Scott Roos, Herald contributor
In the case of an iconic band like the Barenaked Ladies, many of us can remember the specific moment when their music truly spoke to us for the first time. For me, it was in the fall of 1991. I had just moved out on my own to go to music school and my roommate and I were bored and watching random Much Music videos when a fresh-faced indie band came on the screen covering Bruce Cockburn’s “Lovers in a Dangerous Time”. The band was the Barenaked Ladies. There was something about them that was special, unique and compelling. They had that everyman quality about them. They had something to prove. The world was about to be at their feet and they seemed to know it. But they also weren’t taking things too seriously either.
Speaking of the band’s early history and first all-important music video, Steven Page, who joined me on the phone recently had this to say, “We were kids from the suburbs who were doing a show and then I’m going to drive Tyler back to his place with his drum kit in my mom’s Honda Accord and then I’m going back to my parent’s house and go to bed. And that was the reality of it and I think it really struck a chord with people. The people in the audience obviously saw the humour that we saw in it but I think they also liked the sense of honesty about it and they identified with it and so the (“Lovers in a Dangerous Time”) video (that featured the band driving around on the back of a pick up truck in the suburbs) was an extension of it.”
Fast forward close to 29 years later and Steven Page is still going strong but not with the Barenaked Ladies (he had a highly publicized split with the Barenaked Ladies in February of 2009). However, the legacy of his time with his old band is not lost on him. As a primary vocalist and songwriter in the band, they won multiple Juno Awards and were nominated for two Grammy Awards. They also sold over 15 million records, including albums and singles, and were inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in March 2018.
“(After I left the band) I think early on I might have thought ‘Oh I can go past that and I can be just plain old Steven Page and that’s the next chapter of my life’ but I realized how big the Barenaked Ladies impact has been on many people’s lives and so, of course, the fact that that’s how I’m associated is something I’m really proud of.” continues Page.
He’ll be playing a solo show with backing musicians Kevin Fox and Craig Northey at the E.A. Rawlinson Centre For the Arts here in P.A. on Friday, January 24th. He’ll play the songs from his past you want and long to hear but he’s also planning on playing some of his more recent material to round things out. His recent solo records have been released with much critical acclaim. They have that same swagger that you’ve come to recognize from a great songwriter like Steven, but they also feature a renewed sense of urgency to be truly “heard”.
The show will get started at 7:30 pm. At press time, tickets are moving for this show very quickly and as this is the only Saskatchewan stop on this tour it’s very likely to sell out. You can purchase tickets at the EA Rawlinson Centre box office or at www.earc.ca/events.
