancelling my
 subscription, I was under the misapprehension that RS was a music magazine),
 but they had a blurb about BF5 at Lollapalooza.  In a paragraph that
 otherwise trashes the second stage, it reads:
 "Only Ben Folds, the lanky (?), piano-pounding leader of the North Carolina
 trio Ben Folds Five, ignited side-stage onlookers when he climbed a stack of
 speakers and hurled a swivel chair at his defensless baby grand.  Folds also
 offered a lighthearted poke at Lollapalooza's alternative past when he
 crooned, 'Underground, underground, can we be happy underground?'"

 PS- Thanks to Frank for organizing the Questions for Ben - glad somebody
 asked him the Jellyfish question, and he had a real interesting response.

 ==============================================================================

 Date: Fri, 09 Aug 1996 10:57:55 -0700
 From: John Purdie <jb58@dial.pipex.com>
 Subject: UK dates - Reading - Aug 24th and...?

 Apologies if I'm addressing this wrongly but I've never mailed a list like
 this b4.

 Knowing that BFF will be appearing at the Reading Festival on Sat 24th Aug
 is there anyone out there who can tell me whether there are any other gigs
 planned in the UK while the band are over. I have emailed the record co.
 Caroline but so far not had any response.

 ttfn John Purdie nku

    [Nothing is listed in the tour schedule. -fjm]

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