THE MAGICAL ARMCHAIR
The Ben Folds Five Digest
Issue #226 - April 11, 1997
THE MAGICAL ARMCHAIR, Issue #226
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Topics for Today:
US release?
BFF in Cleveland
piano book
Elizabeth and the new guy
BFF - Seattle show & mellow songs
Need Promo Video:Have Promo Cds to Trade
Re: Norwood Cheek?
gen. admission?
BF5 Stream of Consciousness
Re: Joe Jackson and Ben Folds
Steven's Last Night chant..
Minneapolis peoples
Steven's Last Night in Town?
Lawrence, KS show
bff - salt lake city show
==============================================================================
Date: Thu, 10 Apr 1997 16:12:52 -0400
From: Evan Chakroff <chakroff@ee.net>
Subject: US release?
Is there (will there be) a US release of the BowCCL single(s)?
Mainstream: I think they could (and should) become more popular. I think
people are bored with the whole alternative music scene. "Different" bands
like Squirrell Nut Zippers are getting more and more airplay (BF5 is too)
even here in the midwest.
-ec
==============================================================================
Date: Thu, 10 Apr 97 17:59:37 PDT
From: evlbison <evlbison@neo.lrun.com>
Subject: BFF in Cleveland
For those of y'all who're going to the Cleveland show, look
for me. I'm the tall skinny kid who'll probobly be wearing a
black leather jacket for the entire concert. I'll also be
right up fornt screaming my head off the entire time. I tried
to get backstage passes to the show, but the place it's gonna
be at doesn't do backstage stuff. Mostly I wanted them cause
I wanna make a bootleg. Anyone know how to contact BFF or
there lawyers to get permission? Theyre AOL address doesn't
work so I'm looking for ANY way to get ahold of them.
Regards
Steve
EvlBison@neo.lrun.com
==============================================================================
Date: Thu, 10 Apr 1997 18:54:30 -0400 (EDT)
From: Allison Trentelman <trentelm@dickinson.edu>
Subject: piano book
there's a store on the web that sells the BF5 piano book for those of you
that want it but can't get it because it's sold out. the store's address
is:
http://www.sheet-music.com/
it's an great book, and it's even got tom & mary! really good
transcriptions for most of the songs.
:)
al
==============================================================================
Date: Thu, 10 Apr 1997 18:02:17 -0500 (EST)
From: Bronwyn Anna Deaver <bdeaver@indiana.edu>
Subject: Elizabeth and the new guy
> Date: Mon, 07 Apr 1997 08:49:19 -0400
> From: elutz@kent.edu
> Too answer Crysta, Amanda and Todd, and any one else interesteed
>
> I'm going to the cleveland Show!!!!! Cannot wait, should be a blast. I'm
> really excited. I think there are still tickests left so comeone and buy
> them up lets have an Armchair Party that would rock Bye bye
> Elizabeth
> elutz@pop.kent.edu
I am going too!!!! My boyfriend, and two friends of mine are going to
the Cleveland show. I think we should all try to meet each other.
Anyone else game?
Bronwyn
> Date: Mon, 7 Apr 1997 14:18:00 -0500 (EST)
> From: Atropos <dashapir@cord.iupui.edu>
> Subject: The new guy
>
> list), so I'm gonna end this now. Just wanted to say hi. If anyone else
> on the list if from Indy, or nearby, e-mail me privately. Thanks
Hey!!!! I am from Columbus, IN and go to school in Bloomington!!!! That
is really cool that you took such a liking to BFF. Who couldn't?
Bronwyn
==============================================================================
Date: Thu, 10 Apr 1997 04:03:41 -0700
From: Kathleen Plischke <tmadkj@gte.net>
Subject: BFF - Seattle show & mellow songs
A couple things caught my eye in one of the previous issues that I
couldn't stop myself from writing about. First - I saw BFF open for CC
at the Paramount in Seattle. It was the first (and so far only) time
I've seen either band live. (I have no intentions of seeing CC again, I
didn't particularly care for them in the first place.) Personally, I
thought the Paramount was very oppressive and way too uptight and fancy
for BFF. I wanted to get up and dance so bad, but with all those seats
and people watching in cold silence I couldn't afford to bring the
attention to myself and my friend. (We snuck up into closer seats
because our real seats were the second row from the last all the way on
the right hand end of the building--too smooshed and far away.)
