25 years old and all grown up
Barenaked Ladies proud of recent touring success in support of new CD Grinning Streak
Twenty- five years in the pop music business is a mark to celebrate. Not too many bands have that kind of staying power.
But the Barenaked Ladies certainly are not resting on their laurels. They are out there evolving, creating and looking for new challenges, even taking stands on issues that concern them. The most recent of those was the decision to not perform at Sea World because of the controversial treatment of orcas there.
The latest incarnation of the band is touring on the strength of its latest release, Grinning Streak. Both the live show and the CD have been receiving positive reviews.
For band frontman Ed Robertson, the success is a real mark of pride.
“It’s the No. 1 record in my household and I understand from my pal Chris Hadfield that it was on heavy rotation of the ISS ( International Space Station).
“The reaction has been amazing,” he says, more seriously. “We’re playing probably seven songs from the new record in the average show, which is way more than we would usually play. And it’s translating really well. We feel really good about it.
“I love the record. I’m proud of it, but also it was easy to make, easy to record. I think it speaks to a confidence in the band right now. I think it’s one of, if not our best record and we are doing some of the best shows of our entire career, which is a great way to feel 25 years in.”
The secret to this seems to be a musical maturity that has taken over BNL.
“I think it’s to try and be good,” says Robertson. “We never set out to be different or to be consciously other than what we’ve already done. Certainly you want to go into new places and try other things, but ultimately I just think we are trying to serve the songs and be entertaining live and make music that we would want to hear.”
That’s not an answer Robertson would have given 25 years ago when the band burst on the music scene.
“I think it takes a while to realize that it’s not all inspiration and bravado. At some point you have to really learn your craft and come to appreciate what it is you do and how you do it and how to do it better.
“You can’t just sit around to wait for the muse to come calling again.”
For Robertson, that has meant growing as a writer over the years. He says he has moved from trying to make things really general so listeners can relate to becoming more personal and specific.
“What I have come to understand is that the more personal and more specific I am emotionally and lyrically, the more people seem to relate to what I’m saying,” he says.
“People relate to the emotion more than the situation. That was a long process learning that.”
And with the new year, BNL is back on the road, working on the next 25 years.