It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas - with our appearances yesterday on Regis and Kelly and at the Bryant Park Tree-lighting ceremony (complete with non-lighting tree), our Massey Hall shows this weekend, Ottawa the next, and New Year's in Detroit - but I'm somehow unable to fit into my Santa Suit this year. See, I'm a lighter, smaller Steven Page now. Since May I've been seeing a nutritionist and working hard at dropping the excess weight I've carried for so long. As any other chubster can attest, it's tough to keep the weight off after it's been lost, and I've certainly been a bit of a human yo-yo myself. However, I got really sick of being overweight. It can define you, and I've never been happy with it. I am really focused on taking care of myself and my health, and am 40 pounds down and finally within my BMI. It feels great, and I'm really proud of my achievement. Can I keep it off? Who knows. Will I try to? Yes, of course. There's not much room in my life for complacency.
Still, with every wish of mazel tov I am also greeted with looks of incredulity, queries into the state of my health, whispers of "who's that guy?", and since my recent public appearances, there's been a spate of gossip, shock, awe, concern, delight, and just plain playa-hatin' (on the internet?? NO!!). For those who want to know - I'm doing great. Yes, it's been a terrible year for the band, and for me personally, but there have also been many things to be happy and grateful for: Falling in love, a renewed sense of peace, the best health of my adult life, some amazing creative and artistic opportunities, and the chance for a renewed and fruitful relationship with my band, friends and loved ones.
Thanks for thinking of me - I look forward to seeing many of you at the upcoming gigs. May you and those close to you have the best holiday yet. I intend to.

Back in June, I took part in a Leonard Cohen tribute at the Montreal Jazz Festival.  The audience was huge, thousands and thousands of people outside of the Place des Arts watching a whole bunch of us sing these Master Songs.  They filmed it.  I think I might have made the cut, but I have no idea which song they used, if any.  The info on YouTube says I'm in it, so it must be true, right?  Anyway, it's on CBC this Sunday night at 9pm.  Hope you have a chance to check it out.

 

well, i forgot to link to the Canwest Festival site, so I reposted the last blog. So now you have it twice. Plus this apology. I'm sorry. Hope it was even better the second time.

So the Seneca Niagara show was kick-ass.  So nice to see so many familiar faces, and to play so many unfamiliar songs!  We've really been energized by reaching back into the catalog to pull out some more obscure songs to play - it keeps us on our toes.  Evidence of which is audible on the cheap downloads of the Casino Rama shows we've put up on the werkshop site, and the Niagara show should be up soon.  Hope you enjoy listening as much as we did playing!

Speaking of playing - seriously, come out to this Canwest Cabaret Festival this weekend.  The venue is intimate and there are lots of great artists playing.  I'll be doing a couple of solo sets as well as these Leonard Cohen Songbook shows featuring me, Patricia O'Callaghan, Sarah Slean, Maryam Toller and Mary Margaret O'Hara.

I'll be hanging out for much of the weekend, so please come by and say hello.  And register your requests!  I'm thinking of busting out some new songs if I can memorize them in time... as if memorizing songs has ever been much of a priority for me!

So the Seneca Niagara show was kick-ass. So nice to see so many familiar faces, and to play so many unfamiliar songs! We've really been energized by reaching back into the catalog to pull out some more obscure songs to play - it keeps us on our toes. Evidence of which is audible on the cheap downloads of the Casino Rama shows we've put up on the werkshop site, and the Niagara show should be up soon. Hope you enjoy listening as much as we did playing! Speaking of playing - seriously, come out to this Canwest Cabaret Festival this weekend. The venue is intimate and there are lots of great artists playing. I'll be doing a couple of solo sets as well as these Leonard Cohen Songbook shows featuring me, Patricia O'Callaghan, Sarah Slean, Maryam Toller and Mary Margaret O'Hara. I'll be hanging out for much of the weekend, so please come by and say hello. And register your requests! I'm thinking of busting out some new songs if I can memorize them in time... as if memorizing songs has ever been much of a priority for me!

