Home >
Barenaked Ladies
Barenaked Ladies
|
2005 |
Toronto, Canada's Quirky Popsters Barenaked Ladies Were Never Ones to Follow a
Trend. They Were More Interested in Making Someone Laugh Than Being Astute and
Serious. Most of All, a Friendship Consumed This Band and That Bond Cemented
Their Place in Alternative Rock. Teenage Friends Ed Robertson and Steven Page
Found Themselves Laughing At the Innocent and Child-Like Term "Barenaked Lady"
While Attending a Bob Dylan Concert in 1988. Both Robertson and Page Agreed
That It Would Make a Funny Band Name, and Since the Duo Was Already Into Rock
Music and Playing Guitar, the Barenaked Ladies Were Born. Joining Them Were
Bass Man Jim Creeggan, His Brother Andy on Keyboards, and Drummer Tyler
Stewart, and the Barenaked Ladies Began to Blend Their Comic Relief
Sensibilities Inside an Eclectic Mix of Jazz, Folk, and Rock. The Famous
Self-Titled Yellow Tape (1991) Captured Bnl's First Independently Recorded
Material, However Canadians Weren't Too Fond of the Group's Naïveté. They Were
Branded a Novelty Act by Some, but the Yellow Tape Proved Successful When It
Became the Only Indie Release to Achieve Platinum Status in Canada. Record
Labels Entered an Instant Bidding War, and Sire Won Over the Band. Their Rock
& Roll Dreams Were Beginning to Unfurl. Their Zany, Wacky, and Hip Debut
Gordon Was Released in 1992, and College Kids Across North America Were Keen
On Singles Such As "Be My Yoko Ono," "Enid," and the Charming Favorite "If I
Had a $1,000,000." Canadian Contemporaries Also Warmed Up to the Silliness of
"If I Had a $1,000,000" and Bnl Began Their Reign As Canada's Pop Kings
Alongside the Tragically Hip. Not Everyone Was Amused, However. Toronto Mayor
June Rowlands Considered the Band's Name to Be Sexist and Demeaning to Women,
And Therefore Forbid the Barenaked Ladies From Playing a Local Gig in 1992. In
Typical Style, Bnl Laughed It Off and Resumed Their Schedule. At the Height of
Grunge, Ben Mink Came Around to Produce the Acoustically Mellow Maybe You
Should Drive in 1994. Songs Like the Jaunty "Alternative Girlfriend" and the
Sweetly Melodic "Jane" Were College Radio Favorites, but Changes Were on the
Way. Before They Could Collect Themselves for a Third Album, Andy Creeggan
Left the Band in Order to Finish College and Look People Guitarist/Keyboardist
Kevin Hearn Hopped on Board for Bnl's Joint Tour with Billy Bragg...And Never
Left. Hearn Joined the Band for 1996's Obscuro-Pop Album Born on a Pirate Ship
And Again, Bnl Charted New Celebrity Territory by Appearing on an Episode of
Beverly Hills 90210 to Perform Their Top 40 Hit, "The Old Apartment." Success
Was Fast, Leaving Bnl to Sellout Countless Summer Shows. This Merry Mayhem Was
Captured on the Band's First Live Album, Rock Spectacle (Pronounced
Rock-Spek-Tak). The Uninhibited and Playful Effort Introduced a New Audience
To the Aspect of the Band That Had Been Winning Them Fans Since They Started
- Their Live Shows. It Even Included One of Their Signatures - Improvised
Rapping and Stage Banter. Rock Spectacle Was Bnl's First Album to Be Certified
Gold in the U.S. The Barenaked Ladies Had Finally Arrived, Positioning
Themselves to Take Over America - And the Pressure Was on.Stunt, the Band's
Fifth Album, Was Issued in July 1998, Marking a Pivotal Time for Bnl. "One
Week" Was Their Most Popular Hit to Date, and Stunt Debuted At Number Three on
Billboard. The North American Stunt Tour Moved Them From Theaters and Clubs
And Made Them Stadium Sweethearts. Sadness Loomed Over Bnl's Carefree
Effervescence, However. Hearn Had Been Diagnosed with Leukemia Earlier That
Spring and Spent Almost Six Months Recuperating. Geggy Tah's Greg Kurstin and
Fellow Bnl Comrade, Multi-Instrumentalist Chris Brown, Filled in for Hearn on
Tour. After a Bone Marrow Transplant in October, Hearn Was Free of All
Cancerous Cells and Bnl Was At Their Finest.The Don Was-Produced Maroon
Followed Two Years Later and Did Moderately Well with "Pinch Me" and Constant
Touring. Still Their Comical Selves, and Now Glorified Pop Stars, Maroon
Introduced a More Mature Group and Page's Lyrics Had Now Become More Abrasive.
They Grew Into Men, Some of Them Marrying and Having Children by This Time, So
The Progression Was Natural. That Same Year, Bnl Won Two Juno Awards for Best
Pop Album and Best Group, As Well As Being Nominated for a Grammy Award for
Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for "Pinch Me."They Proved
To Be Unstoppable...And Still Enjoying Their Rise to Fame and Having Fun At
The Same Time. Taking Its Title From Their Song "Box Set," a Greatest- Hits
Collection, Disc One: All Their Greatest Hits (1991-2001), Was Issued in Fall
2001 and Celebrated Bnl's Work and Bond As a Musical Family. - Mackenzie Wilson