Ben Folds Five

Ben Folds Five
Ben Folds Five at their reunion concert on September 18, 2008 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Background information
Origin	Chapel Hill, North Carolina, U.S.
Genres	Alternative rock, power pop, piano rock
Years active	1993–2000, 2008, 2011–2013 (hiatus)
Labels	Passenger, Caroline, 550
Associated acts	Fear of Pop Hotel Lights International Orange Caleb Southern Fleming and John
Website	benfoldsfive.com
Members	Ben Folds Robert Sledge Darren Jessee

Ben Folds Five are 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, contrabass, 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, in fact, 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.