Barenaked Ladies
Barenaked Ladies (often abbreviated BNL) is a Canadian alternative rock ban… Read Full Bio ↴Barenaked Ladies (often abbreviated BNL) is a Canadian alternative rock band currently composed of Jim Creeggan, Kevin Hearn, Ed Robertson, and Tyler Stewart, formerly featuring Andy Creeggan and Steven Page. Page left the band amicably in February 2009 to pursue solo projects, and March 7th, 2009 saw the band's first show on stage as a foursome in Orlando, Florida. Tyler Stewart proudly emblazoned his drum-set with a "Fantastic 4" logo. In March 2010, they released 'All In Good Time', their first post-Page studio album.
They formed in 1988 in Scarborough, Ontario, a suburb of Toronto, and they are best known for a series of hit singles including: "One Week", "Pinch Me", "If I Had $1000000" and "Brian Wilson". The band's music often features influences from 60s pop rock by artists such as The Beach Boys and The Beatles as well as a light-hearted and comedic performance style. Their trademark at live shows is humorous banter between songs as well as improvised raps/songs, both of which are staples at almost every concert they perform. Each member of the group is a versatile musician, as there are a lot of varied instruments, and each member (with the exception of drummer Tyler Stewart) has written and sung lead on at least one song for the band.
Group origins and indie work
Barenaked Ladies began as the duo of Ed Robertson and Steven Page. The two had gone to school together since Robertson was in the fourth grade (Page was a grade ahead), but were not friends until they ran into each other at a Harvey's restaurant following a Peter Gabriel concert. Each interested to find the other liked Gabriel, they began talking and found they had many of the same tastes. The two became friends, and when Page had an extra ticket to a Bob Dylan concert that no one wanted, he ran into Robertson at a party. The two attended the concert at Exhibition Stadium (most likely on August 29, 1988). It was a period where Dylan's band was led by G.E. Smith, and Robertson describes the show as "horrible" and "lame". The two turned to amusing each other, pretending they were rock critics, inventing histories and comments about the Dylan band. They also made up various band names; one of which was "Barenaked Ladies".
On another front, Robertson had agreed to perform with his cover band in a battle of the bands at Nathan Phillips Square for the Second Harvest food bank. The band broke up and he forgot about the gig. When he received a phone call a week before the show, asking him to confirm the gig, he improvised that the name of the band had changed to "Barenaked Ladies", recalling the name from the Dylan concert. He then called his friend Steve and asked if he wanted to do the gig; Steve reportedly replied "You told them that?". They arranged three rehearsals and missed them all.
They played the show, but instead of competing, they played while the other bands set up, playing every song they could think of that they both knew. The show went well and they were invited to open a show for another well-known local band, The Razorbacks, at the Horseshoe Tavern the coming weekend. They set up three more rehearsals, and again missed them all, and proceeded to improv their set once again. This would set a precident for an element of Barenaked Ladies concerts which still almost always contain some improvised raps or songs, as well as general improvised banter.
The two continued playing other shows like that and also began writing songs together. The band's first tape, Buck Naked, released in 1989, was recorded in basements and bedrooms. The pair became followers of a comedy group called Corky and the Juice Pigs, who they credit with exposing them to the idea of comedic stage presence. Ed and Steve presented the group with their tape, and were invited to open for the Juice Pigs on their cross-Canada tour.
One night, in Toronto, Ed and Steve invited their friends, percussionist Andy Creeggan and bassist Jim Creeggan, to play with them at a Chistmastime club show. "From the first note," Page recalls, "Ed and I just looked at each other and went 'this is it — this is the band'." The brothers were invited to join the band. Barenaked Lunch (also known as the Pink Tape) was released in 1990, and featured the two new band members. Unfortunately, the tape was mastered incorrectly and played too fast. As there were very few copies made of both Buck Naked and Barenaked Lunch, copies are now extremely rare.
After only six months, Andy went on a student exchange trip to Ecuador, and the band was lacking a percussionist. While playing at a buskers' festival in the summer of 1990, they met drummer Tyler Stewart, who took over the position. While Andy was gone the band gained some attention when they were winners at the 1990 YTV Achievement Awards. They gained further attention when they squeezed into a small "Speaker's Corner" video booth, operated by Citytv in Toronto, and performed "Be My Yoko Ono" as well as an ode to Speaker's Corner. After the former song was aired on television it quickly became popular with viewers, and noticeably increased the band's fanbase. Andy returned in early 1991 to find that Tyler had taken over the percussion role. This caused some concern for Andy, who then moved more towards keyboards, though he still played percussion (usually congas) on some songs. The band quickly embarked upon their first full fledged tour of Canada that winter.
Early Canadian success
The full band's first release of note was the 1991 Yellow Tape. It was a demo tape originally created for the band's performance at South by Southwest and was the first recording to feature all five members. They spent between $2000 and $3000 on it, and sent a copy to all the labels in Canada; they were refused by all of them. The band turned to selling them off the stage, and wound up selling a lot of them. Word of mouth spread, and people began asking for the tape in local stores. The stores began asking the band for copies of the tape, and the demo tape became a commercial release. Sales began to steamroll based simply on word of mouth and their live shows, and the tape became the first indie release by any band to achieve platinum status (100,000 copies) in Canada.
Sales of the cassette tape were jump-started when the band was taken off the bill for the 1991 New Years Eve concert in Nathan Phillips Square outside Toronto City Hall because a staffer for then-mayor June Rowlands saw the band's name and felt it objectified women. The band shrugged it off and booked another show at McMaster University. However, the media got wind of the story and decided to write about it as an example of political correctness gone too far. The first article earned the paper a large quantity of mail against City Hall's decision. The story became more and more prominent until about a week after New Years, when the band was asked to take a photo in front of City Hall for the front page of the Toronto Star. The stories erroneously targeted Rowlands, even though she had not even been in town when the decision was made. The following week, sales of the Yellow Tape exploded. The City Hall story has followed the band ever since; Robertson credits the scale of the story to it being a slow news week.
Also in 1991, BNL contributed a cover of Bruce Cockburn's "Lovers in a Dangerous Time" to the Cockburn tribute album Kick at the Darkness. That song became the band's first Top 40 hit in Canada.
