YOU might think that a band from the other side of the Atlantic might be packing their thermals at the thought of starting a tour at the Beach Ballroom in Aberdeen in March.
Not so for the Barenaked Ladies. Much of the album Detour De Force, released last year, was written at the Northern Ontario Cottage of singer Ed Roberston – surrounded by two feet of snow.
“The weather is nothing,” says drummer Tyler Stewart. “We have that in common. Well that and we also both have the Queen on our money.”
Stewart is best placed among the band to talk Scotland too. His father was born in Glasgow and Tyler visited for holidays long before he was behind the Barenaked Ladies kit.
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“It’s great that I can see my cousins in Glasgow when we’re in Scotland. There’s clearly a connection I feel personally but there always seems to be a proper relationship between the band and Scottish audiences. I’m not just saying that – it’s true.”
There’s one aspect of the Scottish audience that never gets old for Stewart. The singing. “I know that’s what we’re all looking forward to most? Is the fact that Scottish audiences were able to sing along to pretty much every single song we do. It’s definitely the most participatory crowds and definitely the loudest.”
That shows commitment on the part of the audiences. The Barenaked Ladies have quite a few songs with a lot of lyrics.
If you’re still not familiar with the band, watch an episode of The Big Bang Theory, at least the opening credits. That’s the Barenaked Ladies telling the potted history of humankind in 22 seconds.
Together for 30 years now, The Barenaked Ladies are one of a few bands and musicians who are regarded as having something of a cult following, even though they’ve sold millions of records in that time. In that respect they can be filed alongside They Might be Giants and Ben Folds.
There are other similarities too. Like They Might be Giants they’ve released a children’s album called Snacktime – and also do children’s shows.
They also have a popular seasonal show at Christmas, based around the Barenaked For The Holidays album.
The joy of the band is they’ve never taken themselves too seriously. “We love doing the children’s and Christmas shows.
“We did some shows last year but had to stop the Christmas show run when Omicron struck.
“I think that versatility has really helped us over the years. The fact that we can put on lots of different types of shows. They also make it really interesting for us, seeing as we’re now on our 16th studio album.”
To continue the comparisons they are also a band that might be just as good, and sometimes better live, than on record.
“Well, we’ve been playing together for so long. We started off as a live band and we’ve always been a live band.
“I think, for people who genuinely love music, there’s nothing better than experiencing the relationship between a band an audience. Of course, since we started, things have changed. There’s a lot more of, you know, the singing contest types on the charts. Maybe that makes me sound a bit old school, but if it does, then I’m delighted to call myself that.”
There will be tracks from Detour De Force on the setlists of course but Tyler is as keen for the hots to be played as the audience.
“I do think the album stands with the best that we’ve ever done. Maybe the lockdowns gave us a chance to reflect a bit more on what we were doing, and the length of time it took has benefited it in the end.
“We love playing the hits and all the songs that people know. There’s absolutely no way we could do a gig and walk away without playing. If I Had $1,000,000, Brian Wilson, One Week, even It’s All Been Done.
“As long as you can still play these songs with as much joy as you always have done, it’s absolutely worth doing. We can hear the audience getting the joy from those and as I said, particularly in Scotland.”
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With the Beach Ballroom this Tuesday and the Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow the following night, Stewart recalls the last time they were in Aberdeen.
“We had always played a venue in the city. It was a beautiful, sunny morning when we arrived there. And even though it was cold, we had a walk along what I’d call the boardwalk and went into a little cafe for breakfast.
“We had a Scotsman with us at the time because Colin Hay [inset] was touring with us. We won’t have Colin here this time, but it would be great to have that bit of sunshine.”
Barenaked Ladies play Beach Ballroom in Aberdeen on Tuesday and the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall on Wednesday. Tickets at www.barenakedladies.com
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