However, despite the people's lack of enthusiasm and the relative amount
of claustrophobia I felt at not being able to dance, the trio was
amazing! Three instruments (not counting their incredible voices)
filled the theatre. (CC had about twice as many instruments and people
and had to crank their music and STILL did not compare to the music BFF
produced.) Even without the violin, trumpet, and clarinet in
Steven's..., it didn't sound like an intricate part of the song was
missing. Same with the violin in Selfless... So, Garret Helmer, it
sounds like Ben didn't give themselves enough credit!
The other thing I'd like to mention has to do with Rich's comments on
how Whatever and Ever Amen is more mellow and some songs are hard to get
through. Maybe being a violinst has trained me to be more...open (?) to
songs that aren't all jive. I'm teaching myself the violin part on
Selfless... and it's so beautiful. And the lyrics are so incredible
"come on baby now throw me a right to the chin, just one sign that'll
show me you give a s***... " I think most anyone who's broken up after a
long relationship has felt exactly the way he describes. The same goes
for the other mellow songs including Missing the War and Evaporated.
Some bands write mellow songs that are lifeless and blah; BFF put so
much soul and meaning into their music I can't imagine finding it
boring. And for those of you haven't done it yet, I very much suggest
listening to the album through a good set of headphones.
Until next time,
Kristin
tmadkj@gte.net
==============================================================================
Date: Thu, 10 Apr 1997 19:41:03 -0400 (EDT)
From: Smarshal1@aol.com
Subject: Need Promo Video:Have Promo Cds to Trade
I am in dire need of the promo video at Tower Records. There are none in St.
Louis. I'll trade either a copy of each BOWCCL single or I'll pay. please
let me know.
==============================================================================
Date: Thu, 10 Apr 1997 19:34:56 -0400
From: Chris Hill <chill@wcu.campus.mci.net>
Subject: Re: Norwood Cheek?
Pardon if this has been covered before my reply can post but....
Norwood Cheek was part of the main songwriting team and stringed
instrumentalist(guitar/bass...whatever) for the venerable Sex Police, a
band whom, along with Johnny Quest, The Connells, Archers of Loaf, Queen
Sarah Saturday, and fifty or sixty other bands were among those I cut my
teeth on in high school in the triangle area. (Music sounds better if
you sneek in under age.) Alas they are no more, but as the Sex Police
slowly ground to a halt Norwood began directing local video compilations
for the area bands, he turned out to be a natural. You can currently
catch his video for The Squirrel Nut Zippers "Hell" or maybe its
"Damnation", anyway the red video, on your local comercialized,
lobotomized music video station. Hope that helps...ohhh, and if you get
a chance to pick up a Sex Police CD do it, they're fun.
Chris Hill
==============================================================================
Date: Thu, 10 Apr 1997 19:51:06 -0400
From: Tushie Galore <eh204@is6.nyu.edu>
Subject: gen. admission?
hello everyone in bff-land. i have a brief question for all your armchairin'
minds, especially those of you who live in nyc. is irving plaza general
admission? i hope so. if not (i haven't bought my ticket yet) then i may be,
well, to put it bluntly, screwed. so if it's not general admission and you
have a ticket near the stage, be warned--i may have to commit violent acts.
sorry.
if it is, NEVER MIND!!! ;-= <--btw everyone that's darth vader. shut up i
thought it was funny.
bye.
oh yeah and in reply to the person who asked about the line in "the last
polka".... how right you are!
Liz Harler
Professional Goddess
==============================================================================
Date: Thu, 10 Apr 1997 19:56:01 -0400 (EDT)
From: NakedVegan@aol.com
Subject: BF5 Stream of Consciousness
How come nobody has commented on the line in Kate which says "She hands out
the Bhagavad Gita."? Come on, don't any of us think it's something that
Ben's wife is a Hare Krishna?! I guess it just goes to show that if you
spend a lot of time pushing flowers at airports, you too could grow up to
marry a famous rock star. Or BE one, as in the case of George Harrison. But
how did Ben woo Kate away from George? And does this mean that Ben is now of
a follower of the legendary Swami Prabhupada? And does THAT mean that he's
now a vegetarian? (Although he could have been one before -- who can say?
Although he DID play on a friend's album which included an instrumental song
called "Animals Are For Eating".) And what the hell kind of vegetarian food
can you get at Denny's, anyway? Hey, Ben, how many cows and chickens died to
make that piano, huh? Did I mention that I'm stark raving mad?
Don't take any of this too seriously.