The first albums
The band's first full album, the hotly anticipated Gordon, released in 1992, was a smash hit in Canada and included some of the band's best known songs, including "Enid", the first single; "Be My Yoko Ono", the single which helped fund the album; "If I Had $1000000", which spawned a Kraft Dinner -- or, in the US, Kraft Macaroni & Cheese -- throwing tradition at live shows that the band has since discouraged; and "Brian Wilson", named after Beach Boy Brian Wilson (who later covered the song on a live album). It benefited from the fact that a number of songs on the album (including the latter three) had been live favorites for a while and had been recorded on past releases like the Yellow Tape. While the band was doing remarkably well in Canada, they found that it translated into little success in the U.S..
BNL's second album, Maybe You Should Drive, released in 1994, fared considerably less well with the Canadian public. On the album, the band toned down its comic image, collaborated with kd lang producer Ben Mink, and produced what many critics acknowledged as a more mature work. They tried touring in America, but the tour was a failure and ended up losing money despite an appearance on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Before the next release Andy Creeggan decided to leave the band. He had become disillusioned with the direction of the band, and was not fond of touring. In addition, Creeggan wanted to attend McGill University to further study music.
The band released Born on a Pirate Ship as a quartet in 1996. The album received two large boosts from the inclusion of the song "Shoe Box" on the Friends soundtrack, and from the Jason Priestley-directed video for "The Old Apartment," which got notable American airplay. The Ladies appeared as the guest band on an episode of Beverly Hills 90210, immediately preceding their 1996 tour; they performed "The Old Apartment," "Life, In A Nutshell," and "Jane" at the Peach Pit After Dark night club. Kevin Hearn was hired as the keyboardist for the tour and ultimately joined the band full time.
From two dates on the Born on a Pirate Ship tour during 1996, BNL recorded and released a live album called Rock Spectacle (pronounced 'Rock spek-TAK' - French for "Rock Show"), which had a modest radio hit in the United States with "Brian Wilson." The album went Gold in the US and the success of "Brian Wilson", coupled with the success of "The Old Apartment", led to a new situation for the band. Having shed their self-proclaimed "geeks in short pants" image, the band knew their next album would be their chance to make it big in America.
Breakthrough American success
They turned out to be right, as the 1998 release Stunt became (and remains) their greatest success, buoyed by "One Week", which coincidentally spent "one week" at the number one spot on the storied Billboard Hot 100. Immediately after Stunt was released, however, Kevin Hearn was diagnosed with leukemia, eventually undergoing a bone marrow transplant and spending several months at a Toronto hospital recovering. The band toured, with friends Chris Brown and Greg Kurstin both filling in on keyboards until Kevin recovered enough to rejoin them on the road. The singles "It's All Been Done" (used as the opening theme song on the short lived animated TV series Baby Blues) and "Call and Answer" (which later appeared in the film "EdTV") also came from this highly successful album. The band was also asked to contribute a song ("Get In Line", ending up as a single) to the soundtrack of the FOX cartoon, King Of The Hill.
Maroon, released in 2000, did fairly well led by the single "Pinch Me", though not as well as Stunt had done. In 2001, they released a compilation album, entitled Disc One: All Their Greatest Hits 1991-2001, in ironic reference to a line from their early song "Box Set". It contains 15 singles from previous BNL albums, two singles from other compilations, and two new tracks (including the single "Thanks, That Was Fun").
Everything to Everyone was released October 21, 2003, timed to coincide with the first show of the new "Peep Show" tour. The first single off the album was "Another Postcard (Chimps)", which received modest radio play. "Testing 1, 2, 3" was the second single off of the album and received a video, but no CD single, while "Celebrity" was released later in the UK with a CD single, but no video. "Maybe Katie" and an edited version of "For You" from a concert in Glasgow, Scotland were also released as singles to radio. Unfortunately, the album was their weakest seller in years, with a short chart life, despite positive reviews. With the release, the band fulfilled their contract with Reprise Records, which they did not re-sign. This made the band independent for the first time since 1992 (though they retained a distribution relationship with Warner Music). On the subsequent Everywhere For Everyone tour, in early 2004, the band began offering their full live shows for purchase as a download or CD-R on an eponymous website, as well as subsequent studio releases.
Return to independence
The band's next album was Barenaked for the Holidays, which was released on October 5, 2004. It was their first independent record since the Yellow Tape, as well the first album recorded at Steven Page's then-recently completed studio at his farmhouse called "Fresh Baked Woods". The label the band created for this album is called "Desperation Records". Currently, there does not seem to be any plan by the band to release material by any artist on the label other than themselves. The band's 2005 Christmas fan club release of a rare 1991 concert was also released on the label.
In January 2005, the band taped a television pilot for a variety show, tentatively titled "Barenaked Ladies Variety Show", which was ultimately rejected by the FOX network. Later that year, the band was asked to write music for the Stratford Festival of Canada's musical production of Shakespeare's As You Like It. Steven Page wrote most of the music (Shakespeare had provided lyrics in the play), and the band recorded it for the actors to sing over. The recording (with Page's vocals) was available on CD from the festival and on the band's website. On July 2, 2005 BNL took part in the Live 8 concert in Barrie, Ontario.
Following several writing sessions throughout 2005, the band went into the studio at Fresh Baked Woods that fall to begin recording 29 songs. They broke from the studio in November and December of that year to play a 22-show holiday tour, each night of which they played one of their new songs. An iTunes Originals - a collection of interviews and live songs (coupled with some old album tracks) was recorded while the band was in the studio and was released in February 2006.
In January, the band went back into the studio to finish up the recordings they started the previous fall. Initially unsure of how to release so many songs, the band announced in May 2006 that they will release a one-disc album in early September entitled Barenaked Ladies Are Me. Several alternate versions will be available, including downloadable versions and a USB flash drive version. The band has stated that they expect to tour in support of the album starting with a U.S. tour around the release, followed by tours of the Canada and the UK in 2007. The band is also holding a contest in which the individual tracks from five of the new songs will be made available online. Fans can re-mix and submit them to the band, with the best remixes to be released on an EP, the proceeds from which will go to charity. The first single, "Easy", was released as a download on June 19, 2006. At around this time, it was also announced that the songs that did not make it to Barenaked Ladies Are Me will be released on another album, entitled Barenaked Ladies Are Men, in early 2007.
