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Wednesday • February 1
in<
Questions & Answers
with Ben Folds Five
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By April Towery
Staff writer
T he interview was sched
uled for Tuesday after
noon at 4:30. Promptly at
4:20 p.m., a phone rang in The
Battalion newsroom. This was
not unusual, but the conversa
tion that would take place would
be an extraordinary occasion.
On the other end of the line
was Darren lessee, drummer for
Ben Folds Five, whose second al
bum, Whatever and Ever Amen,
recently went gold. The band’s
third album, Naked Baby Photos,
a compilation album of miscel
laneous recordings and live
tracks, was released last month.
lessee explained that he had
placed the phone call 10 min
utes early because he was run
ning late and was expected to
take his girlfriend to dinner
that evening.
He did take 15 minutes to
speak to The Battalion about the
success of the album and the
band’s sold-out shows tonight at
Dallas’ Deep Ellum Live and to
morrow at Houston’s Numbers.
The conversation went some
thing like this:
Battalion: “What are some dif
ferences between your first album
and Whatever and Ever Amen'?”
JESSEE: “Whatever and Ever \s
a little bit darker. It has a bitter
tone, but it wasn’t meant to be
that way. We listened to it, and
we were like, ‘Hey, what’s up with
this bitter s***?’ The first record
is livelier.”
Battalion: “What do you think
about playing in Texas?”
JESSEE: “Texas is a different
place. I was born in Houston, but
drugs and music brought me to
From left to right: Ben Folds,
larren lessee and Robert Sledge
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Battalion: “What makes Ben
Folds Five unique?”
JESSEE: “That we’re the great
est. No, I’m so full of myself. Re
ally, I think what makes us
unique is that we’re so honest
and straightforward.”
Battalion: “Tell me about the
lyrics to ‘Brick,’ your hit song.”
JESSEE: “I wrote the lyrics to
the chorus about a sinking rela
tionship. Ben put it together and
arranged it with the verses. Then
the story became more clear that
it was about a guy taking his dog
to the vet.”
Battalion: “How do you get in
spired to write songs?”
JESSEE: “Sometimes we just
rub baby oil on each other.
Sometimes we just go to
church.”
Battalion: “Do you target col
lege students with your music?”
JESSEE: “When we made the
record, we were targeting 50- to
65-year-old black women, but
now kids like it. That’s really good
because they buy more records.”
Battalion: “What are your
shows like?”
JESSEE: “Our shows are just
like the records, but twice as fast,
with lots of dancing and scream
ing. Generally, the girls in the
front take their clothes off. Come
experience some of our sushi.”
Please see Ben on Page 5.
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