Of all the bands who have influenced us, none have meant more to us than the Rheostatics.  I had heard bits and pieces, "The Ballad of Wendel Clark" etc., but it wasn't until we were on our way down to SXSW in Austin in 1991 that I really listened to them.  We'd even opened for them once, on New Year's eve, 90/91 at Clinton's in Toronto, but I hadn't paid them a lot of attention.  It seemed kind of Zappa-esque and maybe a little over my head.  Musoish? An in-joke?  I wasn't sure.  But, on our way to Texas in a cramped van, with Jim's bass strapped to the roof, I pulled out a CD of Melville, as the Rheos were playing on the same Canadian showcase that we were planning on crashing (the Canadian delegation wouldn't put us on the show, so we drove down to busk out front.  Eventually, 13 Engines couldn't get across the border, so we ended up playing the gig after all as a last-minute replacement).After a couple of listens I couldn't stop - I was addicted.  We watched them and had our minds blown.  Melville became one of my all-time favourite albums.  I can't hear a staccato a-chord without singing "Joey pulled himself to his knees".  It's romantic view of Canada, rock music and life in the the suburbs resonated so strongly and still does.  We were honoured to be asked to sing and play on Whale Music, arguably their best and definitely most influential album (that's us singing the oooos in California Dreamline).As our star rose, we had the opportunity to bring them on the road with us, and they were always messy, unpredictable and deeply inspiring.  I'll never forget wiping out onstage singing Death Rock America at MacEwan Hall in Calgary in 1992 or Martin with his shirt off rocking out to Iron Maiden in a basement in Winnipeg, the night they almost didn't make it to the gig.Tonight is their Last Waltz.  Maybe Dave and Martin will continue, who knows.  But tonight in Toronto at Massey Hall is the last night for Tim Vesely and Michael Phillip Wojewoda (Gordon & BOAPS producer), and the Rheos as we know them.Missing this gig is heartbreak for us.  Much worse than any stinking Juno snub.  We wish them all the best, and hope that you all will listen to their music and get even a fraction of what we have from them.  Our friends at zunior.com put together a secret farewell compilation, with us on it, singing Legal Age Life, just as we did at the Ontario Place Forum in 1992.  Go on, buy it.  It's for the Rheostatics.

It all turned out just fine, thank God.
To

Last night's UK tour kick-off in Cambridge was as good as I'd hoped.  The last time we played the Corn Exchange in Cambridge was, I think, on the Maroon tour, and it became legendary in my mind as one of the great gigs of all time.  It was the site of our first-ever slow-motion stage exit (one of my personal faves), and, in memory at least, a very funny show with an amazing audience.  Last night lived up for me, which is nice, which means I don't have to beat myself up needlessly.  Great crowd, some good raps, and lots of corn being exchanged in a hot, sweaty room.My only other memory of the Cambridge Corn Exchange is from when I was a summer student there in 1989, and the opening-night disco for foreign students was held there.  I went, and it was me, three morose Belgians, and a DJ playing Jive Bunny and the Mastermixers' "Swing the Mood". Then i went back to my room and listened to Leonard Cohen nonstop.Tonight, we're in Leeds, at the University.  It's the same venue where The Who recorded Live at Leeds, and, more importantly, the site of the inaugural Barenaked For the Holidays tour back in August 2004.  At least it felt like August.  Whatever it was, it was WAY too early for Christmas music, that's for sure, and it ensured that the gig was good and weird.  Hopefully, we'll do better tonight.Here's another souvenir of our last visit to Leeds University:It's the worst toilet in all of England, and it is what greeted us here in 2004.It's what led to this, in this very dressing room last time:Wish us luck tonight.

