The Loop : Ben Folds - Speed Graphic

Ben Folds - Speed Graphic (2003)

One of my favorite memories happened the summer before my Senior year of high school. My brother and I, both die-hard Ben Folds fans, bought tickets to see him open up for Tori Amos during the "Whole Lotta Pianos Tour" at Downtown Phoenix's Dodge Theatre. We probably got there early and saw him play a good hour-long set, which we were thankful for since he was technically "opening". (I didn't see him play a headlining show until last year)

We decided to leave before Tori since neither of us were really fans, but in typical fan-kid fashion, we decided to track down Ben's tour bus and see if we could stalk out an autograph (what does one do with an autograph, anyway?) We were standing there with about 15 other of the dedicated waiting for Ben when I hear "ASHLEYYYYYYYYY!" from the distance. I see my friend Dave Gironda running/skipping down the alley in unapologetic excitement. Dave was always really happy, usually the one to start the dance pit at the ska shows where we had become friends. After waving hello he starts yelling, "BEN (expletive) FOLDS (explitive) BEN (explitive) (explitive) FOLDS!!!" I don't think I'll ever lose that image as long as I live (especially since I tell this story a lot; we should all hope to be that in love with music). We all geeked out when Ben came out appearing to be surprised and I had him sign my paystub. Classy.

A week or so later, myself and some of the other ska kids were meeting up at Del Taco in Mesa before/after a show and I run into Dave. He asks me if I've heard Ben's new EP, which I hadn't. He runs out to his car and gives me his copy straight from his CD player (which I still have, by the way) that had several b-sides and a copy of the EP, "Speed Graphic".

That disc burned a hole in my CD player the next few months. The EP itself kicked it off, with a cover of The Cure's "In Between Days". It was only five songs long, and would become the start of a series of three EP's that he would put out before his next full-length. I feel like this was a big transition from where he was with Rocking the Suburbs and where he went with Way to Normal. Songs for Silverman obviously came in between, but you started to feel where he was moving towards more rock songs and less stripped down piano that he did on songs like "Give Judy My Notice". These songs wove themselves in some of my best memories of my Senior year as I carried them with me everywhere and will always hold a place in setting that soundtrack.

Obviously, this was not how I got into Ben Folds. Clearly an album like Whatever and Ever Amen lit that fire and his solo debut of Rocking The Suburbs solidified that obsession. But seeing Dave so excited, remembering how I felt during that concert and listening to that record is something I haven't been able to replicate since. It was simply special.