Radio Triple J, the Australian pop station, is conducting its annual Hottest 100 listener poll. Ben has two selections in the list of a few hundred tracks from 2010: Levi Johnston’s Blues and From Above, both from Lonely Avenue. Vote and show your support for Ben’s nominations.
“Bus Stop” reunion show
Ben’s brother Chuck Folds lets us know that his former band, Bus Stop, will be giving a reunion concert on Christmas night at the Blind Tiger in Greensboro, North Carolina. Chuck will be joined by his former bandmates, many of whom you’ve heard of: Evan Olson, Eddie Walker and Britt “Snuzz” Uzzell. Chuck has multiple projects going, including kid-friendly trio Big Bang Boom with Eddie and Steve Williard, who with Chuck and Tim Poole are Chuck Folds Five. The Blind Tiger is at 2115 Walker Avenue in Greensboro (this is the last show in their 22-year run at this address; they move to new, larger digs nearby in time for New Year’s Eve), and has the distinction of hosting the first-ever Ben Folds Five performance ever, in 1993.
Success for “The Sing-Off”
The second season of NBC’s a cappella competition show, The Sing-Off, featuring an even stronger crop of contenders and Ben as one of the judges, is by most measures a success. Though not in first place, ratings are strong, leading New York Times’ media reporter Bill Carter to suggest that the show is a “virtual certainty” to return for a third season.  The show has posted ratings of 2.8 and 2.6 in the 18-49 demographic in overnight metering, representing viewership in the range of 8 million, a modest increase from last year’s showing. NBC says the December 8 episode registered the highest Wednesday rating the network has had this fall, in the face of strong competition from programming on rival networks CBS and ABC. Update: Ratings are strong for episode 3 which aired Monday, December 13, posting 3.2 the first hour and 3.4 for the second in adults 18-49 for an average of 3.3, representing 9.41 million viewers. Update: Despite tying its lowest rating of the season, Monday’s finale of The Sing-Off still won the night for NBC with a rating of 2.7 and a 7 share with 8.6 million viewers.
Upper Midwest tour dates
Continuing the Lonely Avenue tour, dates have been announced for several US Midwestern venues in January, including Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Madison, St. Louis, Athens and Champaign. Details on the tour dates page. Update: Also a show at Westminster College in Fulton, Mo.
Australia tour announced
As expected, tour dates have been announced for a swing through Australia. Six shows at venues coast to coast have been booked over a two-week span. Check the tourdates page for all the information.
Here’s the press release announcing the tour:
BEN FOLDS TOURING AUSTRALIA IN SUPPORT OF LONELY AVENUE ALBUM
Ben Folds and his band are set to tour Australia in May 2011 in support of his latest album, the acclaimed Lonely Avenue, a collaboration between him and bestselling novelist Nick Hornby, which was released on Nonesuch Records in September.
Folds previously collaborated with Hornby on a song for the Folds-produced William Shatner album Has Been, which The Huffington Post called “One of the few records in recent memory that dared to tell the unvarnished truth about the human condition.”
Ben Folds first found mainstream success in Australia as leader of Ben Folds Five, who ranked #3 on triple j’s Hottest 100 of 1996 with the song ‘Underground’, from their self-titled debut. Their second album Whatever and Ever, Amen went platinum. From inciting the wrath of Midday Show legend Geoff Harvey (Folds threw a stool at Mr Harvey’s piano on daytime TV, prompting a week long on air rant from Harvey), to selling out four consecutive nights with the Sydney Symphony at Sydney Opera House, to penning an ode to his once hometown of Adelaide (called ‘Adelaide’ of course!), Folds has remained part of the Australian popular culture scenery for more than a decade.
Folds’ Australian collaborators have included Missy Higgins, Kate Miller-Heidke and Ben Lee. Back in his native USA Mr Folds has performed with the Boston Pops and the National Symphony Orchestra among dozens of others, composed all songs for international blockbuster movie Over The Hedge and is currently a judge on NBC’s Sing Off, a prime time television show featuring acappella music. Mr Folds’ home made Chatroulette video “Ode To Merton” went viral last year, racking up nearly 5 million views in just over a month.
Nick Hornby often writes about music, musicians, and music lovers in his fiction and nonfiction work. His six novels, some of which have been turned into successful films, are High Fidelity, About A Boy, How To Be Good, A Long Way Down, Slam, and Juliet, Naked. Hornby’s involvement in Lonely Avenue is the perfect complement to Ben Folds’ melodic piano ditties and charming wit. He has also published several works of non-fiction, including Fever Pitch, 31 Songs (a collection of essays about songs that influenced his life), and The Complete Polysyllabic Spree, as well as a book of short stories, Otherwise Pandemonium. Hornby wrote the screenplay for the film An Education for which he was nominated for an Oscar and a BAFTA for Best Adapted Screenplay.
“Lonely Avenue is a meeting of two brilliant minds in near perfect sync.” Rolling Stone, Australia
“In a truly memorable collaboration, Hornby has helped Folds deliver some of his finest songs to date” The Weekend Australian
As a live performer Ben Folds displays a rare kind of energy and exuberance, one of pure passion and excitement and his performances with his live band are not to be missed.
