THE MAGICAL ARMCHAIR
The Ben Folds Five Digest
Issue #561 - October 26, 1997
Magical Armchair Digest Sunday, October 26 1997 Volume 01 : Number 561
THE MAGICAL ARMCHAIR
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TOPICS IN THIS DIGEST:
The fabulous marvellous Whitlams
lawerence alert
taping
Damn, those voices...
you got THE WRONG person
Whose got the brains?
Re: Posters & Brick
look, it's important to me, dammit.
bus stop/snuzz
Posters
Miscellaneous BFF
Return of the Beef!!! (Cheeky Mon Innit)!!
nashville show
the cornell show is on sale!
Raleigh show
Bff on Triple J Monday Night!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sat, 25 Oct 1997 11:34:20 +1000
From: Rainy City
Subject: The fabulous marvellous Whitlams
>Off topic: If you like BFF, I recommend listening to The Whitlams
>(aussie band). Most of their songs have the same kind of style. If you
>want BFF-ish music, I wouldn't recommend their new album (Eternal
>Nightcap) as it's very sombre and reflective (due to the death of a
>bandmember).
Ah, you;re a fellow Whitlamsite. :) I love em soooo much and I would
definitely recommend everything of theirs to bff people. Their debut album
is prolly the best album for people to get first. Undeniably is the name
for people interested.
It can be ordered through Chaos Music Market at...
http://www.cmm.com.au/cat/whitlams.htm
They have a bit of other stuff there. Believe Murray. The Whitlams are
definitely worth listening to.
Any other Whitlams fans on the list?
BYE!!!
Ad.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
& Ironside &
& "...the 17th best band in the world" &
& http://www.healey.com.au/HomePages/ad/ironside/ &
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 24 Oct 1997 21:36:35 -0400 (EDT)
From: Hacky33@aol.com
Subject: lawerence alert
the nice indian man from ticket master told me the bbf show was at liberty
hall on the 19th
?????where is it at? e-mail me with direct clues.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 24 Oct 1997 22:27:11 -0400 (EDT)
From: Neil Malhotra
Subject: taping
do not talk to the managers and don't even try soundboared access. other
than HORDE, you have to stealth...by the way if there are any DATheads
floating around these parts, I am more than willing to tree HORDEshow to
help circualte them, so contact me if you want a show spread around.
>y brother recently acquired a po\rtable DAT recorder and we were hoping
>to get a DAT recording of the Cleveland show. Who can we talk to to get
>access to the soundboard? what managers?
>
Neil Malhotra
nmalhotra@cyberus.ca
nmalhotr@julian.uwo.ca
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 24 Oct 1997 23:04:18 -0400
From: Carrie Shanafelt
Subject: Damn, those voices...
Thing is, I've always gone around saying how it's awesome that Ben, Darren,
and Robert have such great singing voices, but other than the wee bit at
the beginning of Underground and the way-cool tight harmonies, we don't
hear a lot of Darren and Robert by themselves... I had the RealAudio of She
Don't Use Jelly, but thank goodness for that awesome Chad Sarles, I now
have it in MP3... All I have to say is -- "Shit! They rule! Like really
rule! Wowie!" I'm saying it right now, in fact, 'cause I'm listening to
it! Jeez, them boys got pipes...
- --Carrie
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 24 Oct 1997 23:27:18 EDT
From: RESRVR DOG
Subject: you got THE WRONG person
hey...
i have received some very odd email lately. several people have emailed me
telling me about shit i don't even understand; i have NO idea what they are
talking about. perhaps some of you have the wrong BRAD. please make sure you
are emailing the right person, cuz i have no idea who some of you people who
are emailing me are. sorry for the non-bff content. thanx :)
whatever and ever, amen...
BRAD
i want to live like common people...
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 25 Oct 1997 00:00:34 -0400
From: jaedonely@juno.com (A A DONELY)
Subject: Whose got the brains?
First: Thank you thank you thank you all for those lovely birthday
salutations! You guys totally made my day! Armchair people and their
love make me happy.:):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)
Im so proud of myself-my friend now totally worships the fabulous
three (bff) bu she so has to see them live and get the full experience!
Jumping up and down in the first row for the whole show!
