Look up bastard in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Bastard may refer to:

• A child whose birth lacks legal legitimacy—that is, one born to a woman and a man who are not legally married
• Bastard (Law of England and Wales), illegitimacy in English law
• Bastard (typeface), a blackletter typeface
• Bastard (color), a type of color gel
• Bastard Township, Ontario, Canada
• Bastarda or Bastard, a Gothic script
• Bastard, a classification of the teeth of a metalworking file
• Bastard, historically, a second-rate wine, distinguished from sack
• Bastard sword, a type of longsword

Film[link]

• Bastard (film), a 1940 Swedish-Norwegian film
• The Bastard (film), a 1963 Japanese youth film
• Bastard‼: Heavy Metal, Dark Fantasy, a manga and anime series

Literature[link]

• The Bastard (novel), a novel by John Jakes
• Bastard‼, a manga by Kazushi Hagiwara
• "Bastard", a short story by Erskine Caldwell

Music[link]

• Bastard (album), an album by Tyler, The Creator
  • "Bastard" (Tyler, The Creator song), the title track
• Bästard, an album by Yann Tiersen and Bästard
• Bastard, an album by Subway to Sally
• "Bastard" (song), a song by Mötley Crüe
• "Bastard", a song by Ben Folds from Songs for Silverman
• "Bastard", a song by Dope from American Apathy
• "Bastard", a song by Ian Hunter from You're Never Alone with a Schizophrenic
• "Bastard", a song by Oomph! from Unrein

Fictional characters[link]

• Fat Bastard (character), a fictional character from the Austin Powers films
• Spoilt Bastard, a fictional comic character from the magazine Viz
• Ywain the Bastard, a Knight of the Round Table in Arthurian legend
• Action Bastard, a fictional superhero in the anime series Crayon Shin-chan
• Alan and Sara B'Stard, fictional characters in the BBC TV sitcom The New Statesman
• Harry the Bastard, a fictional character from the television series The Young Ones
• Yellow Bastard, Roark Junior, a fictional character from the comics series Sin City

As an epithet[link]

• Antoine, bastard of Burgundy (1421-1504), half-brother of Charles the Bold
• Geoffrey, the Bastard, Geoffrey, Archbishop of York (c1152–1212), illegitimate son of Henry II, King of England
• Bastard of Arran, Sir James Hamilton of Finnart (1495-1540), Scottish nobleman and architect
• Bastard of Fauconberg, Thomas Neville (?-1471), a Lancastrian leader in the War of the Roses
• Bastard of Orleans, Jean de Dunois (1402-1468), the illegitimate son of Louis d'Orléans
• William the Bastard, King of England (1028–1087), also sometimes known as "William the Conqueror"

As a pseudonym[link]

• Ol' Dirty Bastard, American rapper
• MC Basstard, German rapper who recorded the album Dogma (Gegen die Zeit) with the rapper Taktloss
• Little Bastard, a ring name of professional wrestler Dylan Postl

People with the family name[link]

• Bastard brothers John (c. 1668–1770) and William (c. 1689–1766), British surveyor-architects and civic dignitaries
• Benjamin Bastard (died 1772), British architect
• E. W. Bastard (1862–1901), Oxford University and Somerset cricketer
• Edmund Pollexfen Bastard (1784–1838), British Tory politician
• Gerald Bastard (born 1950), French physicist
• John Bastard (cricketer) (1817–1848), Cambridge University and Marylebone Cricket Club cricketer
• John Bastard (Royal Navy officer) (c.1787-1835), Royal Navy officer and politician
• John Pollexfen Bastard (1756–1816), British Tory politician
• Segar Bastard (1854-1921), English international footballer and referee
• Thomas Bastard (1565/6-1618), English epigrammatist
• Pownoll Bastard Pellew, 2nd Viscount Exmouth (1786-1833), English peer and sailor

See also[link]

• Bastard studies, race mixing, especially in Germany
• Bastards (disambiguation)
• Bastardo (disambiguation)
• Bastardisation (disambiguation)
• Baster (from the Dutch word for bastard), a descendant of liaisons between the Cape Colony Dutch and indigenous Africans
• Bastardista, album of Brazilian singer Célia Mara
• "Bâtard", a short story by Jack London
• Inglourious Basterds a war epic/spaghetti-western by Quentin Tarantino
• All pages beginning with "Bastard"
• All pages with titles containing "Bastard"