In May 2006, Barenaked Ladies, along with other prominent Canadian musicians, formed the Canadian Music Creators Coalition in response to plans by the Canadian government to revisit and update copyright laws. Steven Page has acted as a conduit between the CMCC and the press, urging the government to focus on the Canadian cultural scene.
The band has also indicated that a boxed set is in the works, to possibly be released by Christmas from Rhino Entertainment which may include demos, unreleased songs and other exclusive material, both audio and video.
Following a lead from other artists (notably Dave Matthews and Friends), the band held a fan cruise called "Ships and Dip" from January 15-19, 2007. The band was onboard the entire cruise (unlike on other music cruises, such as aforementioned, where the headline band is not aboard the ship). They had several of their entertainment connections (bands and comedians) onboard. The bands Guster, The Brothers Creeggan, Kevin Hearn and Thin Buckle, and Trippin' Balls were all a part of the cruise. The band is already planning "Ships and Dip 3" for January 6-10, 2008, since "'Ships and Dip 2' would only be heartache and disappointment".
In the spring of 2008, the group released a children's album called "Snacktime".
In July 2008, Steven Page was arrested in New York State on posession of cocaine. After the arrest, the group stated they were "business as usual" and will be going into the studio in the fall to record a new album.
On February 24 2009, Steven Page announced he was leaving the group in a joint statement with the band on their website. Steven plans on working on solo material. March 7, 2009 saw their first show on stage as a foursome in Orlando Florida and in March 2010, they released All In Good Time, their first post-Page studio album.
The band released the album Grinning Streak, and the singles "Boomerang" and "Odds Are" in 2013, followed by the album Silverball in 2015. Barenaked Ladies x The Persuasions and Fake Nudes were both released in 2017.
In March of 2018, the band was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. The induction took place at the 2018 Juno Awards, where Steven Page appeared with the band for the band for the first time in nine years. Following their induction, they performed "One Week" and "If I Had $100000" to close out the Junos telecast. Andy Creeggan also performed with the band during "If I Had $100000".
Side projects
Tyler Stewart, Jim Creeggan, Kevin Hearn, and Steven Page all have past or present side projects during their time off from BNL. Tyler was part of a trio called Don't Talk Dance which released a self-titled album in 1995, but are no longer together. Jim is part of the alternative/jazz trio The Brothers Creeggan, with brother and former BNL member Andy Creeggan and friend Ian McLauchlan. They have been on hiatus for several years now. Andy also has several solo albums. Kevin is the frontman of Kevin Hearn and Thin Buckle, who play a mix of alternative rock and jazz with many other eclectic influences. Steve has a side project called The Vanity Project. The first self-titled album was written mostly with long-time collaborator Stephen Duffy. Steve has said that the project is an opportunity for him to write with non-BNL writers, and a future release might not necessarily include Duffy.
Biography
Barenaked Ladies have authorized a biography, Public Stunts Private Stories, written by friend of the band and fellow "Scarberian" Paul Myers, brother of actor Mike Myers. It is published in Canada by Madrigal Press. An updated 2003 version includes a different cover, information about Disc One: All Their Greatest Hits 1991-2001 and Everything to Everyone, and corrects several typos found in the original version.
Website
barenakedladies.com
They formed in 1988 in Scarborough, Ontario, a suburb of Toronto, and they are best known for a series of hit singles including: "One Week", "Pinch Me", "If I Had $1000000" and "Brian Wilson". The band's music often features influences from 60s pop rock by artists such as The Beach Boys and The Beatles as well as a light-hearted and comedic performance style. Their trademark at live shows is humorous banter between songs as well as improvised raps/songs, both of which are staples at almost every concert they perform. Each member of the group is a versatile musician, as there are a lot of varied instruments, and each member (with the exception of drummer Tyler Stewart) has written and sung lead on at least one song for the band.
Group origins and indie work
Barenaked Ladies began as the duo of Ed Robertson and Steven Page. The two had gone to school together since Robertson was in the fourth grade (Page was a grade ahead), but were not friends until they ran into each other at a Harvey's restaurant following a Peter Gabriel concert. Each interested to find the other liked Gabriel, they began talking and found they had many of the same tastes. The two became friends, and when Page had an extra ticket to a Bob Dylan concert that no one wanted, he ran into Robertson at a party. The two attended the concert at Exhibition Stadium (most likely on August 29, 1988). It was a period where Dylan's band was led by G.E. Smith, and Robertson describes the show as "horrible" and "lame". The two turned to amusing each other, pretending they were rock critics, inventing histories and comments about the Dylan band. They also made up various band names; one of which was "Barenaked Ladies".
On another front, Robertson had agreed to perform with his cover band in a battle of the bands at Nathan Phillips Square for the Second Harvest food bank. The band broke up and he forgot about the gig. When he received a phone call a week before the show, asking him to confirm the gig, he improvised that the name of the band had changed to "Barenaked Ladies", recalling the name from the Dylan concert. He then called his friend Steve and asked if he wanted to do the gig; Steve reportedly replied "You told them that?". They arranged three rehearsals and missed them all.
They played the show, but instead of competing, they played while the other bands set up, playing every song they could think of that they both knew. The show went well and they were invited to open a show for another well-known local band, The Razorbacks, at the Horseshoe Tavern the coming weekend. They set up three more rehearsals, and again missed them all, and proceeded to improv their set once again. This would set a precident for an element of Barenaked Ladies concerts which still almost always contain some improvised raps or songs, as well as general improvised banter.
The two continued playing other shows like that and also began writing songs together. The band's first tape, Buck Naked, released in 1989, was recorded in basements and bedrooms. The pair became followers of a comedy group called Corky and the Juice Pigs, who they credit with exposing them to the idea of comedic stage presence. Ed and Steve presented the group with their tape, and were invited to open for the Juice Pigs on their cross-Canada tour.
One night, in Toronto, Ed and Steve invited their friends, percussionist Andy Creeggan and bassist Jim Creeggan, to play with them at a Chistmastime club show. "From the first note," Page recalls, "Ed and I just looked at each other and went 'this is it — this is the band'." The brothers were invited to join the band. Barenaked Lunch (also known as the Pink Tape) was released in 1990, and featured the two new band members. Unfortunately, the tape was mastered incorrectly and played too fast. As there were very few copies made of both Buck Naked and Barenaked Lunch, copies are now extremely rare.
