Robert Sledge - Ben Folds Five

Ben Folds Five

Robert Sledge got his start in the music scene when he was discovered in his basement by Jon Royce of The Beam, a regionally known band. They were from Murfreesboro, NC, but played many shows to sold out crowds in the 1980s and early 90's in Atlantic Beach and they were also well known in Greensboro, NC. The Beam played shows in Savannah, Ga as well, and played with Johnny WInter and opened for The Black Crowes. Robert Sledge had Steven Dean Davis (Stomp, Pandemonium), Jon Royce (Zakk's Coffeehouse), and Brad Dilday as well as others as his band mates in The Beam. (The Sun Newspaper,(VA), Feb 17 1987) Robert was a founding member of the piano-rock trio Ben Folds Five. Robert was the bass player for the group as well as taking up backup vocal duties on almost every song at the time. During the Reinhold Messner tour Robert began to use synths on stage as well as playing bass until the band's break up in 2000.

Robert is known for his use of a Big Muff distortion pedal and rockstar flair. Sledge played a Hamer Blitz Bass throughout the early years of Ben Folds Five. It was used on their eponymous debut album. He later switched to a Fender Jazz Bass to record Whatever and Ever Amen, while playing his Gibson and Epiphone Les Paul basses in live shows from that time to the present. Between Whatever and Ever Amen, Sledge had a sponsorship from Epiphone for his use of the Les Paul Bass, which can be seen in the Ben Folds Five Performance on Sessions at West 54th. He also plays an upright double bass for several songs, including Brick.

Ben Folds made reference to Sledge in the lyrics of his song "Not the Same" on his 2001 solo album Rockin' the Suburbs: "You took a trip and climbed a tree/At Robert Sledge's party". Though Folds used Sledge's name, he claims the events in the song actually happened at drummer Darren Jessee's party.