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Tyler, The Creator
Background information
Birth name	Tyler Gregory Okonma
Also known as	Wolf Haley, Ace, Tron Cat, Young Nigga, Thurnis, Tyler Haley, DJ Stank Daddy
Born	(1991-03-06) March 6, 1991 (age 21)
Origin	Ladera Heights, Los Angeles County, California, United States[1]
Genres	Alternative hip hop
Occupations	Rapper, record producer, director, actor, graphic artist,[1] fashion designer[2]
Instruments	Vocals, piano, keyboards, drums
Years active	2006–present
Labels	Odd Future Records, XL Recordings, RED Distribution
Associated acts	Odd Future
Website	oddfuture.com

Tyler Gregory^[3] Okonma (born March 6, 1991), better known by his stage name Tyler, The Creator, is an American rapper, record producer, actor and fashion designer^[2] from Los Angeles. He is best known as the leader and co-founder of the alternative hip hop collective Odd Future,^[4] and has rapped on and produced songs for nearly every Odd Future release. Okonma also creates all the artwork for the group's releases^[1] and said in an interview with DJ Semtex that he designs all the group's clothing and other merchandise as well.^[2] He is currently signed to English independent record label XL Recordings, and his own record label, Odd Future Records.

Early life[link]

Tyler Okonma was born in Los Angeles, California to a Nigerian father and a mother of African-American and white Canadian descent.^[5][6][7] He claims that he had never met his father,^[8] and spent his early life living in the communities of Ladera Heights and Hawthorne in southwest Los Angeles County.^[1][9] At the age of seven, he would take the cover out of an album's case and create covers for his own imaginary albums including a tracklist with song times before he could even make music.^[10][11] At the age of 14, Okonma taught himself how to play piano.^[12] In his twelve years of schooling, he had attended twelve different schools, in Los Angeles and Sacramento areas.^[13]

Music career[link]

[edit] Bastard and Goblin (2009–2012)

On December 25, 2009, Tyler self-released his first album, Bastard. The album was eventually ranked 32nd on Pitchfork Media's list of the Top Albums of 2010. On February 11, 2011, Tyler released the music video for "Yonkers", the first single from his second album, Goblin, which was released May 10, 2011.^[14] The video has received attention from several online media outlets.^{[15][16][17][18]} An extended version with a third verse can be purchased on iTunes.^[19] After the release of "Yonkers," Tyler announced that he had signed a one-album deal with XL Recordings.^[20] Tyler and fellow OF member Hodgy Beats made their television debut on February 16, 2011 when they performed "Sandwitches" on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.^[21] On March 16, Tyler and Hodgy performed "Yonkers" and "Sandwitches" on the 2011 mtvU Woodie Awards, being joined by other members of Odd Future during "Sandwitches". Goblin was released on May 10, 2011.

During an interview with Tyler for Interview, Waka Flocka Flame expressed his interest in collaborating with the Odd Future frontman to direct a music video for him.^[22]

Tyler's third album Wolf is scheduled for release in 2012. It will contain the instrumentals that Tyler has been making since the age of 15.^[23]

Tyler won Best New Artist for "Yonkers" at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards.^[24]

[edit] Wolf and Loiter Squad (2012-present)

Tyler first mentioned the album in early 2010 saying that he would have an album titled Wolf. In early 2011 he told fans through his Formspring account that his third album would be called Wolf and it is scheduled to be released in May 2012. The album will continue Tyler's sessions with his fictional therapist, Dr. TC, as hinted by the title track on his first album, Bastard, in which Dr. TC says "this is the first of three sessions...".

In August 2011, Tyler said that the album will be more focused on beats and have less rapping.[4] He has said that on the album he will try to make music similar to his current interests, which he has said do not contain rapping.

In an interview with DJ Semtex, he confirmed that he will handle all the production on the album, except one song produced by Left Brain.[5] This was how the production on Goblin was dealt with.

Tyler initially announced in early 2011, after Los Angeles hip hop collective Odd Future annoced that will get their own TV show called Loiter Squad. It wasn't until September 8, 2011 that the show was finally confirmed as a 15-minute live action show composed of various sketches, man on the street segments, pranks and music made by OF. Dickhouse Productions, the production partnership that created Jackass, is scheduled to produce the show. The show premiered on March 25, 2012.

Other enterprises[link]

Tyler has also directed music videos, acted in two roles, and also done work as a graphic artist^[1].

