I don’t leave my neighborhood. I don’t go anywhere. There are four blocks I live in and there are two coffee shops, one at each end of the block… so I don’t do much driving…
BEN FOLDSPeople aren’t going to sit there very often, not your average public, and your average music-business monster is not going to take the time to notice the overtones and the undertones inside the flavor. They’d rather just have the martini.
More Ben Folds Quotes
-
-
Everybody knows it hurts to grow up…and we’re still fighting it.
BEN FOLDS -
It’s like being in the position of – in half of the industry’s mind, you’re kind of a cult-following, independent rocker. And on the other hand, you’re a sellout. But neither one of them are right.
BEN FOLDS -
I do have that mindset – that most good art comes from some turmoil, from someone trying to come to some equilibrium, or come up and get a breath.
BEN FOLDS -
Some people would say they never see me because I don’t go anywhere. I stay in the blue state of Nashville, in my bubble.
BEN FOLDS -
You can’t really control how people hear stuff. It’s hard to remember that. I have to let go of it.
BEN FOLDS -
But I really do have a soft spot for the solo shows. Any musician who writes and sings will tell you that’s the center of it, that is it. It’s almost like there’s something church-like about it and you gotta go back there, if you’re a songwriter that sings your material.
BEN FOLDS -
The press is like any business. Its a group of really intelligent individuals that ends up being one slathering, one-eyed, drooling monster.
BEN FOLDS -
Why would I want to sound like Joni Mitchell? I’ve got Joni Mitchell records, and they’re great, and I couldn’t possibly be that good.
BEN FOLDS -
Because I write very simply, but inside the simplicity, there’s a lot of subtlety. That’s what I’m proud of.
BEN FOLDS -
The nice thing about age is worrying less and less about what people think.
BEN FOLDS -
I think people use temp music quite a bit, but the people who write the temp music don’t ever really learn that their music was inspiring a movie.
BEN FOLDS -
I feel like a quote out of context.
BEN FOLDS -
It’s a tough thing to know that when you’re making your album, you’re going to end up collaborating with, say, Wal-Mart, on your artwork. That just sucks. And the pressure behind getting the numbers real fast is, to me, dizzying.
BEN FOLDS -
If you’re afraid they might discover your redneck past, there are a hundred ways to cover your redneck past.
BEN FOLDS -
The piano is just a different animal. It’s expensive, it’s big, it’s heavy, and it doesn’t fit in the mix easily.
BEN FOLDS -
I drink a lot, probably too much. My scene while writing lyrics is always a bottle of scotch and stacks of note cards, pencil and pencil sharpener. I throw around note cards and drink.
BEN FOLDS -
Im really good at writing almost hits.
BEN FOLDS -
I’ve gotten to the point where I realize that I need to tell my truth in music and not walk around blabbing my mind.
BEN FOLDS -
Notes don’t make music until you learn to insert silence between them.
BEN FOLDS -
I always feel very lucky that I am forced to make records at certain times. If I was forced to make 2 records a year, I would write twice as many songs. I can’t make myself finish something unless I am forced
BEN FOLDS -
Billy Joel and Joe Jackson were both great, and they both play piano.
BEN FOLDS -
I think alcohol is a good drug for me when I’m writing. I don’t think I’ve ever had a problem with it. I can stop for a few weeks, so I think it’s okay. I don’t think it’s good for my liver, but I do love it. It’s a huge part of my life, and it makes me happy.
BEN FOLDS -
I do think that when you make repeated mistakes, it’s usually because you’re just not coming to grips with something.
BEN FOLDS -
I’m aware that I’m very fringe, and it’s nice that way.
BEN FOLDS -
I used to do this big rant at the end of some gigs with Ben Folds Five. The band broke into this big heavy metal thing and I started as a joke to scream in a heavy metal falsetto. I found myself saying things like: Feel my pain, I am white, feel my pain.
BEN FOLDS -
Next door, there’s an old man who lived to his nineties and one day passed away in his sleep. And his wife, she stayed for a couple of days and passed away. I’m sorry, I know that’s a strange way to tell you that I know we belong.
BEN FOLDS