In New York for a publicity tour and some TV appearances, Ben and Nick visited New York Magazine, which asked the pair to switch areas of expertise, asking Ben to name his favorite books and Nick his favorite music.  Ben chose books by Philip Roth, Fidel Castro, George Orwell, Kurt Vonnegut and, of course, Nick Hornby, while Nick chose songs by Derek and the Dominoes, Sade, The Band, Fleetwood Mac and Little Richard, among others.  See what they chose.
Jimmy Fallon show appearance
Ben and Nick are slated to appear on the Late Night with Jimmy Fallon show on NBC-TV (United States) Thursday, October 14. Pee Wee Herman is also a scheduled guest. Update: Here’s the clip of Saskia Hamilton from the show.
Now there’s proof Merton and Ben are different people
Remember “Merton”?  He is the Chatroulette wunderkind who noodled around on the piano and made up lyrics for random visitors to the video chat site about six months ago. Many people were convinced he was, in fact, Ben Folds in disguise, and he attracted considerable attention at the time. We wrote about him back in March.  Both Merton and Ben denied that it was a stunt. Now there is video proof showing them both, side by side, after the Denver show last week (though, after seeing the Winklevii portrayed in The Social Network, I am still skeptical). Merton, who lives in the Denver area, contacted Ben, who agreed to meet up with him after the show.  The meeting resulted in a video which was posted on Mashable.com along with a story about how the meeting came about, and how Merton pledges he will never reveal his actual identity.  We’ll see.
Ben on Nashville morning TV
Ben’s appearing today (October 7) on WTVF-TV Nashville Channel 5’s morning show, Talk of the Town. Â In between the recipe for wild rice with sausage dressing and Ms. Cheap’s moneysaving tips, Ben will discuss the upcoming benefit concert with the Nashville Symphony. Â Nashvillevanians can catch replays of the show on cable channel 250 Thursday at noon, 4pm and 9am Friday. Update: A clip from the interview is now up on the show’s website.