After only six months, Andy went on a student exchange trip to Ecuador, and the band was lacking a percussionist. While playing at a buskers' festival in the summer of 1990, they met drummer Tyler Stewart, who took over the position. While Andy was gone the band gained some attention when they were winners at the 1990 YTV Achievement Awards. They gained further attention when they squeezed into a small "Speaker's Corner" video booth, operated by Citytv in Toronto, and performed "Be My Yoko Ono" as well as an ode to Speaker's Corner. After the former song was aired on television it quickly became popular with viewers, and noticeably increased the band's fanbase. Andy returned in early 1991 to find that Tyler had taken over the percussion role. This caused some concern for Andy, who then moved more towards keyboards, though he still played percussion (usually congas) on some songs. The band quickly embarked upon their first full fledged tour of Canada that winter.
Early Canadian success
The full band's first release of note was the 1991 Yellow Tape. It was a demo tape originally created for the band's performance at South by Southwest and was the first recording to feature all five members. They spent between $2000 and $3000 on it, and sent a copy to all the labels in Canada; they were refused by all of them. The band turned to selling them off the stage, and wound up selling a lot of them. Word of mouth spread, and people began asking for the tape in local stores. The stores began asking the band for copies of the tape, and the demo tape became a commercial release. Sales began to steamroll based simply on word of mouth and their live shows, and the tape became the first indie release by any band to achieve platinum status (100,000 copies) in Canada.
Sales of the cassette tape were jump-started when the band was taken off the bill for the 1991 New Years Eve concert in Nathan Phillips Square outside Toronto City Hall because a staffer for then-mayor June Rowlands saw the band's name and felt it objectified women. The band shrugged it off and booked another show at McMaster University. However, the media got wind of the story and decided to write about it as an example of political correctness gone too far. The first article earned the paper a large quantity of mail against City Hall's decision. The story became more and more prominent until about a week after New Years, when the band was asked to take a photo in front of City Hall for the front page of the Toronto Star. The stories erroneously targeted Rowlands, even though she had not even been in town when the decision was made. The following week, sales of the Yellow Tape exploded. The City Hall story has followed the band ever since; Robertson credits the scale of the story to it being a slow news week.
Also in 1991, BNL contributed a cover of Bruce Cockburn's "Lovers in a Dangerous Time" to the Cockburn tribute album Kick at the Darkness. That song became the band's first Top 40 hit in Canada.
The first albums
The band's first full album, the hotly anticipated Gordon, released in 1992, was a smash hit in Canada and included some of the band's best known songs, including "Enid", the first single; "Be My Yoko Ono", the single which helped fund the album; "If I Had $1000000", which spawned a Kraft Dinner -- or, in the US, Kraft Macaroni & Cheese -- throwing tradition at live shows that the band has since discouraged; and "Brian Wilson", named after Beach Boy Brian Wilson (who later covered the song on a live album). It benefited from the fact that a number of songs on the album (including the latter three) had been live favorites for a while and had been recorded on past releases like the Yellow Tape. While the band was doing remarkably well in Canada, they found that it translated into little success in the U.S..
BNL's second album, Maybe You Should Drive, released in 1994, fared considerably less well with the Canadian public. On the album, the band toned down its comic image, collaborated with kd lang producer Ben Mink, and produced what many critics acknowledged as a more mature work. They tried touring in America, but the tour was a failure and ended up losing money despite an appearance on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Before the next release Andy Creeggan decided to leave the band. He had become disillusioned with the direction of the band, and was not fond of touring. In addition, Creeggan wanted to attend McGill University to further study music.
The band released Born on a Pirate Ship as a quartet in 1996. The album received two large boosts from the inclusion of the song "Shoe Box" on the Friends soundtrack, and from the Jason Priestley-directed video for "The Old Apartment," which got notable American airplay. The Ladies appeared as the guest band on an episode of Beverly Hills 90210, immediately preceding their 1996 tour; they performed "The Old Apartment," "Life, In A Nutshell," and "Jane" at the Peach Pit After Dark night club. Kevin Hearn was hired as the keyboardist for the tour and ultimately joined the band full time.
From two dates on the Born on a Pirate Ship tour during 1996, BNL recorded and released a live album called Rock Spectacle (pronounced 'Rock spek-TAK' - French for "Rock Show"), which had a modest radio hit in the United States with "Brian Wilson." The album went Gold in the US and the success of "Brian Wilson", coupled with the success of "The Old Apartment", led to a new situation for the band. Having shed their self-proclaimed "geeks in short pants" image, the band knew their next album would be their chance to make it big in America.
Breakthrough American success
They turned out to be right, as the 1998 release Stunt became (and remains) their greatest success, buoyed by "One Week", which coincidentally spent "one week" at the number one spot on the storied Billboard Hot 100. Immediately after Stunt was released, however, Kevin Hearn was diagnosed with leukemia, eventually undergoing a bone marrow transplant and spending several months at a Toronto hospital recovering. The band toured, with friends Chris Brown and Greg Kurstin both filling in on keyboards until Kevin recovered enough to rejoin them on the road. The singles "It's All Been Done" (used as the opening theme song on the short lived animated TV series Baby Blues) and "Call and Answer" (which later appeared in the film "EdTV") also came from this highly successful album. The band was also asked to contribute a song ("Get In Line", ending up as a single) to the soundtrack of the FOX cartoon, King Of The Hill.
Maroon, released in 2000, did fairly well led by the single "Pinch Me", though not as well as Stunt had done. In 2001, they released a compilation album, entitled Disc One: All Their Greatest Hits 1991-2001, in ironic reference to a line from their early song "Box Set". It contains 15 singles from previous BNL albums, two singles from other compilations, and two new tracks (including the single "Thanks, That Was Fun").
Everything to Everyone was released October 21, 2003, timed to coincide with the first show of the new "Peep Show" tour. The first single off the album was "Another Postcard (Chimps)", which received modest radio play. "Testing 1, 2, 3" was the second single off of the album and received a video, but no CD single, while "Celebrity" was released later in the UK with a CD single, but no video. "Maybe Katie" and an edited version of "For You" from a concert in Glasgow, Scotland were also released as singles to radio. Unfortunately, the album was their weakest seller in years, with a short chart life, despite positive reviews. With the release, the band fulfilled their contract with Reprise Records, which they did not re-sign. This made the band independent for the first time since 1992 (though they retained a distribution relationship with Warner Music). On the subsequent Everywhere For Everyone tour, in early 2004, the band began offering their full live shows for purchase as a download or CD-R on an eponymous website, as well as subsequent studio releases.