Short!but off the subject;am I the only person who is so excited
about the movie a life less ordinary, its fairly kickass soundtrack(which
needs BFF!), and sighsighsighsigh! Ewan McGregor? I know im going to fall
in love with a uk boy overseas. im such an anglophile. My favorite
movie is Bottle Rocket, does anybody else love that movie? Ill stop
babbling. But the mere mention of these things make me so happy. Its
also awesome to sing BFF loudly in public. Me and Carolyn are constantly
singing Julliane.~Elisabeth
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 24 Oct 1997 20:58:21 -0700
From: "Doron Richartz"
Subject: Re: Posters & Brick
Well, Jessica I just thought that I'd let you know that I've got the same
poster as you. It seems that mine ended up being a bit cheaper.
I went into a used cd store and saw the poster in question hanging on the
wall. So I decided to see if the people who worked at the store had any
extra and if they would sell it. Then the guy went into the back of the
store, after a while he came back and said they didn't have anymore. Then he
said I could have it. The total price was $0. It was one of the nicest
gestures. Anyway, I haven't shopped there since that date, mainly because
the store sucked. But that's a different story.
The poster was just a promotional item. So, I don't know where you could
find any more. The only way would be at a concert or at a music store that
just has it lying around.
Also, Jessica if you do make a successful DAT recording of the Cleveland
show, let me be the first to say I'd like a copy.
Now, I'd like to take this time to agree with Bill Tatalovich, when he said:
>I really don't understand this whole argument over the meaning of
>"Brick"...as Frank has said on multiple occasions, Ben himself has said
>that the song was about abortion. 'nuff said.
I don't know why someone didn't say it earlier. I guess people just like
arguing about stuff. (I don't want to hear one word about Pearl Jam)
Doron
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 25 Oct 1997 00:20:55 -0400 (EDT)
From: F2G2@aol.com
Subject: look, it's important to me, dammit.
okay.
as of friday, i'll be seeing bf5 for the fourth time live. personally, i
cannot wait.
since i'm now approaching a state that we call destitute, this will probably
be the only time i see them on this leg of the tour.......on halloween, no
less.
so i request off of work over a month in advance. approximately five and a
half weeks in advance. 2 days ago i notice they have me scheduled for
halloween night.
so, doing the "right" thing, i bring it to the attention of becky (of the
walking clampetts originally, now serving her time in the purgatory known as
restaurant management.) who tells me i HAVE to work it and i have no choice
in the matter.
"i can't."
"you have to."
"i can't."
"you have to."
etc etc.
so essentially i tell her i won't be there.
and today i find out that if i don't show up to work (also known as the place
where i've come in REPEATEDLY to help out, whenever they call, WHENEVER/where
i will work 60+ hours some weeks if they need me......) i'm canned.
thanks for letting me bitch. i'll see y'all at the show on friday. i'll be
the one smiling rilly big.
matthew
"......try not to think about it........"
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 25 Oct 1997 00:25:47 -0400 (EDT)
From: F2G2@aol.com
Subject: bus stop/snuzz
so anyhow, where in the hell can you find these cds that i've heard so many
good things about?
(i've been looking, i swear. but i'm trapped in that bastion of musical
tastelessness called the midwest.)
matthew
give a brother a hand.
smile.
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 25 Oct 1997 00:09:30 -0400
From: sandishortcake@juno.com (Sandi Shorter)
Subject: Posters
Jessica Brandt wrote:
>1. Does anyone have any BF5 posters? i have one, that i paid $5 to a
>bartender to rip it off the bar for me. it's worth it. It's a white
poster
>with the guys in b&w, darren and robert on the left, ben on the right.
>Ben's poiting up to "BEN FOLDS FIVE" and "Whatever and Ever Amen" is on
the
>bottom, between darren and ben. So who else has a poster and where can i
>get more?
I ripped one (okay, so it was actually 2) off of the wall at one of their
Cleveland Odeon shows, and didn't even have to pay a bartender...I got
one signed for me and one signed for a friend...mine is framed and
hanging on my wall (as 8th grade-ish as that sounds)...those 2 posters
are the same ones you mentioned...there's also this one that's cardboard
and it's basically 3 pieces that are perferrated, but could be ripped
apart to form 2 album flats, but on the reverse side is a big photo of
them that takes up both album flats, and the bottom is just this blank
thing where the club would write the date the band was going to be
there...I believe I'm making this a little more confusing than it
actually is, but it's a cool "poster" and I just ripped that one (okay,
so it was 2 again) off of the walls of Bogarts in Cincinnatti. Where to
get more? My suggestion is this: rip them off the walls...sure, you'll
get nasty looks from the so-called security guards and they might even
yell at you, but then just either act like you don't hear them or
constantly yell "WHAT DID YOU SAY?" really loud and they'll finally just
be like, "FORGET IT" and leave you alone. Works everytime. =) I don't
know if they'll have any up on the walls at Lakewood Civic Auditorium,
because it's actually a high school auditorium...
