Ben Folds and Neil Young

Ben Folds interview on Neil Young from North Jersey.com By ED CONDRAN Friday, May 6, 2005:

Q. What was it like touring with Neil Young?

What was great about Neil Young is that I don't think he cares [what anyone thinks]. It's important not to care about anything except what you think.

Q. Much like Young, you've never been afraid to make different-sounding albums.

When I made "Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner," a lot of my fans didn't know what to make of it. I went on this chat thing to connect with them. The fan base was so upset about the record. I just wanted to tell them why I made it. The consensus early on was that they hated it, and I found myself saying, 'If this is a commercial success, you'll love it later on.' I just told them it would take awhile for it to sink in. I never tried to say that it was a work of art genius. Now I find the fan base uses that album as the gold standard of my writing. That disc was different from what I had done. I'm not going to make the same album again and again. I'll grow and I hope my fans can grow with me.

More on Neil Young influences.

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