Ben Folds for your next event. Ben Folds Five was formed in 1993 by pianist/singer Ben Folds, drummer Darren Jessee and bassist Robert Sledge. With influences ranging from Cole Porter to the Clash, the Chapel Hill trio (Ben Folds Five sounded better than Ben Folds Three, claims Folds) has carved a unique niche in the alt-rock scene. Using his baby grand piano as the prime source for the trio's rhythms, Folds blends his sensitive wit and pop-culture kitsch with Jessee's discordant thunder and Sledge's melodic clamor. The resulting aesthetic is a sonic brew of Randy Newman-influenced pop, psychedelic rock and flashy show-tune drama, most likely a bi-product leftover from Folds' days in the off-Broadway musical The Buddy Holly Story. Their first album, Ben Folds Five, appeared in 1995 on Caroline Records and was followed up by their 1997 breakthrough, Whatever & Ever Amen. Songs like "The Battle of Who Could Care Less," "Fair" and the ever-rotating radio single "Brick," earned Ben Folds Five a platinum record and made them alt-rock and college radio favorites. In 1998 they headed out on tour to support their CD, Naked Baby Photos. Released on Caroline, the album was a retrospective collection of rarities, b-sides and live performance tracks from their early days. What turned out to be the group's last album of new material, The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner, was released on Sony/550 Music in late April 1999. The following year, Folds - who had since moved to Australia to be with his wife - announced that the Ben Folds 5 was breaking up. Rockin' The Suburbs, Folds' first solo album, was released in September 2001. Lana Fanelli
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