Ben Folds is currently getting ready for an Australian tour with an 83 piece orchestra. The tour, which will hit stops in Perth, Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney and Adelaide, will feature songs written by Ben, but with a whole new take adding an 83 piece orchestra. At each stop, Folds will be joined by a different symphony and work with new conductors as well. Already with one show in Baltimore with the Baltimore Symphony this past June, we caught up with Ben to find out if he's excited for Australia and if there are any upcoming plans on touring North America with the orchestra.
So is it a different way for Ben to interpret his own music?
Watch video: Ben Folds On Orchestral Tour
"It's a big rock band. 83 pieces is a large... it's exciting. I'm going to do a lot of it. This fall I'm playing the whole tour of Australia with all their symphony orchestras. So, I'll play the Sydney Opera House and Melbourne and I'll play again with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra. I'm doing Baltimore and I think Houston is now on the roster. So the next couple of years I'll see a North American Orchestral tour. It's great. It's a different way of interpreting your music, and as long as you don't succumb to... I don't know what you would call it, but It's not about dressing up in a tux with tails and making your music more important. It's actually a large ensemble, and it's a freeing way of arranging music. I don't use the rock band on stage, I use the orchestra as the rock band."
For those who can't make the upcoming Australian Tour, you can check out Ben Folds new DVD, which features Ben performing with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra in front of sell-out crowds at Kings Park in Perth, Australia. Ben, his piano and the 83 piece symphony recorded the album during a two-night-stand in March of 2005. His upcoming Orchestral Tour is set to begin August 23 in Perth Australia with the West Australian Symphony and conclude September 30th in Adelaide, performing with the Adelaide Symphony.
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