Tickets for the Ben Folds show at the Ryman Auditorium go on sale tomorrow (Friday) at 10AM.

But from what I've heard from friends, the presale is already goin strong and fast.

Attention Nashville film lovers.
Synecdoche, New York, the new film from Charlie Kaufman (author of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Being John Malkovich and Adaptation), is now playing at the Belcourt, for one week only.
It already played in Nashville, but none of the people interested in seeing it really knew it was playing. Don't miss your second chance to see this great work of art. And see it soon, because you'll probably want to see it again to fully appreciate all that it has to offer.
I'm at an internet kiosk in Cambodia right now, but look it up, watch the trailer, hit the Belcourt, tell your friends, and check it out. But trust me, and don't miss it.
www.belcourt.org

I'm on with Folds, Regina, Inara George of The Bird and the Bee, and James Bond.

Set your DVRs...

As you might have heard, this weekend Barack Obama and his campaign will be assessing their finances and deciding upon their campaign strategies for the remaining dozen-or-so days in this election.

If you haven't taken the time to donate, there's never been a better time than now. Help Obama and his campaign accomplish as much as possible in these remaining days.

Even if you can only spare $5 to $15 dollars, you may be surprised at how good it feels to be a part of such a historic movement. Especially if you haven't had the time, or even the motivation, to donate your time to any physical volunteer work.

In a couple of weeks you won't have the option of making a financial contribution to Obama's election campaign, but until Thursday night at midnight, you have that chance.

Here's the link if you're interested:
https://donate.barackobama.com/page/contribute/fielddeadline2?source=20081022_JC_D2

Thanks and keep spreading the good word,
Sam

PBS' Frontline tells the stories of Obama and McCain.

Everyone should watch this.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/choice2008/view/

Some awesome kids sweded our video for You Don't Know Me. Amazing.



Off to the CD release show.

Friends,

Tomorrow, September 30th, Ben Folds' new album "Way to Normal" will hit stores everywhere. I spent the past winter recording this album and I'm quite proud of it. I'm even on the cover, which looks particularly vintage-fresh on 180-gram double vinyl...



I hope you'll pick it up at your local independent record store, online, or, if its your only choice, at your nearest Best Buy or megastore equivalent. There's also a deluxe edition out there that comes with a DVD with some cool interviews and performances on it.

Here's what else you should know:

- Set your DVR's! We'll be performing on Conan O'Brien this coming Thursday, October 2nd. Regina Spektor, who has a guest spot on the single "You Don't Know Me," will be joining us. I'm super excited to play on one of my favorite shows and to meet the red-headed giant.

- The music video for "You Don't Know Me" was directed by our comedic heroes Tim and Eric, of Adult Swim's "Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job!" You can watch it here.

- Also check out the cool stop-motion video our friend Corn Mo made for "Hiroshima," and the piano-orchestra version of Cologne which resulted in a video we're really proud of as well.

- We're currently out on tour promoting Way to Normal, and we'll be out until pretty much the end of the year, playing shows around the US and abroad. Check out Ben's myspace page for tour dates.

- Lastly, you may have heard about Ben's "fake" album. This past summer, on a night off in Dublin, we had the idea to release a fake leak of the upcoming album, comprised of truly horrendous songs. We cranked out the material and put in on tape. But the result, free from all of the usual pressures and expectations, ended up being surprisingly good. You know, aside from the 8th-grade level grammar. To familiarize yourself with these gems, search around online or download the mp3s from this fansite.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy the new record.

Ben Folds feat. Regina Spektor, "You Don't Know Me."

Directed by my heroes Tim and Eric. Making this video was one of the most fun experiences I've ever had.

If you don't know who they are, start watching some clips here.

The fine folks at myspace botched the aspect ratio of this video, so it looks kinda stretched. As I often like to say, "nice head, dick." It still rules though.

The album, Way to Normal, comes out Sept. 30th.

Enjoy,
S

You Dont Know Me (featuring Regina Spektor)

Jared and I just made this. Tell all your friends about it and make us viral-video superstars.