Just two of the many reasons why I love the United Kingdom

Here we are, back in the UK.  We landed in London late tonight after a seven and a half hour flight, and two hours sitting on the tarmac in Toronto.  And now we're back.  We've been coming here for fifteen years, and it's so filled with memories good and bad for us.
In 1992, when we released the Yellow Tape on Cheree records over here, we undertook a series of humiliating "we'll do anything" publicity stunts, including busking on the roof of a double-decker bus, and capped off my barging in on the NME editorial board in a pub and playing to them.  They were so embarrassed, they refused to acknowledge us, and so began a lifetime of bad press here.  We realized that we are now in the "we've stopped giving a fuck what they think" portion of our career, and at the baggage carousel, I proposed doing it all again, just because their reactions would only make me gag with laughter.  But I don't hate myself that much, I swear.
I must admit that amidst the diesel fumes, I truly enjoy British passport control at Heathrow.  It's the only place in the world where I don't feel like I might go to jail instead of entering the country.  Even in Canada, there's this odd paramilitary feeling, like if I say something while looking at my watch I might end up having my high school diploma revoked, and end up sent of to Syria for some good old fashioned extraordinary rendition. Instead, in the UK, it just seems to be a simple exchange of information between allies with their paperwork in order.  Welcome back, they say.  Glad to be back, I say, have a good evening.
When we were preparing to record Stunt, in early 1998, we went out for dinner with Sue Drew, our A&R person, and our two producers, Susan Rogers and David Leonard.  Wine was consumed, and talk turned to politics.  Tyler began deriding some politician of the day (who?  Clinton?  No, probably someone of lesser power), saying "it's not like he's the president of (prim British accent) ohhhh England or anything!"   I turn to him and say "and who IS the president of oh England, Tyler?"  He looks around the table blankly for a silent moment.  "I know," he says,"it's The Maaaaj", referring to the nickname of the host of Toronto Rocks,CityTV's music video show in the  80s, John Majhor, or, more likely, Thatcher's successor.
It was actually Tony Blair's first year in office.
We don't let people live down their mistakes here at Barenaked Ladies, which can be painful, but often handily funny.

Just finished my kids' March Break up at the farm.  One of the few things about being up there that I truly dislike is the fact that the closest place to buy anything is Wal-Mart.  Yech.  So, while picking up some necessities, I also tossed the DVD of Fast Food Nation into my cart.  I thought buying Fast Food Nation at Wal-Mart was ironic. Like a death-row pardon two minutes too late.  I also thought it might assuage my guilt.  It didn't.

Wow, I'm pretty blown away that the Jackson-Triggs solo Steve Page show on June 30th has already sold out!  Thanks everyone for buying tickets!  Due to popular demand, we are adding another date, on Friday, June 29th.  For those who were late on the draw, no worries - we'll see you Friday night.  And for those of you coming both nights, to spice things up I will try to put the mistakes in different songs each night!

http://www.jacksontriggswinery.com/en/

Ed has a problem. He will not leave his bathroom. Mind you, I'd never been up there since he renovated it, and I can understand why. That place is NICE, unlike my ghetto shitter. Okay, mine's not that bad, but his is kick-ass. 




On a side note, I'd just like to reiterate that "I Want You" by Elvis Costello is still the greatest song in the world.

God damn it.  I just found out that Lindsey Buckingham will be playing The Danforth Music Hall (walking distance from my house) on April 5th!  And I will be in the UK.  No offense, UK, but god damn it all.
Oh and I'm missing the Passover seders, which, of course, my family is thrilled about.

A couple of years ago, when I was touring the Vanity Project, I capped off the tour with a pretty amazing night at the Jackson-Triggs winery in Niagara-on-the-Lake (near Niagara Falls, Ontario).  Two solo acoustic sets under the stars in their lovely little amphitheatre.  Well, I'm going to do it again this year, on June 30th.  Once again, it will be a benefit for WWF Canada, and it should be a great night.  Last time it sold out, so if you can actually think ahead to June, you might want to grab some tickets soonish.  They also do a nice dinner option there as well.  For more info go to <a href="http://www.jacksontriggswinery.com/en/">Jackson-Triggs' site</a> or call 905-468-4637 ext.2 or 1-866-589-4637 ext.2

So far this is the only solo show I'm planning this summer, though stuff may crop up last minute.  Hope to see you there!