- -Sandi
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 25 Oct 97 01:19:27 -0600
From: Nick McGlawn
Subject: Miscellaneous BFF
Brick Airplay:
Someone was asking about 'Brick' airplay a while back; it's really
getting played a lot on Planet Radio 96.5 here in Lafayette, LA. All the
DJs are talking about how it's great to finally have a real song to play
on the air. 'Brick' was also #1 on the Planet's Most Wanted tonight, up
from #2 yesterday.
A Quick Note on Brick:
Has anyone else noticed that the version of 'Brick' played on the
radio is of a lower quality than the CD version? I realize that
transmitting a song through airwave frequencies detracts somewhat from
the original sound, but 'Brick' is just a little too static and monosonic.
Lounge-a-Palooza:
This is one swingin' CD. If you like Ben Folds Five, you'll
definitely enjoy it. If you're having trouble finding it, keep looking!
All Barnes & Nobles bookstores here in the US should be carrying it.
Summer B.:
Summer B. is Darren's ex-girlfriend, and in fact Song for the Dumped
was supposedly inspired by her. I also read somewhere that Summer sang
vocals on an album that featured Ben playing drums.
Obligatory Show Request:
I definitely think it's time the boys visited us here in sunny South
Louisiana. C'mon, guys! We don't ever get any good gigs down here...
And to whoever made the Underground MIDI...great job. Got anymore
planned?
Nick
nick@aisp.net
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 25 Oct 1997 06:58:33 -0400 (EDT)
From: BEEFTODD@aol.com
Subject: Return of the Beef!!! (Cheeky Mon Innit)!!
Reet fella chairy geezas, Beef of Todd is back in da haus. Massive and phat.
Largin it up da way ya shud!!!!
Special message going out ta da gang at da chair...BEEF TODD IN DA HOUSE!!!
Special guest of da Ben Folds geeza in lill ol' England. Be there -
Bradford, cheeky capitol, West Yorkshire, December 9th 1997. Beef and da
gang will be there (watch out for new friend Sangame, Dwew Tatt and DJ
Spliff)
Beef Todd and da posse will be signing autographs and attempting a stage
inwasion thru out da nite mon (cheeky ruude innit).
Taxi mate will drop off da posse at door opening time. Does anyone know if
Mr. Shat can play flashing lites there - Bradford, cheeky capitol monn.
If any one is goin' to said gig, drop da beef a line asap 'cos I've got to go
off-line for a while (too many debts to pay know what I mean?)
Reet errr, special Beef Todds Five T-shirts will be in da house on da night.
Know wot I mean mon. OK den, Beef Todd swear a god on it too. If ya see us
give us massive respect in'it.
My name is Beef Todd
Cheeky , rude, swear a god
Spliff in da house is chill
Taxi mon a little bit ill
Get some fares for machine,
Flashin' light know wot i mean
laters in;'it
CHILL
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 25 Oct 1997 08:08:51 -0500
From: "Neil Norman" <69@poe.org>
Subject: nashville show
Heath and I will be at the Nashville show on monday!!! *(wooooooo hooooo )*
This is gonna be my 3rd time to see Ben.. but I was just curious as to the
number of armchair members that will be there.
- -neil norman
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 25 Oct 1997 10:49:44 -0400 (EDT)
From: JCannery@aol.com
Subject: the cornell show is on sale!
My cousin sent me this big newspaper clipping (it's an advertisement for the
BFF concert at Cornell) and it says: Sunday, Nov. 2, 7 p.m. @ Bailey Hall
with Kim Fox and Verbow Tickets on sale at the WSH Ticket Office, Ithaca
Guitar Works, and Ticketmaster:
October 21 for CU Students-$10-$12 October 23 for General Public-$14-$16
lindsay
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 25 Oct 1997 11:18:13 -0400
From: Kenneth McKenna - SSG
Subject: Raleigh show
Hi, all!
Does anyone have a good recording of the BFF 10/18/97 show in Raleigh?
