Ben reports that they are working on disassembling and cleaning the Baldwin piano that was destroyed in the Nashville flood (see separate item below). The piano was used in the recording of most of the tracks on Rocking the Suburbs and Songs for Silverman. Once disassembled, the parts will be sold on eBay to raise money for flood relief efforts.
Vinyl release planned
Nashville under water
Ben’s current hometown of Nashville, Tennessee, has been suffering from severe flooding due to recent heavy rainstorms and the wash of water coming from upstream on the Cumberland. Landmarks and historic buildings in the city’s entertainment district are flooded to the second story, as are thousands of commercial buildings and houses in the area. Ben reports he and Fleur and the kids and home are safe and dry. The studio is dry as well, but his storage area, with two grand pianos, is submerged. There is also a possibility that some historical Ben Folds Five recordings may be lost as well. He has been posting pictures via Twitpic (another) (another) in recent days.
Ben’s pictures are featured in an online collection on the National Geographic website, including some posted earlier via Twitter. Many were taken with his cell phone camera, others with digital cameras and some with a 6×7 format film camera, which he will develop and print after the tour is finished. Look for more of his work to be posted; when it is, we’ll have it here.
Equipment update: Ben finally heard from the warehouse about some of the equipment he had in storage in Nashville. He says one piano was condemned but the other is OK. Some amplifiers and keyboards were destroyed, but some cassettes survived. He’ll know more once he gets home and can have a look around. 2010-05-18
Relief efforts: Ben’s drummer, Sam Smith, is also a poster artist and has designed a poster which will be sold to raise funds toward the recovery effort. A musical event, Rebuild This City (With Rock and Roll), will be held Wednesday, May 5 at Mercy Lounge in Nashville to raise funds as well. More information on their Facebook page (Facebook login required to view). Sam’s poster can be seen and ordered online for $10 plus shipping. Mine arrived a few days ago, signed and numbered by Sam. (Note: posters are now sold out; if you got one, you’re lucky! Â And thanks for helping the relief effort.)
Will Owsley passes away
One of Ben’s best friends in the musical world, Will Owsley, died April 30, reportedly the result of suicide at age 44. Owsley was known for his strong guitar licks and edgy power-pop riffs. The holder of ten Gold Records, he was the touring guitarist for Amy Grant’s band. A native of Anniston, Alabama, Owsley collaborated with Folds in a trio called The Semantics (with Ben’s former Majosha bandmate Millard Powers, and later Zak Starkey, son of Beatles legend Ringo Starr).
More on Owsley’s life and music from All Music Guide and Wikipedia. A story about his death in The Nashville Tennessean, and the obituary in The Anniston Star, and a story from last year in the Star, in which he ironically says he wants to be buried in Anniston, next to his grandmother. Funeral services will be held in Anniston; at this time, the date has not been set. A memorial page has been set up on Facebook.
Chicago audiences get album preview
Ben reports he’ll be playing the new album, a couple tracks at a time, for the audiences at the shows at the Vic Theatre in Chicago this week (April 19, 20 and 21). Two tracks will be played before and two after each show over the sound system, so over three nights all 12 tracks in sequence will be played. (In order to hear all 12, you’d need to attend all 3 shows.)