Hey everyone - the summer's gone (thank God), and we have some upcoming things to let you know about.  The Casino Rama shows at the beginning of the month were really amzing - energizing and fun and emotional.  It was really great to be back, and it was genuinely moving to play to two packed, sold-out houses full of fans, friends and family.  Robin, our front-of-house soundfriend, made soundboard recordings of both shows, and we've put them up on our site for $7.99 each as a thank-you to all of you for all of your support.
This Friday's upcoming show at Seneca Niagara casino is also sold out (thanks!), and if we're happy with the recording, we'll put that one up for sale as soon as possible. 
On a side note, I'm performing at the CanWest Cabaret Festival at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto on the first weekend in October.  I'm doing two solo shows, as well as a couple of Leonard Cohen tribute shows.  You should come.  It will be good.  Come see some other shows there, too.  My good friend Patricia O'Callaghan, as well as Mike Ross and Dennis Lee, The Apostle of Hustle, the legendary Don Francks, Sarah Slean and Melanie Doane will all put on fantastic sets.  Hope to see you there.

Lastly, I want to restate my sincerest appreciation for all the support our fans and friends have shown us over the past few months.  It really helps knowing there are so many people who care about us as a band, and as people.  Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Tonight's Songbook II show was amazing. So much fun to sing those songs. You should come tomorrow (Saturday). Really, you should. Want tickets? Of course you do.

Hey everyone,  "The Ninjas"?  It's about farts.

On June 20 and 21 at the Enwave Theatre at Harbourfront Centre in Toronto, I will be performing with The Art of Time Ensemble in a program called The Songbook II, in which I will be singing some of my favourite songs by artists including The Mountain Goats, Jacques Brel, The Divine Comedy, Philip Glass and the Weakerthans. Each song is arranged by a different arranger, and it should be a really amazing event. I was flattered to be asked and am really excited about this gig. If you'd like to order tickets, click here.
Oh, what to wear?

Well, here we go: it’s the Snacktime blitz this week, as our first-ever kids’ record hits the shelves this Tuesday. We’re doing a bunch of press and some in-store performances and signings. Come on out and say hello – and bring the kids. We’ll keep the swearing to a minimum. TUESDAY, MAY 6TH NEW YORK, NY 3:30 PM Barnes and Noble 97 Warren Street (at Greenwich St.) (Tribeca) THURSDAY, MAY 8TH FRAMINGHAM, MA 3:30 PM Barnes and Noble 1 Worcester Rd. (in Shoppers World Shopping Center) FRIDAY, MAY 9TH BIRMINGHAM, MI 3:30 PM Borders 34300 Woodward SATURDAY, MAY 10TH OAK BROOK, IL 11:00 AM Borders 1500 16th Street, Suite D MONDAY, MAY 12, 2008 TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA 2901 Bayview Avenue, Toronto, ON 7:00 PM Chapters, Bayview Village

Ok, so the TTC strike came and went quickly, and I awoke this morning to the sound of callers whining and complaining, which always starts my day off with a special edge. I mean, Ed and Tyler listen to AM 640 and actually seem to get a kick out of listening to their barrage of pro-copper, union-busting know-nothings, but it makes me crazy. Like, actually want to THROW things crazy. But this was the CBC, and still I had to listen to a bunch of people complaining because they had to drive their cars (one dude thinks he can invoice the union for his time) instead of take transit. Granted, the strike itself was bullshit – the city shouldn’t have to pay for the fact that internal political structure of the transit union is crumbling, and the one-hour notice at midnight, rather than say, four am, was suicidal for a union who desperately needed public support, but I’d really love it if people who called in to radio shows could actually tell the difference between salient points and blind rage. I can’t, thus I don’t call. It’s a simple equation, really. Not that the transit workers were in the right, mind you. They say they didn’t give us 48 hours notice, as they’d promised earlier, because they were concerned for their own safety, but what about the safety of riders (particularly female ones) who were stranded at midnight when the strike began? Anyway, what really gets my goat (and that goat will be sorely missed) is people’s screwed-up priorities. I mean, a day of no mass transit is important, yes, but what about the loss of one of my favourite businesses? Not that I’ve ever been inside, but I recently drove past the eatery with my favourite name in all of Toronto, and their windows were all papered up. It made me incredibly sad. Did someone walk in one day and finally break the news that the addition of “th” doesn’t instantly a superlative make? That a greenth salad is not a salad greener than the greenest salad? And when the proprietors realized it was true, did they just hang their heads and sadly shutter their shop forever? This, Toronto, is the real tragedy.