Criticism[link]

Homophobia[link]

Tyler has been criticized for his use of homophobic slurs, in particular, his frequent use of the epithet faggot in his lyrics and on Twitter.^[25][26] He has denied accusations of homophobia, stating, "I'm not homophobic. I just say faggot and use gay as an adjective to describe stupid shit,"^[27][28] and, "I'm not homophobic. I just think faggot hits and hurts people."^[29] However, he later said in an interview with MTV about the slurs, "Well, I have gay fans and they don't really take it offensive, so I don't know. If it offends you, it offends you. If you call me a nigga, I really don't care, but that's just me, personally. Some people might take it the other way; I personally don't give a shit."^[30][31]

Misogyny[link]

Tyler has also been criticized for his graphic depictions of violence against women and his misogynistic lyrics.^[32][33] Brent DiCrescenzo of Time Out Chicago writes that rape is a "predominant theme" of Goblin^[34] and Hermione Hoby of The Guardian writes that Tyler's "rape and murder fantasies (are) graphic enough to send the vomit rising along with the bile."^[35] The Fader tallied 68 uses of the term "bitch" over Goblin's 73 minutes.^[36] Responding to Canadian indie pop duo Tegan and Sara's criticism of his lyrics,^[37] Tyler tweeted: "If Tegan and Sara need some hard dick, hit me up!"^[38]

Legal issues[link]

On December 22, 2011, Tyler was arrested during a show at the Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood, and charged with "suspicion of vandalism" for alleged destroying of sound equipment belonging to the venue. He was released on $20,000 bail.^[39][3]

Feuds[link]

In the song "Yonkers," Tyler disses numerous artists, such as rappers/singers B.o.B and Bruno Mars, and Hayley Williams, frontwoman of band Paramore. Tyler, the Creator also disses Bruno Mars in The Game's song "Martians vs. Goblins," in which he and Lil Wayne are featured artists. In response, B.o.B released a similar diss track, entitled "No Future" that also references Tyler's group, Odd Future. Ironically, Tyler praised the song, and initially did not think it was a diss track. Bruno Mars, in response to the verse "stab Bruno Mars in his goddamn esophagus," said, "[Tyler] has to wait in line if he wants to stab me...[Tyler's] definitely not the first guy that's said something like that to me and he's not going to be the last."^[40] Los Angeles rapper Hopsin also dissed him in his "Ill Mind of Hopsin 4" music video, released in July 2011. Tyler did not respond to it.

Discography[link]

• Bastard (2009)
• Goblin (2011)
• Wolf (2012)

Filmography[link]

Awards and nominations[link]

O Music Awards

MTV Video Music Awards

MTV2 Sucker Free Awards

References[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Tyler, the Creator

Ben Folds
Ben Folds (2007)
Background information
Birth name	Benjamin Scott Folds
Born	(1966-09-12) September 12, 1966 (age 45)
Origin	Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Genres	Piano rock, rock
Occupations	Musician, composer, arranger, bandleader
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, bass, piano, keytar, melodica, synthesizer, drums
Years active	1988–present
Labels	Attacked By Plastic, Epic
Associated acts	Ben Folds Five The Bens Fear of Pop Majosha Snuzz Pomplamoose Julia Nunes Charlie McDonnell Regina Spektor Amanda Palmer Angela Aki Kate Miller-Heidke William Shatner Sara Bareilles 8in8
Website	benfolds.com

Benjamin Scott "Ben" Folds (born September 12, 1966) is an American singer-songwriter and record producer. From 1995-2000, Folds was the frontman and pianist of the alternative rock band Ben Folds Five. Since the group disbanded, Folds has performed as a solo artist and has toured all over the world. He has also collaborated with musicians such as William Shatner, Regina Spektor and "Weird Al" Yankovic and undertaken experimental songwriting projects with authors such as Nick Hornby and Neil Gaiman. In addition to contributing music to the soundtracks of the animated films Over the Hedge, and Hoodwinked!, Folds produced Amanda Palmer's first solo album and has been a judge on the NBC a cappella singing contest The Sing-Off since 2009.^[1]

Early life and career[link]

Folds became interested in piano at age nine. His father, a carpenter, brought one home through a barter trade with a customer who was unable to pay.^[2] During this time, Folds listened to songs by Elton John and Billy Joel on AM radio, and learned them by ear.^{[citation needed]} During his years at R.J. Reynolds High School in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Folds played in several bands as the pianist, bassist, or drummer.

