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"It's not easy being hyperactive, brooding and whimsical all at once,
but the Barenaked Ladies do just that."
-- Jim Pareles, The New York Times, 1992
"It's time to stop laughing at these guys, and listen."
-- Jeff Spevak, Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, 2003
Barenaked Ladies (BNL) is the wonderfully absurd name of my absolute favorite band out of Canada. They consist of five guys from the Toronto area who are extremely musically AND lyrically gifted, are top-notch performers, and simply are the most down-to-earth and wonderfully sweet bunch of "rock stars" you will ever meet. The band started up in 1988 with Steven Page and Ed Robertson, who then teamed up with Jim and Andy Creeggan (also of The Brothers Creeggan). Tyler Stewart joined shortly thereafter, and the band was truly born. Andy later left to travel, study music composition and "move on," and was replaced by Kevin Hearn, who successfully kicked cancer's ass in 1998. If you want to know more about the band, please peruse the links below... There's far too much, and I don't have the energy to reinvent the wheel. ;~D
Their musical style is rather hard to describe. To me, it's a perfect mix of pop, jazz, folk and rock, with a little bit of rap and country thrown in for good measure. They really can't be compared to any other single band out there, but there are a few other artists I enjoy that share some BNL qualities within their own genre, including They Might Be Giants, Dave Matthews Band and Crowded House. BNL has so much to offer, musically, that they really can't be pigeonholed by their two major hits alone: "One Week" (1998) and "Pinch Me" (2000), though they often are. These two songs really only cover one side of BNL, and personally, they are not even my favorite songs!
I first became a fan in the summer of 1995, after hearing "Shoe Box" on the Friends soundtrack. Soon after, I picked up Maybe You Should Drive (1994) -- one of the few who bought it, according to the band, though I know a LOT of people who have it -- and borrowed my boyfriend's copy of Gordon (1992) -- we're now married, and still have that old copy of Gordon, which was recently signed by four of the original five members of the band...destiny? Then I discovered Born on a Pirate Ship (1996) and Rock Spectacle (1997). In May of 1996, I saw them live for the first time at the Lilac Festival in Rochester, New York, and the rest, as they say, is history!