The year is new, but so many things stay the same.  New Year’s Eve in Tempe, Arizona was a good time, complete with my new suit trousers tearing right down the seam nearly at the beginning of the show, and all of my clothes were back at the hotel.  At least I was wearing bright red underwear, so as the hole began to gape further, the folks at the back of the crowd could get a decent view as well.  Upon hearing the tale, my six year-old son told me that if he had a new pair of pants, he’d try out all his moves in the hotel before the show just to make sure they wouldn’t rip.  I had to explain to him that I feel stupid enough doing my moves onstage in front of thousands of people, never mind all alone in a hotel room, in front of those “sprinklers” which we all know are actually cameras which instantly upload all they capture to YouTube.  Speaking of which, am I alone in loving the fact that if you search “Barenaked Ladies” on YouTube, you’re often brought to the most peculiar porn, my favourite being the series that show men’s scrotums being crushed.  By cowboy boots. 

Yesterday I was in a Starbucks and the barista handed me a coupon for a free drink (“we’re sorry your experience wasn’t what you’d expected…”) and told me she was a HUGE fan.  And then asked me if we were still together.

Then, today, walking on Queen St., a man in shorts on a bicycle made eye contact with me and said “Barenaked Ladies are HORRIBLE!”  I chased him.

How can I not love my town?

So I made the mistake of checking some of the message boards the other day, and I saw that a lot of people are a little nervous about the cruise: Will there be too many bands? Is Sixthman removing the BNL content from this cruise and trying to make it a clone of The Rock Boat? Will they still have that delicious chocolate cake? Rest assured, folks, this cruise should prove to be at least as good as S&D I (remember, that's why we skipped S&D II). We've invited more of our friends, and there will indeed be more music than last year, but there won't be any less BNL content. One comment we got from folks last year was that they wished that there was more music going all day long. So, with this in mind, and because it's a bigger boat this year, we've added a bunch of new acts, including the much-requested Great Big Sea and Carbon Leaf, our friends Kurt Swinghammer, Jason Collett and Howie Beck, along with many familiar faces from last year. On S&D I, Sixthman had booked a few acts onto the cruise who weren't part of our little club, but they were so popular onboard, that we've invited them back (namely, Oakhurst and Gaelic Storm), and there are a couple of new Sixthman finds this year too. But, in all, I'm sure you'll find you won't lose the true BNL flavour that made last year so fantastic. And if I lose my voice again, I promise that I'll rip my throat out and burn it in a special ceremony on the Lido Deck during one of Acid Wish's sets!

Two chances Canada has had to lead, rather than follow. The cbc news piece is a good wake-up call to holier-than-thou Canadians, and the YouTube clip is a really good explanation of what's so scary about Canada's new copyright bill, rumored to be introduced on Tuesday. Climate Change and Copyright

So, George Bush, who intentionally mispronounces the word “nuclear” as “nucular” (I mean, you think no one would correct him?), suggests that the fact that Iran abandoned their nuclear program back in 2003 is cause for even MORE alarm. Why? Well, first of all, I suspect it’s because there isn’t enough alarm out there already. Secondly, in Bush’s opinion, the fact that they shut down their program four years ago means that they can START IT UP AGAIN, and somehow that’s supposed to be even scarier? How’s that now? Well, as Bush tells us, so long as they have the knowledge of how to manufacture nuclear weapons, they are a threat. So. How do we eliminate that threat? I assume that war must be the answer; or the systematic rounding-up and execution of all scientists and intellectuals in Iran. Why not everyone with an Internet connection? And why limit it to Iran? This war isn’t about economics, or fundamentalism, or idealogy. It’s about knowledge, and who is allowed or not allowed to have it. Scary.    