In the late 1980s, Folds (as a bassist) and longtime friend Millard Powers formed the band Majosha. The group released several locally produced records. They played their first gig at Duke University's Battle of the Bands in 1988, and won.^[3] They played at bars and fraternity parties, and eventually put out a self-produced EP, which was sold at a few local stores called Party Night: Five Songs About Jesus (1988). The record featured only four songs, with none of them actually being about Jesus. They recorded Shut Up and Listen to Majosha in 1989. It contains, among other tracks, the four songs from Party Night (remixed and/or re-recorded) and what Folds would later record with his own band ("Emaline" and "Video"). At about the same time, they did a dance mix of "Get That Bug" that was released in Japan.

Majosha broke up in early 1990, and Folds formed Pots and Pans with Evan Olson (bass) and Britt "Snuzz" Uzzell (guitar and vocals), where Folds played drums. The newly formed band lasted only about a month, after which Olson and Uzzell went on to form Bus Stop^[4] with Folds' brother, Chuck Folds, on bass, and Eddie Walker on drums.^[5]

Folds eventually got a music publishing deal with Nashville music executive Scott Siman who saw Folds open for musician Marc Silvey (as well as playing bass for Silvey's band Mass Confusion), and moved to Nashville, Tennessee, to pursue it in 1990. He played drums for a short stint in Jody's Power Bill, headed by Millard Powers, Will Owsley, and Jody Spence. Jody's Power Bill was later renamed The Semantics. Folds did not take a creative role in the band. He, again, attracted interest from major labels. He ended up playing drums there as a session musician.^[6]

"In Nashville, I was running eight miles a day, hanging out with my friends, walking around eating chocolate-chip cookies and playing a lot of drums, which I enjoyed. Life was easy. I was never frustrated – even though I wasn't fulfilling my contract obligations. If you are failing in Nashville, at least your standard of living is nice. Nashville is a nice way to fail."^[6]

Folds attended the University of Miami's Frost School of Music on a percussion scholarship, but dropped out with one credit to go before graduating. He devoted a lot of time to working on piano technique. "I spent maybe six months just running scales with a metronome like a freak," Folds said. "I suppose that did something."^[7]

Folds tells audiences about a jury recital when he was a student at the University of Miami’s music school. A jury recital consists of playing a prepared repertoire (and sometimes unprepared pieces from prior years of training) before faculty members who apply a grade for the entire semester. Folds, a drummer, showed up with a broken hand from defending his roommate from bullies the night before, but was required to play anyway. He ended up losing his scholarship and in desperation threw his drum kit into the campus' Lake Osceola.^[8]

After leaving Miami, Folds moved to Montclair, New Jersey and began to act in theater troupes in New York City. He enjoyed it in 1993 to the point where he didn't want to keep pursuing a musical career.^[6] He also played weekly gigs at Sin-é, famous for being the cafe which had helped start Jeff Buckley's career.

Soon after, Folds moved back to North Carolina. The trio of Folds, bassist Robert Sledge, and drummer Darren Jessee formed Ben Folds Five in 1994^[9] in Chapel Hill. As Folds put it, “Jeff Buckley was being signed at that time by Columbia and I was talking to Steve, his A&R guy, and somehow we knew the same people or something."

Ben Folds Five[link]

In 1995, Ben Folds Five released their self-titled debut album. The debut was followed by Whatever and Ever Amen in 1997, and the odds-and-ends compilation Naked Baby Photos was released in early 1998. Whatever and Ever Amen spawned many singles such as "Brick", "Song for the Dumped", and "Battle of Who Could Care Less". In 1999, the band released their final album, The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner, which included the hit, "Army".

Folds has described his former band as "punk rock for sissies",^[10] and his oddball lyrics often contain nuances of melancholy, self conflict, and humorous sarcasm, often punctuated by profanity.

Despite its presence on multiple Billboard genre charts, no Ben Folds Five singles reached the US Hot 100, although they did show well on both adult contemporary and modern rock charts. However they gained a strong following in the United Kingdom and Australia early in their career, and like many other 'alternative' American acts this was largely thanks to consistent support from national broadcasters in those countries, the BBC in Britain and the ABC's Triple J youth radio network in Australia (and ABC-TV's music video show Rage).

