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by amy guyer • design by kelly giles • photos by mary wyatt

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pret BEN FOLDS is a quiet kind of famous. Most people have heard of
him. He has tons of devoted fans. But he’s only had one major radio hit —
“Brick” in 1997 — and a lot of people who don’t listen to his CDs wonder why
so many people know his name.
While Chapel Hill is known for its music scene, few names transcend as far
as Ben Folds, who lived at 107 Isley Street in the ‘90s.
So when Doug Goodman, his tour manager, called me Tuesday around 6
p.m. and told me Ben could give me a call Wednesday at 11 a.m., I was nervous
and excited.
I had big plans. I was going to reveal all the intricacies of his nature. Anyone
who read my interview would know Folds so personally that they may as well
have been his mother.
I settled in the Blue & White office, managing editor Robin Hilmantel sit-
ting nearby in case of emergency, with my cell phone snug between two record-
ers — you know, in case one of them failed.
Goodman called me. “So are you ready to talk to the man, the myth, the
Ben’s
LeeAnn and Mary outside legend?”
“Yes,” I said.
“He’s next to me, shaking his head,” Goodman said. Apparently Folds does
not think of himself as a man, a myth or a legend.
The next time my phone rang, it was Folds.

20 April 2007
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AG: Basically, my first question is that a lot of
people seem to be confused about your connec-
tion to Ch apel Hill. A lot of people seem to
think you went to high school here. Can you
clear that up a little?
BF: Yeah, I lived in Chapel Hill in 1993 and I
didn’t go to any school at all here, and then I
left in 1999, so I was here six years.
AG: OK, and that’s when you started playing in
the clubs in the area?
BF: Yeah, well, I mean, I had played in the area
before because I used to live in Winston-Salem
and everyone always traveled to play at the
Cat’s Cradle.
AG: So you grew up in Winston.
BF: Yeah, I grew up in Winston.
AG: That’s cool, I grew up in Kernersville. I
know that area.
Apparently he didn’t care.
BF: I’d been living in New York before I lived
in Chapel Hill, so it was really — I just wanted
to move back to North Carolina, and I thought
that Chapel Hill made more sense than Win-
ston-Salem for me.
AG: Yeah, I can see that. Not too much goes
on in Winston.
BF: Yeah, well, I mean, REM used to record
there a lot.
AG: I didn’t know that.
BF: And there was this band (unfortunately, I
could not understand what he said here) who
at that time were probably the only band to
have national notoriety for North Carolina that
I can think of. They made the New York Times
“Top Five of the Year” for al-
bums list.
AG: Wow.
BF: And they were doing pretty well. And all of
this was pretty original music, as well, and it’s
still, all that crowd went around the REM cir-
cle. There was a lot of music there, and I think
in retrospect it was as good as anywhere else.
Chapel Hill is a bit more organized.
AG: How did you learn to play the piano? I
heard some story about a carpenter gave your
dad a piano or something?
BF: Yeah, he was a carpenter. Can you hold on
just a second? I’ll get right back.
He put me on hold.
BF: Sorry about that. My mother was driving
into town, and she needed directions.
AG: I see. Chapel Hill’s kind of confusing. So
coming to Chapel Hill is kind of like coming
home?
BF: Yeah, yeah, it is for me because I spent more
of my, you know, good years here, I think.
AG: I heard that you divide your time between
Australia and Tennessee? Is that correct?
BF: Yeah, about three months per year in Aus-
tralia. But I was living in Australia for about
three and a half to four years. We moved back
over.
AG: And you moved to Tennessee?
BF: To Nashville. Yeah, to rent a studio there. I
couldn’t tour very easy from Australia. It’s a 22-
hour trip. It made sense to just come back.
AG: When you go on your tours, does your
family ever come with you?
BF: Not that often, no. Depends on the tour.
AG: Do you usually write
your music or lyrics first?
BF: I usually start out with music, and lyrics
comes after that.
An airplane took over Folds’s phone. Or, at least,
that’s what it sounded like.
AG: Was there an airplane?
BF: Hello? Can you hear me?
AG: Yes, I can. Sounds like you’re kind of
busy.
A bus ran over Folds. At least, that’s what it
sounded like.
AG: What are some inspirations for your mu-
sic?
The airplane grew louder.
BF: You still there? Hello?
The signal died.
Robin: Is it windy outside?
AG: I don’t think so.
We sat quietly.
Robin suggested I call him back.
He called me back.
BF: We got cut off somehow.
AG: Are you walking somewhere, or driving?
BF: I’m walking.
AG: Are you in Chapel Hill?

