Robert Sledge (born March 9, 1968) is an American musician, best known for his work with

Ben Folds Five Ben Folds Five is an American alternative rock trio formed in 1993 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The group comprises Ben Folds (lead vocals, piano), Robert Sledge (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Darren Jessee (drums, backing vocals). The gro ...

Biography

Robert Sledge began playing bass guitar at the age of eleven. His brother was playing guitar at his house so he also learned how to play the guitar at the same time. Before playing with Ben Folds Five he was bassist for the bands Toxic Popsickle and Lexx Luthor (with

Godsmack Godsmack is an American rock band from Lawrence, Massachusetts, formed in 1995. The band is composed of lead singer and rhythm guitarist Sully Erna, bassist Robbie Merrill, lead guitarist Tony Rombola and drummer Shannon Larkin. Since its form ...

's Sully Erna).

Ben Folds Five

Robert was a founding member of the piano-rock trio

. 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 electric & acoustic basses until the band's break up in 2000. Robert is known for his use of a

Big Muff The Big Muff Pi (π), often known simply as the Big Muff, is a fuzzbox produced in New York City by the Electro-Harmonix company, along with their Russian sister company Sovtek, primarily for use with the electric guitar. It is used by bassist ...

distortion pedal and rockstar flair. Sledge played a

Hamer Hamer may refer to: People with the surname Hamer: *Hamer (surname) In places: * Hamer, woreda in Ethiopia * Hamer, Iran * Hamer, Idaho, United States * Hamer, Ohio, United States * Hamer, South Carolina, Unite ...

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 The Fender Jazz Bass (often shortened to ''J-Bass'') is the second model of Bass guitar, electric bass created by Leo Fender. It is distinct from the Fender Precision Bass, Precision Bass in that its tone is brighter and richer in the midrange a ...

to record ''

Whatever and Ever Amen ''Whatever and Ever Amen'' is the second album by Ben Folds Five, released in 1997. Three singles were released from the album, including the lead single, "Battle of Who Could Care Less", which received significant airplay on alternative radio a ...

'', while playing his

Gibson Gibson may refer to: People * Gibson (surname) Businesses * Gibson Brands, Inc., an American manufacturer of guitars, other musical instruments, and audio equipment * Gibson Technology, and English automotive and motorsport company based * Gi ...

and

Epiphone Epiphone is an American musical instrument brand that traces its roots to a musical instrument manufacturing business founded in 1873 by Anastasios Stathopoulos in Smyrna, Ottoman Empire, and moved to New York City in 1908. After taking over his f ...

Les Paul Lester William Polsfuss (June 9, 1915 – August 12, 2009), known as Les Paul, was an American jazz, country, and blues guitarist, songwriter, luthier, and inventor. He was one of the pioneers of the solid-body electric guitar, and his prototype ...

basses in live shows from that time to the present. 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 ''Sessions at West 54th'' is an American television program that featured music performances, and was in some ways a pop music variation on the theme set by the long-lived ''Austin City Limits'', though the featured musicians represented a number ...

''. He also plays an upright double bass for several songs, including "

Brick A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...

Post-Ben Folds Five

After Ben Folds Five broke up, Robert Sledge performed for one summer with the short-lived rock group Brother Seeker, a band composed of Robert and former

Squirrel Nut Zippers Squirrel Nut Zippers is an American swing and jazz band formed in 1993 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, by James "Jimbo" Mathus (vocals and guitar), Tom Maxwell (vocals and guitar), Katharine Whalen (vocals, banjo, ukulele), Chris Phillips (dru ...

members Tom Maxwell and Ken Mosher. According to John D. Luerssen's ''Rivers' Edge: The Weezer Story'' Sledge was heavily considered to replace

Mikey Welsh Michael Edward Welsh (April 20, 1971 – October 8, 2011) was an American artist and musician who played bass for several bands, including the rock band Weezer. During Weezer's hiatus, he played with Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo in the band Homi ...

as the new

Weezer Weezer is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1992. Since 2001, the band has consisted of Rivers Cuomo (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Patrick Wilson (drums, backing vocals), Scott Shriner (bass guitar, keyboards, backing v ...

bassist in 2001 but instead

Scott Shriner Scott Gardner Shriner (born July 11, 1965) is an American musician best known as a member of the rock band Weezer, with whom he has recorded twelve studio albums. Joining the band in 2001, Shriner is the band's longest serving bass guitarist. Pri ...

took the job. He later joined the band

International Orange International orange is a color used in the aerospace industry to set objects apart from their surroundings, similar to safety orange, but deeper and with a more reddish tone. Variations of international orange Aerospace The Advanced C ...

, as a songwriter, bassist and vocalist. International Orange broke up in 2005. Django Haskin's Announcement
/ref> Robert currently lives in

Chapel Hill, North Carolina Chapel Hill is a town in Orange, Durham and Chatham counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Its population was 61,960 in the 2020 census, making Chapel Hill the 17th-largest municipality in the state. Chapel Hill, Durham, and the state ca ...

, where he gives music lessons and plays in local rock bands the "Bob Sledge Band",Daily Tarheel Interview
/ref> and "Surrender Human."

Ben Folds Benjamin Scott Folds (born September 12, 1966) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and composer, who is the first artistic advisor to the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., since May 2017. Folds was th ...

himself mentioned Robert in his song Not The Same when part of the lyrics in the song says “You took a trip and climbed a tree at Robert Sledge’s party”.

Personal life

Sledge lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina with his wife and son, Henry Sledge, who goes by Archie.

References

* ''The Virginia Sun'' – February 17, 1987 "Beam shines music on Virginia" – Frank Roberts

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sledge, Robert American bass guitarists American double-bassists Male double-bassists Living people Ben Folds Five members 1968 births 21st-century double-bassists