#409 BEN FOLDS – A Dream About Lightning Bugs
Smithsonian Associates, The Not Old Better Show

Welcome to The Not Old Better Show. I’m Paul Vogelzang and this is episode #409.

As part of our Smithsonian Associates Year of Music series, this will be a very special show. In a minute or two, I’ll be speaking with Ben Folds. And I’ll tell you right out of the gate, I’m a huge fan. My exercise playlist repeats Zak and Sara, and that opening piano in Zak and Sara is just Ben Folds at his best! As a matter of fact, it’s hard to think about Ben Folds without the characters in his songs.

And now, Ben Folds, in his first book, a memoir titled A Dream About Lightning Bugs: A Life of Music and Cheap Lessons, Ben Folds opens up about those characters, what he knows, what he thinks he knows, and what it took to move from a working-class childhood in North Carolina to stardom.

Join me and Ben Folds for a conversation during which Ben Folds talks about his creative process; how his personal life intersects with his songwriting; why he insists that the ups and downs are essential for any artist; and how paying his dues (his polka career never quite took off) and never losing sight of his dream of a creative life helped shape him into the musician he wanted to be.

Please join me in welcoming to The Not Old Better Show, musical genius Ben Folds.

For more details about Ben Folds at Smithsonian Associates, please click here, https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/ben-folds-unconventional-icon

For more details about The Not Old Better Show, please click here, https://notold-better.com