Alumnus, Ben Folds band perform on "Jimmy Kimmel Live"
photos/Ashley Kempher
Former "UC Magazine" photographer Andrew Higley appeared on national TV in November 2008 and demonstrated why he resigned from his university job. In September, he had been asked to join the Ben Folds band for a national tour, an international tour and major network TV appearances — NBC’s Conan O’Brien show in October and ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel show in November.
Although Higley, DAAP ’01, was best known to the UC community as an award-winning photographer, he is also a multi-instrumentalist musician who started piano lessons at age 10, added French horn lessons two years later and began playing in bands during junior high school. Through the years, he has played in many local bands and recorded for Brendan Benson in both Nashville and London in 2007.
Connections he made led someone to recommend him to Ben Folds, a composer and pianist who wanted to add a new band member. Folds happens to be a serious amateur photographer, and he was intrigued not only by Higley’s versatility and talent, but also by his love of the lens.
The week before rehearsals started, Higley was invited to join the tour, on which he would provide backup vocals and play three electronic keyboards, a French horn, a melodica (a keyboard wind instrument), a glockenspiel (similar to a xylophone), a keytar (a lightweight keyboard supported by a strap, much like a guitar strap), a saw and a tambourine. (He also plays a trumpet, but not on this tour.) He bid a hasty farewell to UC, then spent one week trying to learn an entire repertoire.
"It was a lot to learn at once," he said. "The first week was mind-numbing."
Things didn’t improve too quickly. After a mere five days of rehearsal, the tour opened on Oct. 8 in Washington, D.C. Two weeks later, "UC Magazine" caught up with Higley when he played in Athens, Ohio.
"When we played Washington, I think I was terrified," Higley said with a sheepish grin. "And the whole two weeks has been surreal. Every now and then, I think it’s not happening or I’m in over my head."
That feeling really hit him about halfway through the band performance on Conan O’Brien’s show. "It started creeping into my mind that this is what my mom’s gonna watch," he said. "Then I started getting nervous."
But by early November, a few days before the Kimmel show, he was feeling confident. "I’ve settled down now," he said with a laugh. "I can actually walk out on stage and just play. It feels normal."
The hardest part of the job has been learning all of Folds’ older numbers and identifying the song by the first few notes, he explained. One night, he totally missed a number when he failed to recognize it. "I felt so bad," Higley moaned, "but Ben is really patient. Mistakes don’t get him upset."
Another difficult part occurs during "The Frown Song," in which he wears a giant mask with a frown (like a negative smiley face) and plays the keytar. Unfortunately, he can’t see much. Not the keyboard, not the stage around him, not the other musicians. And he dances a few steps in the mask. So far, he hasn’t had any mishaps.
When asked for secrets of working successfully in the field, Higley named two — luck and the ability to get along with others. "It’s all about being nice and being at the right place at the right time," he said.
"Most of the parts I’m playing are not terribly difficult. But because you are basically living with people for a couple of months, Ben was looking for someone he could get along with. Personality-wise, we all get along.
"Everyone I’ve met has been great. They’re all nice people who help each other out. Those who don’t are exceptions to the rule."
Early next in 2009, Higley will accompany the band on a tour of Japan and Australia. Afterward, he will probably record with them in Nashville.