The group's first chart breakthrough came in the UK, when "Underground" made the lower reaches of the Top 40, peaking at #37. Britain was the Five's strongest territory in terms of chart success, with five singles making the national Top 40 there – "Underground", "Battle of Who Could Care Less", "Kate", "Brick" and "Army" – although none managed to crack the UK Top 20.

In Australia "Underground" likewise broke the band locally and while it did not make the ARIA chart, it came in at #3 the 1998 Triple J Hottest 100 poll. The 1998 single "Brick" became the group's only major chart placing in Australia, reaching #13; it also came in at #53 in the ARIA Australian Top 100 for that year^[11] and earned a Gold Record award^[12] while its parent album Whatever and Ever Amen peaked at #9 and charted for 32 weeks.

Folds and his bandmates have moved many albums since 2001. He said, "The songs have been getting a great reaction, it makes me look forward to having a new album out there because it’s been a while. This feels like a really free period in my life and I’m really enjoying it.”^[13] Ben Folds Five reunited to perform its first concert appearance in nearly 10 years on September 18, 2008 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Memorial Hall.^[14] The one-off gig was part of the MySpace "Front to Back" series, in which artists play an entire album live. The band played its final album, The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner. The concert aired during October and can be viewed at Nowwhat.com.^[15] All proceeds from ticket sales benefited the charity Operation Smile, of which Ben's uncle, Jim Folds, is on the board of directors for the North Carolina Chapter.^[16]

Solo career[link]

Folds performing in Knoxville, Tennessee (2006)

As of 2008, Folds had released six solo LPs, including an experimental side project called Fear of Pop, which was released while Ben Folds Five was still together.

Folds's first solo release after the breakup of the band was Rockin' the Suburbs in 2001. He played nearly all the instruments, notably guitar (an instrument seldom used during the Ben Folds Five days). The Luckiest was written for the Amy Heckerling movie Loser, but the scene it was meant for was deleted.^[17] Millard Powers, Britt "Snuzz" Uzzell, and Jim Bogios joined him on the promotional tour of the album. "Weird Al" Yankovic directed and appeared in Folds' video for "Rockin' the Suburbs". Folds' friend and fellow musician John McCrea, lead singer of the band Cake, contributed vocals to Folds' song "Fred Jones, Part 2".

A year later, he released Ben Folds Live, a collection of live solo recordings. In late 2003, two solo EPs, Speed Graphic and Sunny 16, were released. The last EP, Super D, was released in mid-2004.

Songs for Silverman was released in the United States on April 26, 2005. The album featured Jared Reynolds on bass and Lindsay Jamieson on drums, thus returning to the trio format. This album includes the track "Late", a tribute to the late singer-songwriter Elliott Smith, and also features backup vocals from "Weird Al" Yankovic on "Time" (Folds had played piano for Yankovic's song "Why Does This Always Happen to Me?" on his Poodle Hat album).

Folds contributed to William Shatner's album, Has Been, as producer, arranger, musician, and backup vocalist. Shatner was also involved in Folds' Fear of Pop project, and contributed vocals to a number of songs on the album.

The soundtrack for the 2006 animated film Hoodwinked! featured "Red is Blue," performed by Ben Folds.

In May 2006, Folds contributed three original songs to the soundtrack of Over the Hedge, dubbed "Heist," "Family of Me," and "Still." Included with them was a cover of The Clash song "Lost in the Supermarket" and a remix of "Rockin' The Suburbs." "Rockin' the Suburbs" featured new lyrics written to complement the script of the film.

On October 24, 2006, Folds released Supersunnyspeedgraphic, the LP, a compilation of songs that were originally released on the EPs Sunny 16, Speed Graphic, and Super D. He announced on his MySpace blog that he planned to work on his next studio album in October 2006 (although recording did not actually start until 2007). On that same day, Folds became the first person to broadcast a live concert over MySpace. The concert was complete with pranks staged ahead of time by Folds, including a drunk man falling over the balcony during "Jesusland" and a suicide attempt at the end. The concert is also notable for featuring a "guitorchestra", a group of acoustic guitarists from Nashville who accompanied Folds on some songs, as well as an impromptu ringtone orchestra made up of audience members playing their cellphone's ringtones in unison.

