Caleb August Southern (December 26, 1969 – July 6, 2023) was an American musician, record producer and computer science lecturer at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He was referred to as the "fourth member" of Ben Folds Five.

Early life

Caleb August Southern was born on December 26, 1969, in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, to David Southern and Susan Naumoff. He attended Jordan High School, where he formed a band called "The Ledbetters". They played a gig at Cat's Cradle in 1988. Southern completed his bachelor's in mathematics and computer science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1996, having paused his education while touring with Ben Folds Five.

Career

In the early 1990s, Caleb founded Kraptone Studios, where he produced for Ben Folds Five and Archers of Loaf. As of 2002, he was a member of Partners Against Crime, District 5. Ben Folds has called him the "fourth member" of Ben Folds Five. He collaborated with Ben Folds on their album Fear of Pop, as well. Southern began a PhD at Georgia Tech in 2010, focusing on human–computer interaction for mobile devices. He was awarded a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship in 2012.

Personal life and death

Southern was married to Josephine Worthington. They lived together in Atlanta, Georgia, where he died on July 6, 2023, at the age of 53.

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