Return to independence
The band's next album was Barenaked for the Holidays, which was released on October 5, 2004. It was their first independent record since the Yellow Tape, as well the first album recorded at Steven Page's then-recently completed studio at his farmhouse called "Fresh Baked Woods". The label the band created for this album is called "Desperation Records". Currently, there does not seem to be any plan by the band to release material by any artist on the label other than themselves. The band's 2005 Christmas fan club release of a rare 1991 concert was also released on the label.
In January 2005, the band taped a television pilot for a variety show, tentatively titled "Barenaked Ladies Variety Show", which was ultimately rejected by the FOX network. Later that year, the band was asked to write music for the Stratford Festival of Canada's musical production of Shakespeare's As You Like It. Steven Page wrote most of the music (Shakespeare had provided lyrics in the play), and the band recorded it for the actors to sing over. The recording (with Page's vocals) was available on CD from the festival and on the band's website. On July 2, 2005 BNL took part in the Live 8 concert in Barrie, Ontario.
Following several writing sessions throughout 2005, the band went into the studio at Fresh Baked Woods that fall to begin recording 29 songs. They broke from the studio in November and December of that year to play a 22-show holiday tour, each night of which they played one of their new songs. An iTunes Originals - a collection of interviews and live songs (coupled with some old album tracks) was recorded while the band was in the studio and was released in February 2006.
In January, the band went back into the studio to finish up the recordings they started the previous fall. Initially unsure of how to release so many songs, the band announced in May 2006 that they will release a one-disc album in early September entitled Barenaked Ladies Are Me. Several alternate versions will be available, including downloadable versions and a USB flash drive version. The band has stated that they expect to tour in support of the album starting with a U.S. tour around the release, followed by tours of the Canada and the UK in 2007. The band is also holding a contest in which the individual tracks from five of the new songs will be made available online. Fans can re-mix and submit them to the band, with the best remixes to be released on an EP, the proceeds from which will go to charity. The first single, "Easy", was released as a download on June 19, 2006. At around this time, it was also announced that the songs that did not make it to Barenaked Ladies Are Me will be released on another album, entitled Barenaked Ladies Are Men, in early 2007.
In May 2006, Barenaked Ladies, along with other prominent Canadian musicians, formed the Canadian Music Creators Coalition in response to plans by the Canadian government to revisit and update copyright laws. Steven Page has acted as a conduit between the CMCC and the press, urging the government to focus on the Canadian cultural scene.
The band has also indicated that a boxed set is in the works, to possibly be released by Christmas from Rhino Entertainment which may include demos, unreleased songs and other exclusive material, both audio and video.
Following a lead from other artists (notably Dave Matthews and Friends), the band held a fan cruise called "Ships and Dip" from January 15-19, 2007. The band was onboard the entire cruise (unlike on other music cruises, such as aforementioned, where the headline band is not aboard the ship). They had several of their entertainment connections (bands and comedians) onboard. The bands Guster, The Brothers Creeggan, Kevin Hearn and Thin Buckle, and Trippin' Balls were all a part of the cruise. The band is already planning "Ships and Dip 3" for January 6-10, 2008, since "'Ships and Dip 2' would only be heartache and disappointment".
In the spring of 2008, the group released a children's album called "Snacktime".
In July 2008, Steven Page was arrested in New York State on posession of cocaine. After the arrest, the group stated they were "business as usual" and will be going into the studio in the fall to record a new album.
On February 24 2009, Steven Page announced he was leaving the group in a joint statement with the band on their website. Steven plans on working on solo material. March 7, 2009 saw their first show on stage as a foursome in Orlando Florida and in March 2010, they released All In Good Time, their first post-Page studio album.
The band released the album Grinning Streak, and the singles "Boomerang" and "Odds Are" in 2013, followed by the album Silverball in 2015. Barenaked Ladies x The Persuasions and Fake Nudes were both released in 2017.
In March of 2018, the band was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. The induction took place at the 2018 Juno Awards, where Steven Page appeared with the band for the band for the first time in nine years. Following their induction, they performed "One Week" and "If I Had $100000" to close out the Junos telecast. Andy Creeggan also performed with the band during "If I Had $100000".
Side projects
Tyler Stewart, Jim Creeggan, Kevin Hearn, and Steven Page all have past or present side projects during their time off from BNL. Tyler was part of a trio called Don't Talk Dance which released a self-titled album in 1995, but are no longer together. Jim is part of the alternative/jazz trio The Brothers Creeggan, with brother and former BNL member Andy Creeggan and friend Ian McLauchlan. They have been on hiatus for several years now. Andy also has several solo albums. Kevin is the frontman of Kevin Hearn and Thin Buckle, who play a mix of alternative rock and jazz with many other eclectic influences. Steve has a side project called The Vanity Project. The first self-titled album was written mostly with long-time collaborator Stephen Duffy. Steve has said that the project is an opportunity for him to write with non-BNL writers, and a future release might not necessarily include Duffy.
Biography
Barenaked Ladies have authorized a biography, Public Stunts Private Stories, written by friend of the band and fellow "Scarberian" Paul Myers, brother of actor Mike Myers. It is published in Canada by Madrigal Press. An updated 2003 version includes a different cover, information about Disc One: All Their Greatest Hits 1991-2001 and Everything to Everyone, and corrects several typos found in the original version.