www.unc.edu/bw 21

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Cool.
Another windstorm took the phone away.
BF: Yeah, yeah.
AG: Where are you walking? It seems to have
bad cell phone reception.
BF: Well, I’ve got really good reception. I’m
over on Pritchard Street, on Rosemary.
AG: Rosemary’s kind of the ghetto. A little bit.
BF: Yeah, no, well, it can be, I guess. Pritchard’s
pretty whitey. It’s where La Rez is.
AG: What were some of your early influences?
I heard you taught yourself piano by listening
to Elton John?
BF: Uh, sure, that works.
AG: You went to Reynolds, right?
BF: Yeah.
AG: Did you know that one of our main bas-
ketball players went to Reynolds, too?
BF: Oh, well, that’s cool. I guess that’s pretty
cool.
He didn’t sound too impressed. Sorry, Reyshawn.
AG: I heard that you like taking pictures, is that
true?
BF: Yeah, I like photography a lot. I spend a lot
of time in the dark room.
AG: Are you on a camera phone?
BF: I don’t have a camera phone, no. This one
22 April 2007
doesn’t have a camera on it. BF: It was just a little one, but it picked up a
AG: Is it true that you played all the instru- church across the street, leveled a couple other
ments in “Rockin’ the Suburbs”? houses, blew a lot of windows out. But small in
BF: Yeah, I played everything on there. comparison.
AG: So how many instruments can you
play? At this point, Folds informed me that he was al-
BF: Guitar, bass, drums, piano and any vari- most at where he was going, but he could answer
ation on those. another question.
AG: Can you play the harmonica? Last question? It had to be brilliant.
BF: Yeah.
AG: Where are you going?
He seemed unsure. BF: Um, I’m just going to meet someone some-
where.
AG: Yeah, I don’t think anybody really
knows how to play it. That didn’t work so well. Robin said he thinks I’m
BF: Well, there are a lot of people that a stalker. Thanks, Robin.
play the hell out of it, but I’m not sure I thought of a new question.
what you’re supposed to do on it. I
can fake a couple of things here and AG: What’s your favorite kind of candy?
there. BF: I like summer rolls. They’re Australian.
AG: I heard you like to start rumors
about yourself. What’s the weirdest And that was that. &
rumor you ever started, or would you
like to start one now?
BF: Start rumors about me?
I think he misunderstood me. Hmm.
BF: Sure, tell them that I’m a five foot
ten white man. That really messes
people up.
AG: What do you think about the Bush admin-
istration?
BF: I guess they’re pretty good salesmen.
AG: What’s your favorite kind of cheese?
BF: I like the American cheese slices in the little
plastic wrap.
AG: The yellow one or the white one?
BF: The yellow one. The white’s nasty.
AG: What’s your favorite word?
BF: My favorite word? I think mezzanine.
AG: What’s that?
BF: Mezzanine. Um, m-e-z-z-a — it’s hard to
spell when I’m walking.
AG: What would you be doing had music not
worked out?
BF: I’d be a photographer. I’d be a storm pho-
tographer.
AG: Do you like taking pictures of storms?
BF: Well, I’ve never really had the opportunity
before, but I think that I’d like to do that.
AG: Would you chase tornadoes?
BF: Yeah, I’ve never done that before, but I’d
love to.
AG: Have you ever been in a tornado?
BF: Yeah, once. mezz
a
AG: Where? other nine: n.
s in a
BF: It was in Nashville, actually. word a bui low stor
AG: Was it a big tornado? ) lding y bet
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