Folds produced The Dresden Dolls' Amanda Palmer's first solo album, Who Killed Amanda Palmer which was released September 16, 2008. He also performs on the album.^[18][19]

During a concert at the National in Richmond, Virginia on April 11, 2008, Folds announced that he had completed his newest album, and played four new tracks from this album. He played the first track, "Hiroshima", at the same show in Richmond on April 11. He also debuted new music at an impromptu gig at the Exit/In on December 19, 2007 and at the Ann Arbor Folk Festival on January 25, 2008. Other new songs include "Errant Dog", "Effington", "Bitch Went Nuts", "Free Coffee", and "Kylie From Connecticut". Folds played The 6th annual Langerado on March 8, 2008 and was a part of the lineup for the 2008 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival.

On July 16, 2008, an anonymous user posted what they claimed was a "leak" of Ben's latest album on a fan site (eventually called Way to Normal (Fake)). The file contained nine tracks along with a PDF of supposed cover art, and was a mix of what appeared to be legitimate songs from Way to Normal, pastiches of dry humor and melodramatic pop interwoven with bright, energetic melodies. Folds explained on Triple J radio a few weeks later that in one overnight session in Dublin he and the band had recorded 'fake' versions of songs from the new album. His sources had then leaked them to the public as a light-hearted joke on his fans.^[20]

Way to Normal was released on September 30, 2008 in the United States and on September 29, 2008 in the United Kingdom.^[21][22] It became Folds' highest-charting album ever in the US, debuting at #11 on the Billboard 200.^[23]

Soon before Way to Normal was released, Folds announced that he planned to record an album with English author Nick Hornby, with Hornby writing the lyrics and Folds writing the music. The idea of the collaboration came out of the 'fake' leak of the album Way to Normal released in July 2008. "(We will) write and record it in about three days, just like we did in Dublin with the fake record," Folds said.^[24]

In August 2008, Folds played piano for friend and Japanese singer-songwriter Angela Aki's song "Black Glasses" on her new album Answer.

On April 28, 2009, Folds released Ben Folds Presents University A Cappella, an album consisting of college student's a cappella arrangements of his music performed by some of the country's best college a cappella groups.^[25]

Folds' song "Rockin' the Suburbs" has been featured as part of the music for ABC's sitcom Surviving Suburbia.

Folds was also an inaugural member of the Independent Music Awards' judging panel to support independent artists.^[26]

From December 14 through 21, 2009, Folds was featured as a judge on NBC's a cappella competition The Sing Off alongside Nicole Scherzinger and Shawn Stockman and offered insightful, constructive comments and criticisms to the contestants. On the final show, in a departure from his a cappella purism, showcased his talents and played the roaring, riffing piano background on "Why Can't We Be Friends?" sung by the two finalist groups, The Beelzebubs from Tufts University near Boston and Nota, from San Juan, Puerto Rico. He again returned for the show's second season, and has been confirmed to return for the third season in September 2011 alongside Stockman and Sara Bareilles.

In March 2010, Folds became a YouTube phenomenon in a video titled "Ode To Merton". In the video, Folds improvises several songs about people that he sees on the popular social networking site Chatroulette, in the style of "Merton" another YouTube phenomenon who many thought was Folds himself.^[27][28]

Folds' newest album, a collaboration with English author Nick Hornby, is entitled Lonely Avenue and was released on September 28, 2010. On June 14, Folds released the official album art via his Twitter account. "From Above", the first single from the album, premiered on Richard Kingsmill's new music show 2010 on Triple J in Australia on July 18, 2010. "From Above" features Australian singer Kate Miller Heidke on backing vocals.

Folds has recently recorded a video song with Nick Hornby and Pomplamoose. As well, English YouTuber Charlie McDonnell was commissioned to create the music video for Folds' song "Saskia Hamilton", which was uploaded on October 1, 2010.^[29]

Tours[link]

Ben Folds playing the piano in 2009

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (March 2010)

After Ben Folds Five split, Folds' first tour with a full band was to support the album Rockin' The Suburbs. He was accompanied by Britt "Snüzz" Uzzell on guitar and electronic keyboard, Millard Powers on bass and keys, and Jim Bogios on drums. Powers and Bogios later went on to join Counting Crows.

On a tour of Australia, Folds joined with solo artists Ben Kweller and Ben Lee to travel the country as The Bens, at the suggestion of a fan on Kweller's official website. The trio also went on to record a four-track EP together.

In the summer of 2004, Folds co-headlined an American tour with fellow singer-songwriters Rufus Wainwright and Guster. Folds again performed with Wainwright and Lee in the summer of 2005 as part of the "Odd Men Out" tour. In addition, Folds has performed with many other notable musical names, including Weezer and Tori Amos. After seeing The Fray perform with Weezer, Folds asked the band to join him for twelve performances in 2005.