Website
barenakedladies.com
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Barenaked Ladies Lyrics
12 Humour Of The Situation When you walked in, I said with a grin That we…
17. Elf's Lament I'm a man of reason, and they say 'Tis the season…
20/20 Hindsight If you don't mind, it won't take long I'm gonna stand…
7 8 9 1, 2, 3 and 4 more makes 7 6 is afraid…
789 1, 2, 3 and 4 more makes 7 And 6 is…
A A is for angry, which is what you are at…
A Word For That There's a word for that But I don't seem to know…
adlib You don't ask for much And I tremble at the touch…
Adrift Ever since we said our good-byes The onion rings, the phone…
Alcohol Alcohol, my permanent accessory Alcohol, a party-time necess…
Allergies "Ow, Tye, do you have a cold" "No man I just…
Alternative Girlfriend You're in an all-girl band Your futon's second hand Your par…
Alternative Girlfriend (Calgary You're in an all-girl band Your futon's second-hand Your p…
Aluminum How, in every visible way, you shine As if the stars…
Am I The Only One Am I the only one who gets to make you…
Angry People That's the problem, dear, with angry people They try to go…
Another Heartbreak [Chorus] Hold on, here comes another heartbreak, Hold on, he…
Another Postcard You can't imagine so many monkeys in the daily mail All…
Another Spin I had time to kill One day in Alaska I walked around…
Asleep At The Wheel Driving home to be with you The highway's dividing, the cit…
Auld Lang Syne Should auld acquaintance be forgot And never brought to mind…
Baby Seat You left Billy with the kid And all the selfless things…
Back I woke up yesterday morning Fell down two flights of stairs…
Bad Day I'm having a bad day There's nothing you can do or…
Bag of Bones Big dogs, barking dogs, biting dogs Big dogs, barking dogs, …
Bank Job It was an upset In two minutes flat We're back on the…
Be My Yoko Ono If there's someone you can live without, then do so And…
Beat the Crew Well you know it's going to be all right I think…
Beautiful What if you were not just for show? What if you…
Best Damn Friend Talk was cheap 'Till I started talking to professionals Not …
Big Bang Theory Theme Our whole universe was in a hot, dense state Then nearly…
Blacking Out I'd be kidding myself to think that I'd be any…
Blame It On Me But here we are again And we're looking at each…
Blame It On Me (Live) Here we are again, and we're looking at each other As…
Boomerang Moving at the speed of sound, you think I'd be…
Box Set One, two I never thought that you would love me The…
Box/Set One, two I never thought that you would love me The…
Break Your Heart The bravest thing I've ever done Was to run away and…
Brian Wilson Drove downtown in the rain Nine-thirty on a Tuesday night Ju…
Brian Wilson (2000) Words & Music by Steven Page Drove downtown in the rain…
Brian Wilson (Live) Drove downtown in the rain Nine thirty on a Tuesday night Ju…
Bringing It Home It's not a Cinderella story It's not an overnight success Wh…
Bull In A China Shop I'm a kid in a candy store I'm a bull in…
Call and Answer I think it's getting to the point Where I can be…
Call Me Calmly You and I were meant to be Even though you don't…
Canada Dry We were shining like Aurora Borealis Like Sid sipping from t…
Carol of the Bells Hark how the bells, sweet silver bells, all seem to say, thr…
Celebrity Don't call me a zero I'm gonna be a hero Like Phil…
Christmas Pics Turkey is done, reviews are mixed When's mom gonna get that…
Christmastime Now that all the snow has fallen It's crunching below my…
Concert Going I look straight in the window, try not to look…
Conventioneers You walked into the room And the whole place stopped to…
Crawl It's harder than it looks to move through water First you've…
Crazy I climb the walls of my mind just like I'm…
Crazy / Fox On The Run She walks through the corn leading down to the river. And…
Crazy ABC Hey Steve! Hey Ed, that sounds nice, what is it? Thank you,…
Curious If I climb a tree Just to see what I see Does…
Daydreamin I might be a doctor I might be a leader Pilot a…
Daydreamin' I might be a doctor I might be a leader Pilot a…
Deck the Stills Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, Crosby Stills, Nash, and Yo…
Did I Say That Out Loud I know you're not to kiss and tell, But maybe nobody…
Do They Know It It's Christmastime, there's no need to be afraid At Christma…
Down To Earth Some people are just all show Well, I don't mind that…
Drawing There's a blueberry pancake flying in the sky I can see…
Duct Tape Heart It was in pieces 'til this adhesive Stuck it together, now…
Dusty Rooms I spend too much time In this dirty dusty rooms The places…
Easy What's a boy to do? When you tell your tale And it…
Elf I'm a man of reason, and they say 'Tis the season…
Elf's Lament (feat. Michael Bublé) I'm a man of reason, and they say "'Tis the…
Enid Enid, we never really knew each other anyway Enid, we never…
Eraser Eraser [Repeat: x 3] I draw with a pencil Because it's…
Every Subway Car My backpack was faded black But now it's all blue It looks…
Everything Had Changed On the path of life, I wish you well With urgent…
Everything is New Again Learn to lose, it's easier that way We've paid our dues,…
Everything Old Is New Again Learn to lose, it's easier that way. We've paid our dues,…
Falling For The First Time I'm so cool, too bad I'm a loser I'm so smart,…
Fight the Power Get tough now Come away for the S The S one W Brothers…
Flying Dreams If you could walk, if you could talk Where would you…
Food Party Food Part [Repeat: x 8] Food party tonight Voice 1: Hey,…
Footprints I've followed footprints in the snow Never knowing if I was…
For You I have set aside everything I love I have saved everything…
Four Seconds Goes to show It's not what you know (But) who you know So's,…
Fox on the Run She walks through the corn leading down to the river.…
Fun %26 Games We sent in the army They sounded alarms we Saw…
Get Back Up I'm a little bit worse for wear Got a little bit…
Get in Line Everywhere I go someone's trying to be my girlfriend's best…
Get In Line - "King Of The Hill" Soundtrack Everywhere I go, someone's trying to by my girlfriend's best…
Give It Back To You [Chorus] I don't care how long it takes, I will atone for…
Globetrot Doesn't matter any of it happened before Maybe it was locked…
Go Home Well, let me tell you if you're feeling alone Instead of…
God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman / We Three Kings God rest ye merry, gentlemen, let nothing you dismay Remembe…
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen God rest ye merry, gentlemen Let nothing you dismay Remember…
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen / We Three Kings God rest ye merry, gentlemen, let nothing you dismay Remembe…
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/We Three Kings God rest ye merry, gentlemen Let nothing you dismay Remember…