So, those of you who keep track of these kinds of things know that I’ve been pretty involved in trying to convince Canada’s Conservative government to think twice about adopting US-style copyright legislation, as the business of content creation has driven itself to the brink of bankruptcy by bullying and pushing our fans and consumers farther and farther away from us. Well, the bad news is that word on the Hill suggests that Canada is about to introduce new legislation which is even more oppressive and draconian than even the most restrictive countries (read: the United States), even at a time when countries like Israel and the UK are passing new laws which acknowledge the new state of affairs, especially when it comes to digital media. Our new legislation, as it stands right now, will not make anything better for Canadian art, culture, or business. It is simply bowing to trade pressure from the USA, who has been steered largely by the big Hollywood film studios. It’s not too late, yet, but we don’t have much time. If you are a creator; a musician, an author, a filmmaker, or a fan and consumer of art or culture, this is the time to write a letter to your Member of Parliament, and/or to your local or national newspaper of choice. We need to let Ottawa know what a mistake this would be. If you’re a Facebooker, a Fair Copyright group has been set up, and in less than a week, we have nearly 1500 members already. It’s a great source of ideas and information. If not, check out these websites: www.michaelgeist.ca or http://www.faircopyright.ca/.

Also, I want to send some support to our striking writer friends. Who knows really what's going to happen in the future with digital content, but in the meantime, I'd hate to see the writers get shut out of revenue streams.

 

This is how I see myself today.



try it for yourself.

rI just finished reading Philip Roth’s latest book, “Exit Ghost.” It is (most likely) the final installment in the series of Roth’s books that document the life and times of his literary alterego, Nathan Zuckerman. The Zuckerman books are among my favourites of all time, and he’s one of the greatest characters, who insists on walking the line between autobiography and fiction; Roth and Zuckerman share a very similar history, but, in “Exit Ghost,” most emphatically, Zuckerman remains staunchly fictional. What a great comfort it is to hear a familiar voice, like an old (very old) friend, and this book is one of his best. It’s an examination of the differences between an artist and his work, and the lies we tell in order to tell the truth about ourselves, as well as a eulogy for one’s own place in the world, both socially and corporeally. I was struck by one section in which he writes about George Plimpton, the late publisher of The Paris Review, and famous “participatory journalist.” It made me think a bit about Ed’s tv show, “Ed’s Up,” which has begun its second season on OLN here in Canada. In the series, Ed takes part in a raft of unsavoury jobs, including cleaning the emergency-room toilets in a Brooklyn hospital. Tyler often jokes that he got his own tv show doing this stuff because “he’s a great… guitar player??” but we all know it’s more than that. Just as Ed’s guitar playing is not responsible for any of our success (even the memorable licks in “Pinch Me” or “If I Had $1000000”), it’s not responsible for his success as a television personality. Personality is a key word here – it’s been key to both successes, but also a willingness to make a fool of one’s self. Of Plimpton, Roth writes, Courting embarrassment and losing his dignity and flaunting his inadequacies with the pros, George in fact succeeded in maximizing his glamour rather than repudiating it, a ploy for which I admired him and that was at the heart of my enjoyment of the books. Books advertised as pitting the ungainly amateur against the impregnable professional were in actuality about a well-coordinated, excellently equipped athlete… playing at being a bumbler of an athlete with the majestically equipped… superstars of sports. And much the same can be said for the charm and pleasure of “Ed’s Up,” or for the regular-guy image of Barenaked Ladies. What is truth? What is manipulation? Does the manipulation get us closer to something real anyway? And is that the whole purpose. On a side, unrelated note (or is it?), I’ll be playing a couple of songs at the launch for Give A Day on Tuesday at 5:30 pm at First Canadian Place in downtown Toronto, to benefit Dignitas and the Stephen Lewis Foundation. Say hi if you can make it.

Today, is the 19th anniversary of Ed’s and my first show as Barenaked Ladies (after we had retired from our old band, Richie Blackmore’s Rainbow).  The mythology of the gig (Ed’s old band booked for food bank benefit, broke up, forgot, reminded by organizers, “hey steve, want to do show?,” yep, “told them we’re called barenaked ladies,” no rehearsal, won the audience over, never looked back) is engraved in stone, so rather than reiterating it, I’ll just try to remember what songs we did.  Maybe Janet Jackson’s “Miss You Much”?  Maybe “I Still Miss Someone”?  Damn, and I know I have a picture from this gig, but can’t find it in my mess of boxes.  Well, I’d better find it for the 20th anniversary next year. 

We’re in the studio today finishing off the full-length version of the theme to the new CBS sitcom, “The Big Bang Theory.”  The 20-second version aired on the premiere last week, but now we have a full-length one which will, I’m sure, end up on iTunes etc. shortly.