The Magical Armchair Rotating Header Image

Chuck Folds

Majosha, then and now

If the names Eddie Walker, Evan Olson, Snüzz Uzzell and Millard Powers aren’t as familiar as those of Darren Jessee or Sam Smith, you’ll want to take a look back in the musical history of Ben Folds to his early days bouncing around the North Carolina music scene.

A feature article, A Ben Folds Lovefest, in the Greensboro, N.C. weekly Triad City Beat this week has a great overview of how Ben got into the music business, the friends he involved and met along the way, and some of the crazy gigs they played.

Reading Brian Clarey’s feature helps to explain the origin of many of Folds’ iconic songs like Army, where Ben drops out of school and forms a band which he subsequently gets kicked out of. It goes into Ben’s multi-instrumental abilities, with onetime bandmate Evan Olson describing how quickly Ben could learn a new instrument. And Olson’s not surprised at how many times Folds’ musical career has evolved, having realized at the time that Majosha was an “ephemeral project” but that it was time to move on.

The article concludes with a wrapup on what Ben’s original bandmates are currently up to.

There’s more about Ben Folds Five and the early days in our original Ben Folds Five website, still available using the link in the column to the right.

“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.

Look out Gemini, here comes Big Bang Boom

Ben’s brother Chuck Folds and his kids’ band, Big Bang Boom, have released a video in support of their latest effort, Why Can’t I Have Ice Cream?. It’s lively music that the kids are boppin’ to, but the parents can enjoy as well (and no salty language, unlike his little brother). Chuck (bass) is joined by longtime Folds family collaborators Snüzz doing vocals and electronics, drummer Eddie Walker, and guitarist/vocalist Steve Williard, along with Merritt Partridge, John Seagle, Tiger Butler and Scott Manring on banjo (what would a kids’ band be without a banjo?). Chuck is the guy in the orange shirt that kinda looks like Merton, er, Ben.