Love, Michael Bluejay (Austin, TX)
P.S. I have tickets #50 & #51 for the Austin show on the 18th.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
| bluejay@pobox.com | If adding me to your address book, |
| | please use this address. |
|---------------------------|-------------------------------------------|
| http://pobox.com/~bluejay | Home of AUSTIN MUSIC, KING CHEESE, BIKING |
| | IN AUSTIN, VEGETARIAN pages, & more |
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
==============================================================================
Date: Thu, 10 Apr 1997 20:30:46 -0400 (EDT)
From: Enloejr@aol.com
Subject: Re: Joe Jackson and Ben Folds
I've noticed alot of people posting about the comparison between Joe
Jackson and Ben Folds. After the first time I heard the first CD, I
immediately drew the same comparison. When people would ask me, "What kind of
music does BFF play"?, I would usually respond with "They sound alot like Joe
Jackson". Which, unfortunately, was usually met with, "Who's Joe Jackson"?.
You just can't teach some people what good music really is.
By the way, Garrett, if you're reading this, I loved your post about
meeting the guys at Denny's. Why doesn't anythig like that ever happen to me?
Long live BFF!
Darrell
==============================================================================
Date: Thu, 10 Apr 1997 21:57:37 -0500
From: Greg Gaspard <ggg@flash.net>
Subject: Steven's Last Night chant..
My two cents... I think they're saying "Dig that Gypsy rock..."
Then again, I could just be hallucinating. Is this the way Charles
Manson got started?
==============================================================================
Date: Thu, 10 Apr 97 22:03:35 -0500
From: Bergquist <Kristin.M.Bergquist-1@tc.umn.edu>
Subject: Minneapolis peoples
question: do any of you guys know eachother? im desperately seeking people
from the list..share music, boots, all the lovlies, eh?
SO...anyone else bored to tears and care to do a little Armchair party?
good suggestion or bad? im thinking some terribly slow night some of us
could hop on down to a cafe or something on that order. the university
kids just arent cutting it as far as musical taste
cheers
kris
***the universe wants to play*** hakim bey
==============================================================================
Date: Thu, 10 Apr 1997 23:49:25 -0400
From: Paul Wilson <kalel@baynet.net>
Subject: Steven's Last Night in Town?
Can someone please tell me who this song is about?
A lot of friends of mine have been making references to a
lot of people but we really dont know.. There is a Steven
thanked in the liner notes... (just Steve tho)!!!!!
Does anyone know or wish to comment...
Thanks :)
Da Girl
==============================================================================
Date: Fri, 11 Apr 1997 02:57:13 -0500
From: "Greg Monkey (Drunken Monkey Fanzine)" <pavement@idir.net>
Subject: Lawrence, KS show
> Date: Mon, 07 Apr 1997 14:56:31 -0500
> From: Randi Sanders <rn21ja19@IDT.NET>
> Subject: The Lawrence Show, is anyone going?
>
> Hi all,
> I was wondering if there are any Kansas City fans that are going to
> the show in Lawrence? I so please e-mail me. I've been a fan of BFF
Hey...Greg here...I'm a Lawrence fan going to the Lawrence show...I can't
give you a ride or anything, but if you'd wanna meet up before or after or
something, lemme know (actually, after would be best). If you wanna get
together, email me privately. Also, I found out yesterday that I have been
invited to a pre-show party at Teller's (nice restaurant on Mass St.) to
hang with the band and such. I'm pretty excited about this. Just letting
y'all know that the band will be there before the show, if you want to try
to catch them. It's invite only to get into the party, but they might be
milling around outside of the place at some point in time, if you wanna meet
them.
Greg
==============================================================================
Date: Sat, 12 Apr 1997 02:22:21 -0600
From: Cobster <Iguana@sisna.com>
Subject: bff - salt lake city show
well, i went to my first bff show at the zephyr in salt lake city last
night (4/8/97), and needless to say... but i will anyway... it rocked! i
think that those guys enjoyed playing for the corws here in salt lake, all
that way from home. the show featured most of the new record and a few off
the first. i grabbed a set list, but it is in my car, so perhaps i will
post it next time. the order was off, but it was complete. anyway, i
tried my hand at taping the show, and it turned out nice. my friend bought
this sweet little recorder in japan, so i popped in a 110 min metal tape
and it fit exactly. i missed the first 30 sec of the opening song and the
last 20 sec or so of the closer, but it sounds good. i may open that up to
offers if there is a need for bff tapes out there. :) thanks for
listening. here is looking to the counting crows here next sunday night
too.
coby
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