Golden Boy Hey, Golden Boy Don't let the darkness in to Take you away…
Gonna Walk I've been sittin at the border of love When dots connectin…
Grade 9 I found my locker and I found my classes I lost…
Great Provider You and I have been through this before I owe you…
Green Christmas The streets are filled with Christmas cheer At least it's on…
Grim Grinning Ghosts When the crypt doors creak And the tombstones quake Spooks c…
Half A Heart Drunk on wine, Iâ??m amazing Bitter Pill, itâ??s my raising …
Hanukkah Oh, Hanukkah, Oh, Hanukkah Come light the menorah Let's ha…
Hanukkah Blessings How Lucky are we that we have lights so that…
Hanukkah O Hanukkah Oh Hanukkah, Oh, Hanukkah Come light the menorah Let's have …
Hanukkah Oh Hanukkah Oh, Hanukkah, oh, Hanukkah Come light the menorah Let's have…
Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah Oh Hanukkah, Oh, Hanukkah Come light the menorah Let's have …
Have You Seen My Love Have you seen my love? Have you seen my love? Have you…
Helicopters This is where the helicopters came to take me away This…
Hello City Hello city, hey Another night at the palace 'Cause there is…
Hello City (Live) Another night at the palace, 'cause there is nothing else…
Here Before Try putting on a brave face While everything is giving way N…
Here Come The Geese Look up in the sky They said on a radio station They're…
Hidden Sun Suddenly things become unsound Stumbling on the shaky ground…
History of Everything Our whole universe was in a hot dense state, Then nearly…
Home Well, let me tell you if you're feeling alone Instead of…
How Long So, give it up for anger It makes us…
Humour of the Situation When you walked in, I said with a grin That we…
Humungous Tree I'm gonna plant this seed, this little tiny seed And it…
I Am I the only one who gets to make you…
I Am Asking You To It's hard to reconcile knowing what you know And it sounds…
I Can Friend, this shouldn't be the way things end But then, a…
I Can Sing I can sing! I can sing! I can sing better I…
I Don I can eat pork until the cows come home And cheese…
I Don't Get It Anymore I don't get it anymore, I don't get it anymore. It's a…
I Don't Like I can eat pork until the cows come home And cheese…
I Have a Little Dreidel Well, I have a little dreidel I made it out of…
I Have Learned No, don't know everything There's known unknowns Too long ju…
I Know I know why I like you It's 'cause of your clothing…
I Live With It Every Day On August first, nineteen eighty one I cycled to Scott's hou…
I Love You I love you And you love me I love you So let's make…
I Saw It I saw three ships come sailing in On Christmas Day, on…
I'll Be That Girl If I were you (and I wish that I were…
If I Had If I had a million dollars (if I had a…
If I Had $1000000 (Yellow Tape version) If I had a million dollars (If I had a million…
If I Had %241%2C000%2C000 If I had a million dollars (if I had a…
If I Had a Million Dollars If I had a million dollars (If I had a million…
If I Had One Million Dollars If I had a million dollars (if I had a…
If I Should Fall I look straight in the window, try not to look…
In the Car She fed me strawberries And freezer-burned ice cream I said …
In the Drink I'm in the drink for love And I want to drink…
Intermittently Someone somewhere has unglued our epoxy Someone somewhere ha…
Invisible Fence I heard you built an invisible fence What about us, what…
It I met you before the fall of Rome And I begged…
It's Christmas Time It's Christmastime, there's no need to be afraid At Christma…
It's Only Me Speaking as a guy who's really got it going on It's…
It's Only Me (The Wizard of Magicland) Urgh! Speaking as a guy who's really got it going on It's…
Its All Been Done I met you before the fall of Rome And I begged…
Its All Been Done Before I met you before the fall of Rome And I begged…
Jane The girl works at the store, sweet Jane St. Clair Was…
Jerome When you walk in Jerome You never walk alone 'Cause the ghos…
Jingle Bells Dashing through the snow In a one-horse open sleigh O'er the…
Just A Toy Look at my mouth, a thin painted line Look at my…
Just Wait Time was tight yesterday morning Luggage piled on the floor …
KEEPIN Everyone who sees it puts their face in the ground And…
Keepin' It Real Everyone who sees it puts their face in the ground And…
King of Bedside Manor You know he's not the kind of man who likes…
La La La La Lemon Hello, Steve Oh, hi Ed Someone left me this "L" and I…
Leave I've informed you to leave 'Cause I can't afford to lose…
Life A one, two three When she was three Her Barbies always did…
Life, in a Nutshell When she was three her Barbies always did it on…
Light Up My Room A Hydro-field cuts through my neighborhood Somehow that alwa…
Lilac Girl My Lilac Girl, oh Only you can turn my eloquence to…
Limits Today is not the day to get it done Or not…
Little Green Bag Looking back on a track for a little green bag I…
Little Tiny Song Hey I'm a cow, I'm curious Hey watch me now, I'm…
Long Way Back Home It's a long way back home to pack up and leave…
Long While It's gonna be a long while It's gonna be a long,…
Lookin' Up Some people wanna take a high dive into a drink Some…
Louis Loon Dive down Into the cool green water Swim around By the fi…
Lovers in a Dangerous Time Don't the hours grow shorter as the days go by We…
Make My Heart Fly Please don't go rushing by Stay and make my heart fly Please…
Matter Of Time Time heals when both wheels Slide off the shoulder The car f…
Maybe Katie What's so maybe about What's so maybe about What's so maybe …
Maybe Not Pretty soon you will be wanting me To go. And I will…
Maybe You It was often talked about; it was often raised But nothing…
Maybe You're Right It was often talked about; it was often raised But nothing…
McDonalds Girl I leave from softball practice every night It's getting dar…
My Big Sister I like my big sister But I don't want to wear…
Narrow Streets Narrow streets Houses all in rows Front porch seats Watchin'…
Navigate I can't get lost 'cause I can navigate by stars I…
Never Do Anything Wiped out down the stairs I'll bet you there's a song…
Never Is Enough What, am I to wake up suddenly and then Enroll at…
New Kid I didn't ask to be famous, but I'm not sore 'Cause…
Next Time You can always get it right next time, next time You…
Night Photographs At night I like to photograph, producing camera angles And I…
Nobody Better Tryin' to make amends, not just making friends It means poli…
Odds Are Struck by lightning, sounds pretty frightening But you know …
Off His Head Any other night, I could leave you alone Anybody might just…
Off The Hook All around the room your things are placed And next to…
Oh Yoko In the middle of the night In the middle of the…
Old Apartment Broke into the old apartment This is where we used to…
On The Lookout On the lookout The wind stopped We chose this spot To begin …
