Ben Folds Five is an American alternative rock trio formed in 1993 in
Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The group's members are Ben Folds (lead
vocals, piano, keyboards, melodica, principal songwriting), Robert
Sledge (bass guitar, double bass, synthesizer, backing vocals), and
Darren Jessee (drums, percussion, backing vocals, songwriter). The
group achieved mainstream success in the alternative, indie and pop
music scenes. Their single "Brick" from the 1997 album Whatever and
Ever Amen gained airplay on many mainstream radio stations. During
their first seven years together, the band released three proper
studio records, one retrospective album of B-sides and outtakes, and
eight singles. They also contributed to a number of soundtracks and
compilations. Ben Folds Five disbanded in October 2000. They reunited
in 2011, and released their fourth album The Sound of the Life of the
Mind in 2012.Ben Folds Five was formed in 1993 in Chapel Hill by Ben
Folds. They were a trio in spite of their name, and the primary
motivation behind the name, apart from the band's well-known use of
humor, was simple preference, according to Ben: "I think it sounds
better than Ben Folds Three." Folds once described their music as
"punk rock for sissies," a reaction to the angst prevalent in '90s
rock.Ben Folds Five was formed in 1993 in Chapel Hill by Ben Folds.
They were a trio in spite of their name, and the primary motivation
behind the name, apart from the band's well-known use of humor, was
simple preference, according to Ben: "I think it sounds better than
Ben Folds Three." Folds once described their music as "punk rock for
sissies," a reaction to the angst prevalent in '90s rock.Their first
radio single was "Underground" from their self-titled debut album,
released in 1995 on Caroline Records. The band's biggest success was
the single "Brick" from their second album, Whatever and Ever Amen,
released in 1997. It was followed by the more somber and jazz-based
1999 album, The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner. The group
contributed an outtake from the Reinhold Messner sessions, titled
"Leather Jacket", to the 1999 benefit album, No Boundaries: A Benefit
for the Kosovar Refugees.The band's final released recording was a
cover of Steely Dan's "Barrytown" for the Me, Myself & Irene
soundtrack. The band had begun work on a fourth studio album, but
following the worldwide tour in support of The Unauthorized Biography
of Reinhold Messner, the band "amicably" broke up in October 2000.
Tracks from the sessions would later emerge on subsequent solo
projects. Ben Folds Five Top Movies & Young Movies