Folds also performed with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra (WASO) in March 2005, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) in November 2005, the North Carolina Symphony in March 2010, and the Utah Symphony Orchestra in July 2010. A DVD of Folds playing with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra was released in December 2005.

On May 9, 2007, Folds performed with the Boston Pops Orchestra. The orchestra's performance was marred when a fight broke out between two audience members in the balcony, though Folds had not yet taken the stage.^[30]

Folds performed with symphony orchestras again in August 2006 during a tour of Australia, which included performances with the Sydney Symphony at the Sydney Opera House, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Western Australian Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, and The Queensland Orchestra.

After his MySpace performance on October 24, 2006, Folds's tour performances began to feature a synthesizer, which he uses in many of the songs when played live. The synthesizer is a red Nord Lead II synthesizer. During his concerts, Folds performs two of his concert traditions: palm-smashing and throwing his stool at the piano.

Folds toured with John Mayer as an opening act (though his set typically lasted an hour) in the summer of 2007. During this tour, Mayer sometimes joined Folds on the song "Narcolepsy", playing synth. At various concerts throughout the tour, parents of young children going to see Mayer would file complaints about Folds' lyrics. Folds responded by posting on his website, "We have kids too, but we don't take them out to rock shows that last until 11pm."^{[citation needed]}

On March 29, 2008, Folds played the Cage Center Arena at Berry College in Mt. Berry, GA. During contract negotiations, he was asked by the administration to not play one of his songs due to its explicit lyrics. Folds refused, citing artistic freedom.^[31]

On May 9, 2008, Folds played his first completely solo show in years at Western Connecticut State University due to the fact that his bassist Jared Reynolds was with his wife who had just given birth to their first son.^{[citation needed]}

Folds made a brief solo tour of Australia during August 2009; at one of his sold out Sydney Opera House concerts he was joined onstage for several songs by Aimee Mann, who was also touring Australia at the time. At the Palais theatre in Melbourne Missy Higgins joined him for You Don't Know Me.^[32]

In 2010, Folds went on a brief tour of North America called "Ben Folds and a Piano" where he played solo other than with Zach Williams or Kate Miller-Heidke and her husband Keir Nuttall as supporting musicians.^{[citation needed]} A small number of copies that were pre-ordered also included signed manuscripts by Ben Folds and Nick Hornby.

In April 2011 Folds collaborated with Amanda Palmer, Neil Gaiman and Damian Kulash as 8in8 to write, record and produce eight songs in eight hours which were then available online within 24 hours, as well as being performed once on its world tour, as part of the ReThink Music conference.^[33]

Folds will reunite with Ben Folds Five to play the Mountain Jam Music Festival on June 2, 2012. This will be the first time the band has played together since 2008.

Ben Folds performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC for the 2012 Presidential Scholar in the Arts ceremony with several of YoungArts best alumni.

Personal life[link]

Folds has been married four times. His personal life has inspired several of his songs; the hit single "Brick", co-written with Darren Jessee, was based on the experience of Folds and his girlfriend having an abortion while they were in high school.^[34]

Folds met Anna Goodman in first grade at Moore Elementary School, Winston Salem and was married to her from 1987–1992.^[35] She co-wrote several Ben Folds Five songs: "Alice Childress", "The Last Polka", "Smoke", "Kate" and "Lullaby." Folds was then briefly married to Kate Rosen in 1996.

Folds met Australian Frally Hynes in January 1998 and they were married in Adelaide, South Australia in May 1999.^[34] Two months after their wedding, Frally gave birth to their twins, Louis Francis (July 22, 1999) and Gracie Scott (July 23, 1999),^[36] the former inspiring his song "Still Fighting It" and the latter inspiring his song "Gracie." Hynes also sang lead on "Root To This" on Fear of Pop's 1998 album Volume 1. Folds filed for divorce in November 2006.^[34]

Ben and Fleur Folds were married on November 17, 2007 at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas.  They are currently based in Nashville where they live with their three children, Gracie, Louis and Julia-Rose.^[37] Folds stated in an online chat on the fan forum thesuburbs.org.uk that he and Hynes share joint custody of their twins. Julia Rose is Ben's stepdaughter.^[38]

Discography[link]

See also[link]

• Kalamazoo, Michigan

References[link]