One And Only Am I the only one who gets to make you…
One Little Slip Well I have a little dreidel I made it out of clay And…
One Week It's been one week since you looked at me Cocked your…
Ordinary Don't you know we lost? Sunk so low, we just called…
Passcode You know the passcode to my heart You push the buttons…
Peterborough and the Kawarthas I left you in the rain Peterborough and the Kawarthas Your r…
Piece of Cake Trying to get away From banging on the tabletops Screaming a…
Pinch Me It's the perfect time of year Somewhere far away from here I…
Pollywog in a Bog In the puddle by the trail it flips it's tiny…
Popcorn Mom put the popcorn kernels in the pot She turned up…
Powder Blue With each mistake you either bend or break With every word…
Quality Just show me the venue When I'm the menu It's personalized T…
Raisins Raisins come from grapes People come from apes I come from…
Roadrunner If you're on a highway and roadrunner goes "beep beep", Just…
Rule the World With Love It couldn't happen to a better man It wouldn't happen with…
Running Out Of Ink I stopped into a club I thought I'd see a show Everyone…
Same Thing What does it mean to wake out of a dream…
Say What You Want Say what you want 'Cause I can't hear you anyway Go where…
Second Best Everything's a lie We're all gonna die Before we say goodbye…
Sell The credits roll, the camera pans And in the mist our…
Serendipity So long ago, on a summer day I put my best…
Shake Your Rump Now I rock the house party at the drop of…
She's on Time Woke up, I was on top of the world There was…
Shoe Box A key in the door, a step on the floor A…
Shoebox A key in the door, a step on the floor, A…
Shopping Well you know that it's going to be alright I think…
Silverball Roll around And I stare at you Your lights and sound Am I…
Smile When we were young, we got too old Never did what…
Snacktime I wake up in the morning, I got to sleep…
Snowman Made of snow, I don't know How I fit in To and…
Some Fantastic One day I will build a fountain Drink and never grow…
Something You You're looking for something That you'll never find You've g…
Sound Of Your Voice The moon is full But there is an incompleteness The days are…
Spider In My Room There's a spider in my room There's a spider in my…
Stomach vs. Heart In through my veins Without brains I involuntarily take what…
Straw Hat and Old Dirty Hank I tend the wheat field that makes your bread I bind…
Summertime Saving it up Savoring every ounce of sunlight What comes to …
Sunshine Most of us, have learned to trust What we see with…
Take It Back Oh I, I watch it all go down Closed eyes, pretend…
Teenage Wasteland Out here in the fields I fought for my meals I get…
Testing 1 (One, two, one) Maybe it would be fun To get a new…
Testing 123 Maybe it would be fun To get a new opinion Get a…
Thanks I'm learning, I'm yearning I'm burning all your stuff But th…
The Big Bang Theory Our whole universe was in a hot, dense state Then nearly…
The Canadian Snacktime Trilogy i I wake up in the morning I go to sleep at…
The Canadian Snacktime Trilogy: Iii) Vegetable Town The houses are built with leafy lettuce The light ports are…
The Flag The phone rings, it's early, it's seven o'clock He says sorr…
The Fog Of Writing The fog of writing is like the fog war You lie…
The Great Provider You and I have been through this before I owe you…
The history of Everything Our whole universe was in a hot, dense state Then nearly…
The Humour Of The Situation When you walked in, I said with a grin That we…
The King of Bedside Manor You know he's not the kind of man who likes…
The Love We [Chorus] Why aren't we making the love we're in? It could be…
The New Sad Everybody knows that happy is the new sad So I am…
The Ninjas I woke up this morning And everything was different Somethin…
The Old Apartment Broke into the old apartment This is where we used to…
The Other Day I Met a Bear The other day (the other day), I met a bear (I…
The Peace Lady Growing up in Toronto I'd ride with my parents wherever they…
The Township Of King She's lived alone in a little home By the Township of…
The Wrong Man Was Convicted Who's lonely now? Which one of us is suffering? Who's in…
These Apples A friend brought me flowers, she said they were lilacs But…
They Long To Be Close To You Ah Why do birds suddenly appear Every time you are near? Jus…
Things What does it mean to wake out of a dream…
This Is Where It Ends I don't buy everything I read I haven't even read everything…
Tired Of Fighting With You I'm tired of fighting with you I'm tired of fighting with…
Toe To Toe I'm convinced that I am stronger when standing in one…
Told You So I never jumped in and rescued you But I wanted to I…
Tonight Is The Night I Fell Asleep At The Wheel Driving home to be with you The highway's dividing, the city…
Too Little Too Late You say, "Why does everything revolve around you?" You say, …
Trouble With Tracy Tracy doesn't live with her dad and all is well She's…
Trust Me I was surprised at how incredibly fast you were To come…
Unfinished I left a tip, but it was never a donation I…
Upside Down I'm not surprised it's come to this Sooner or later there…
Vanishing A rabbit and a top hat A hankerchief and ring With a…
Vegetable Town The houses are built with leafy lettuce The light ports are…
War On Drugs She likes to sleep with the radio on So she can…
Watching The Northern Lights Floating like a dream cloud above the lake Drifting in and…
We Took The Night We took the night We chased the moon We watched the skylight…
What a Good Boy When I was born They looked at me and said What a…
What A Letdown Even if I let this settle It'll lead to a little…
What A Wild Tune Last night I heard the wolves [Repeat: x 3] They were…
What Do We Need? We go to bed on a bus, wake up back…
When Doves Cry Dig if you will the picture Of you and I engaged…
When I Fall I look straight in the window, try not to look…
When You Dream With life just begun, my sleeping new son Has eyes that…
who knew I could have changed my mind, but tried to change…
Who Needs Sleep Now I lay me down not to sleep I just get…
why say anything nice Why'd you put your dress shoes on if you didn't…
Wind It Up Stop, drop and roll and I'll tell you where I'm…
Wishing Wish I could speak with my dog [Repeat: x 3] Because…
Wonderful Christmastime Happy birthday to you Happy birthday to you Happy birthday d…
Wonderful Christmastime / Happy birthday to you Happy birthday to you Happy birthday…
Wrap Your Arms Around Me I concede that you were right about this place I can…
Yes! Yes!! Yes!!! Enough is enough is enough is enough is enough is…
You + Me Vs the World If I was stuck inside a burning building I'd wanna be…
You Run Away You run away You could turn and stay But you run away…
You Will Be Waiting As we walk together through the autumn, nearing winter Throu…