Hi Steve, so last night Pete takes me to Heinz Hall for a Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra concert, with some guy named Ben Folds. I don't know much about him, actually, except that he wrote an album with William Shatner, and it was really funny. Well, now I know a LOT more about him, and WOW, what an amazing musician!!! I was truly blown away!!
So after the concert is over----Pete loves him so much he got us front row seats----he also got backstage passes for a meet and greet!
During the show, Ben Folds says, "Did you hear that?!" (responding to someone in the audience who yelled "Rock that Bitch!" That is, apparently, a trigger for a spontaneous segment in the show where he just MAKES UP A SONG with the entire orchestra, the choir, AND the audience joining in!!
STEPHEN, if you EVER go on tour again, you have GOT TO DO THAT!!!! I mean, sincerely, you have to do this….he goes to the piano, does a little ditty, thinks about it, and then tells the specific instruments in the symphony to play certain notes, in a certain way. The oboe, for instance, was the first and played Bb and Eb over and over, the Bb a little longer, and the Eb staccato. Then he says, "Ok, now add the cello…" and he tells THEM what notes to play, and demonstrates the style and rhythm on the piano. He gets them both going at the same time, and it starts the foundation for a song! HOW COOL IS THAT?! It was SWEET!! You TOTALLY have to do this!! (Marvin Hamlisch did it too).
So then one group at a time, the entire orchestra gets going, with certain instruments just doing simple ditties all at one time, and then the trumpet does a little solo over it all, and then the CHOIR he brought with him starts singing "Rock that Bitch!" And Ben starts singing a song that he just made up in his head, about taking a cab in Pittsburgh where the driver veers all over the highway (true story of one of his scariest taxi rides), and is reaching frantically for something, only to suddenly grab hold of her OXYGEN MASK!! It was HILARIOUS!!!
But WOW it was AWESOME to see those wheels turning in his head, putting together an entire SONG from SCRATCH, out of nothing! It was really amazing. And this dude looks so nerdy, but he is SO INTENSE when he plays that piano, he bangs his heels on the stage, his leg gets going faster and faster as he keeps the tempo, and he POUNDS that keyboard. I swear his fingers must be on FIRE after every show, he's THAT intense and passionate when he is performing.
I was very impressed.
Anyway, so I get beside him for the photo (above) and I say, "You should do an entire concert like that, it was AMAZING!" And he makes this face and says, "Ohhh nooooo noo…" but he laughed. I guess that takes a lot outta him to just suddenly be put on the spot like that, but he just flawlessly did it and made it look so EASY!! His songs are so complex, and complicated when you listen to all the layers of the orchestra---and every song of his is an original, that HE WROTE.
Did you know that he has 2 kids, one named Louie, and 4 hours later after Louie was born, his daughter Gracie just suddenly shows up----they didn't KNOW they were having TWINS! But here's the weird part, she was 4 hours later, which put her into the next day-----and a totally different astrological sign than Louie! They are both 15 years old now. He wrote (and performed) a song for his daughter when she was 4 years old, entitled simply, "Gracie Girl." It was really sweet!
Anyway, so that was my evening. My friend Julie is more than halfway to New York City with her son Jacob now, but I'm still at home. Sigh. She and I and our friend Grace are planning to go together for a weekend sometime in the near future, though, so that will be a hoot.
Well, if you ever get the chance to talk to, work with, or perform with Ben Folds----DO IT!!! Seriously, he's in Nashville today recording a new album, but that would be friggin' AWESOME, and you would get to perform with an orchestra, like you've always wanted to! It would be INCREDIBLE!!!
Ya know Stephen, you may have already thought of this on your own, but I was thinking, why don't you do an entire album of songs for Kelli? Just sing to HER, every song with words you wrote from your heart, and record an entire album of them, as a huge dedication----maybe even donate some of the proceeds to cancer research charities or something? And if Ben Folds is doing it WITH YOU, with an ORCHESTRA…..holy crap that would totally ROCK….
It's just a thought.
Anyway, I love ya. Have a great week my friend.
Bye for now.
Love, Rebecca
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