Benjamin Scott Folds is an American singer-songwriter from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. After playing in several small independent bands throughout the late 80s and into the early 90s, Folds came to prominence as the eponymous frontman and pianist of the alternative rock trio Ben Folds Five from 1993 to 2000, and again during their reunion from 2011 to 2013. He has recorded a number of solo albums – the most recent of which, What Matters Most, was released in June 2023. He has also collaborated with musicians such as Regina Spektor, "Weird Al" Yankovic, and yMusic, and undertaken experimental songwriting projects with actor William Shatner and authors such as Nick Hornby and Neil Gaiman. Since May 2017, he has been the first artistic advisor to the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
Ultramega OK is the debut studio album by American rock band Soundgarden, released on October 31, 1988, by SST Records. Following the release of the EPs Screaming Life (1987) and Fopp (1988), both for the Sub Pop record label, Soundgarden signed with SST and went to work on their debut full-length. The resulting album contained elements of heavy metal, psychedelic rock, and hardcore punk. The band supported the album with a tour of the United States, as well as its first overseas tour.
Next Position Please is the seventh studio album by American rock band Cheap Trick, produced by Todd Rundgren and released in 1983.
American Stars 'n Bars is the eighth studio album by Canadian-American folk rock songwriter Neil Young, released on Reprise Records in 1977. Compiled from recording sessions scattered over a 29-month period, it includes "Like a Hurricane", one of Young's best-known songs. It peaked at #21 on the Billboard 200 and received a RIAA gold certification.
Majosha was an American alternative rock band formed around early 1988 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It featured Ben Folds on bass and keyboards, Millard Powers on guitar, Evan Olson on guitar, and Eddie Walker on drums. They released a self-produced EP, Party Night: Five Songs About Jesus in 1988, which contained four tracks, none of which were about Jesus. After gaining popularity, they released their first and only studio album, Shut Up and Listen to Majosha in 1989. The band disbanded in early 1990 and the members went on to pursue other projects.
Evan Scott Olson is an American rock singer and songwriter based in Greensboro, North Carolina. Professionally known since the early 2000s for his work as a songwriter for film and television, Olson received renewed interest in his earlier independent recording when one of his songs was the subject of a musical mystery featured on the podcast Reply All.
How to Make Enemies and Irritate People is the seventh studio album by the Chicago-based punk rock band Screeching Weasel. Planned as the group's final album, it was released in September 1994 on CD, vinyl, and cassette through Lookout Records. Shortly before recording the album, bassist/backing vocalist Dan Vapid left the band and, as a result, Green Day bassist Mike Dirnt was recruited to play on the album.
Fear of Pop is the name of an experimental recording project by Ben Folds and Caleb Southern, along with John Mark Painter, William Shatner and others. Their only album, Volume 1, was released in 1998.
Grow Up is the debut album by the American punk rock band the Queers. Recorded in multiple sessions between 1986 and 1988, with various band members and session musicians backing singer and guitarist Joe King, it was originally released as an LP record in 1990 by British label Shakin' Street Records. However, the label went out of business after only 1,000 copies were pressed. The Queers had more copies pressed themselves, continuing to list Shakin' Street as the record label, but when they failed to pay their bill the pressing plant destroyed all but approximately 160 copies, which the band released with a photocopied album cover.
A Day Late and a Dollar Short is a compilation album by the American punk rock band the Queers, released in January 1996 by Lookout! Records. It collects material recorded between 1982 and 1994, most of it with original member Wimpy Rutherford. It includes the band's first two EPs, 1982's Love Me and 1984's Kicked Out of the Webelos, several demo tracks recorded in 1991, 16 tracks recorded during a January 1993 reunion with Rutherford, and a complete set of early songs recorded live on radio station WFMU in 1994 with Rutherford on lead vocals.
"Philosophy" is a song from Ben Folds Five's 1995 self-titled debut album. It was written by Ben Folds. Folds continues to play the song on various tours as part of his solo career.
Hate Your Friends is the debut album of the American alternative rock band The Lemonheads. Produced and released on Boston-based indie label Taang Records and licensed for simultaneous release to several other labels worldwide, the album showcases the band's early sound and punk roots. Hate Your Friends is also one of only three albums to feature the Lemonheads' original lineup with Evan Dando, Ben Deily and Jesse Peretz.
Creator is the second album by American alternative rock band The Lemonheads. It was issued twice, as an LP in 1988, and as a CD in 1992, which included three bonus live tracks, recorded at the radio station VPRO in The Netherlands. It is one of only three albums to feature the full original lineup of Evan Dando, Ben Deily, and Jesse Peretz.
Avery Millard Powers III is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, and Grammy-nominated recording engineer. While a student at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in the 1980s, he collaborated with fellow student Ben Folds and with Alabama-based singer-songwriter Owsley, both of which he continued to work with as a musician and as a producer for the next several decades. Since 2005, he has played bass guitar in the band Counting Crows.
"Where's Summer B.?" is a song from Ben Folds Five's 1995 first album, Ben Folds Five. It was written by Ben Folds and Darren Jessee. The song, though up-tempo, deals with the disappointment of returning to a hometown after being away and seeing things much the same as before.
Ben Folds Five – The Complete Sessions at West 54th, also referred to as Ben Folds Five – Live at Sessions at West 54th, is a DVD containing musical performances by Ben Folds Five. On June 9, 1997 Ben Folds Five was one of the first guests to appear on a new series called Sessions at West 54th. Because of the 1/2 hour time constraint of the show, only a handful of the recorded tracks made it to air. The DVD contains the entire performance which, for the most part, includes tracks from their just released album, Whatever and Ever Amen.
"Uncle Walter" is a song from Ben Folds Five's 1995 self-titled debut album. It was written by lead singer Ben Folds.
Tommy is a soundtrack album by The Who with contributions from numerous artists. The soundtrack was used in the 1975 Tommy film that was based on the original album that was released by The Who in 1969. Pete Townshend oversaw the production of this double-LP recording that returned the music to its rock roots, and on which the unrecorded orchestral arrangements he had envisaged for the original Tommy LP were realised by the extensive use of synthesiser.
The Semantics was an American pop rock band from Nashville, Tennessee, formed by Jody Spence (drums), Millard Powers (bass) and Will Owsley. Zak Starkey later replaced Spence on drums. The band recorded one album, Powerbill, which was released in Japan. After being dropped by their record label shortly after recording the album, the band members at the time all went on to successful careers in the music industry. Powers has performed as a bassist with Ben Folds and Counting Crows and has worked as a record engineer and producer. Owsley had a successful solo career before his death in 2010. Starkey has served as the drummer for the bands Oasis and The Who.
"You Wanted the Best" is a song by the American hard rock band Kiss, released on their eighteenth studio album Psycho Circus in 1998. The song was written by the band's bassist Gene Simmons, and was released as the fourth single off the album on November 23, 1998. The song only charted on Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks, reaching number 22. The band never performed the song live. It was the final recording to feature the original lineup and the only one to feature shared lead vocals among them.
