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Ben Folds
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Ben Kweller
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Ben Lee
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The Bens were a rock supergroup consisting of the trio, Ben Folds, Ben Kweller and Ben Lee, which toured for "the Bens Rock Over Australia tour" in 2003.
History
Kweller described how the trio formed, "Well actually our fans noticed that we all had the same first name and had said for a long time wouldn't it be great if we all played together. So we thought, maybe we should do that. It would be fun and we were all friends going into it. It was just a cool spontaneous thing, you know." From 14 to 28 March 2003 they played nine concerts: Brisbane, Gold Coast, Newcastle, Sydney (twice), Canberra, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth. It had been recorded in Nashville. In 2003 they contributed a cover version of "Wicked Little Town" to Wig in a Box, a tribute album for the musical, Hedwig and the Angry Inch.
Though various combinations of the three members have toured together at various times, the trio have not reformed as a group, and have not recorded any more material. In a brief interview after a show in Raleigh, North Carolina, on 31 July 2010, Ben Kweller confirmed that the Bens would perform as a group on an upcoming European Tour.
Reception
Jasper "Jaz" Lee of Oz Music Project opined that the EP's "songs have an inkling of different styles, each with a particular leaning... [they] are three great artists, each of different levels of maturity in their fields, and differing in the genre of their pursuits. Yet, apart from their mutual first names there seems to be a good connection between them that was witnessed both on stage and on this EP."