Barenaked and ready to rock – Ladies hit the road for yet another endless

Barenaked and ready to rock – Ladies hit the road for yet another endless summer

By NICK POWILLS

They are not your traditional rock band. In fact, they are far from it. They are more like a traveling rock comedy show. The Barenaked Ladies’ wacko, out-of-control spirit has helped the band earn a solid reputation with music fans young and old, giving them control of the charts. The Toronto band has truly figured out how to attract all spectrums of the market.

"I really did expect us to take off," says singer Steven Page. "When you are a naive band, and the fans clap, you think you are a rock star. And then three weeks later it wears off, but we always felt on top."

First breaks are key in the music industry, and the Ladies got their break fairly early. In 1988, Page and best friend Ed Robertson bought tickets to a local Toronto Bob Dylan concert, expecting a night of rock history. Instead, they found a the start to their band. As Dylan’s lyrics soared across the audience, one line struck Page and Robertson, sending them into an uncontrollable laugh. That lyric was "barenaked lady."

This summer, the boys - Page, singer Robertson, bassist Jim Creegan, keyboardist Kevin Hearn and drummer Tyler Stewart – are on the brink of yet another endless summer. Alanis Morissette is on the bill, too.

"I am totally excited to go on tour," Page said. "It has really been two years since we went on tour with our greatest hits album. Just getting on the tour bus makes me excited. I don’t get to go to an office every day, in the same setting, but on tour I can go into the catering room and know everyone there. I can’t wait to get back on tour."

After taking a break from the world, the band returned to the studio in September 2002 to create their newest album, "Everything to Everyone," an album that will be very present on the summer tour. Rather than using the conventional, somewhat redundant approach while creating the CD, the boys enlisted Ron Aniello to produce the record.

"Ron has done a lot of stuff and has received a lot of praise," Page says. "He has done a lot of different stuff like Lifehouse or Guster, frankly music I don’t usually listen to. He did Guster’s new album and they were saying great things about his work, so he was a great addition to the album."

One of the most captivating tidbits about the band’s new album is that the songs are written by every "Lady," rather than just Page and Robertson.

"The band’s longevity wasn’t in danger, but we wanted to hit it off like the past," Page said. "Instead of just Ed and I doing the writing, all five of us sat in a room and worked on the album together. We came up with 30 songs instead of 15. We worked extremely hard on this album."

SUMMER TOUR

For their visit to Chicago on this tour, the Ladies have opted for an outdoor larger venue – Tinley Park’s Tweeter Center on July 21 – rather than their traditional small indoor gems. They will also play the Marcus Amphitheater in Milwaukee on July 22.

"We love playing big venues because we feel like we have control of the sound and lighting, but with small venues we have the opportunity to be intimate with our audience," Page says. "Chicago is a city a lot like Toronto. It is a home away from home.

"I love Chicago. We recorded a good portion of our live album at the Riviera. We have played the Metro, Riviera, Park West, all over. Chicago has a lot of amazing parts to it, like the Chicago Theatre. Chicago has a great indie rock scene, and also has good R&B and house music. It is a city rich in music history. I also get the sense that the fans know the music more than other Midwestern cities."

Fans can also expect a few blasts from the past like "Be My Yoko Ono" and "If I Had a $1,000,000," – as Page says he loves all songs the band has created.

"I think the album ended up being more eclectic than our other albums," Page says. "A lot of our fans were nostalgic about our first album being eclectic. I think as a band, you have to feel like your new album is your best one in order to work so hard on it. I can’t say that I don’t love our other albums, because I do. I guess it is hard to say that I like one better than the other. I really love them all."

CRAZINESS LIVES ON

Oddball lyrics have helped the Ladies become one of the top-charting bands of the '90s. Their cultlike following has packed stadiums and has brought in some nice bank for the boys – so much bank, in fact, that the band doesn’t have to dream about having $1,000,000. They have a lot more.

"We have sold 12 million-something records, so yeah, I have the million dollars," Page says. "I try to blow it away, but there is always more money. We are not really about the bling bling. Money doesn’t faze us. I got a nice house in a middle-class neighborhood, so yeah, it’s great. We don’t really need all that much."

But the money will continue to roll in as long as fans are blown away with the spunk of the Barenaked Ladies. Fans can expect more from the humor, jazz, folk and rock band, especially in the form of insanity and success.

"Ed just came in the room and made a 20-second fart," Page says as the interview comes to a close. "It was kind of spectacular."