That was the first time I was able to catch their act, and it was
probably one of the best concerts I've been to (and I've seen many!).
Judging by the crowd at the show, I'm probably one of the more
elderly fans of the band, so I'm not sure that I would have much in
the way of trade material that would interest the typical BFF fan.
Perhaps some other arrangement could be worked out. Anyway, I can be
e-mailed directly at kennemck@sbservices.com. And, since this seems
to be a popular thing to do, what's on my CD player: BFF- WAEA
BFF- self-titled
Joe Jackson- Heaven & Hell
The Jam- Extras
Stiff Little Fingers- Tinderbox
Later!
Regards,
Ken McKenna
"If my minds somewhere else, you won't be able to tell, I do the best
imitation of myself"
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 24 Oct 1997 03:50:39 +1000
From: Craig Hawker
Subject: Bff on Triple J Monday Night!
Hey Everyone,
Just letting all the Aussies know if you didn't allready know that Bff will
be on Live at the wireless on Monday night. I think they will only do a
couple of songs though because it's a special with Cake, and Bush etc,
anyhoo I'll be taping it! SORRY If this has allready been posted!!
Also here is an article I got from my local music paper about Ben and the
Geoff Harvey Incident! plus a few more cool bit's, once again sorry if this
has allready been posted!!
"Ben Folds High Five"
All it took was one five minute appearance on the Midday Show andd Ben Folds
Five gained the kind of infamy usually reserved for bands such as the The
Who and The Rolling Stones, and Ben Folds doesn't mind a bit.
"They've been running it (footage from the Midday Show) every day! I'm happy
about it... Our record has just shot up into the top 100 which is cool
because it wasn't anywhere near that when we got here. I think we can
probably thank Geoff Harvey for that.'
Geoff Harvey, it seems, was about as prepared for the performance by Ben
Folds Five as they were for the Midday Show. "I didn't know what this show
was until the curtains rose and all of a sudden it's all grey hair. That's
the thing about being from another country you don't know what to turn down."
"We started to laugh before we played, I had to tell the others to stop
cracking jokes because I didn't want to crack up on TV, but the end of the
song came around and I just backed up and lost it and threw my stool at the
Piano."
"And it was Geoff Harvey's piano"
"We walked off stage and we were dying laughing and Geoff Harvey comes up
screaming in my face! He wanted to fight."
"I thought maybe he was joking because it seemed so absurd to me that he
would be that mad."
Mr Harvey however was pretty mad and made his feelings clear once they had
returned from a commercial break. He said the band were not very intelligent
and questioned the need to have any American bands on the show.
And it seems the Midday Show carries far and wide. Folds related a story
about an interview he did with this 17 year old girl who said her mother
called up to ask if she was interviewing that band she saw on television.
When she said she was, her mother said Oh dear, you can't go to that
interview, those boys are on drugs. Apparently the girl's father suggested
that the interview be conducted in a public place.
The only downside to this music success and excess he concedes, is the
reluctance by music companies to rent him equipment.
On a more serious level, Ben Folds and his bandmates, Robert Sledge and
Darren Jessee, (there are in fact only three member of Ben Folds Five) make
good music.
After so beautifully poking fun at generation x with the single
Undgerground, Ben Folds Five maintain their skepticism of all things
important on the wonderfully cried album, Whatever and Ever Amen. Folds
illustrates a genuine understanding of the absurd things that occur daily in
life and frailty of human relations. What is so evident on the disc is that
Folds and Co. are able musicians. The album flows from classical to
unadulterated pop to key-driven rock with consummate ease.
Although he admits that hotel rooms aren't conducive to songwriting, Folds
suggests that they are focused on the next album.
"We'll take some time off soon and nut this thing (the new album) into
shape. We can feel it, that's the important thing. We can feel the album."
And after that?
"I'm kind of tentatively planning on flying back over here (Australia) and
crossing the country by car. It's like a crazy vacation thing I want to do.'
That is if someone will rent him a car.
That's it!!
I am also in the process of making a Ben Folds Five Australian Tour page
type thing with lotsa pics I took and anyone else that wants to contribute
to them with reviews etc! email me!! I'll let everyone know when it is
actually up! I gotta find some time first!!
Bye For Now,
Craig
"It's easy to be easy and free,
When it doesn't mean anything
you remain selfless cold and composed"
------------------------------
End of Magical Armchair Digest V1 #561
**************************************
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