The group has been at it since 1988, and as Robertson told us ahead of their June 7 show at the The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory, he has one of the best jobs in the world: being an entertainer.
“I think for a lot of people, [the pandemic] made them rethink their work/life balance. For me, I fucking love my job, so …” he says with a laugh. “People rethought how they work and why they work, and for me it was just a really nice kind of pause on a job that I really still love to do.”
But during lockdown, while the rest of us were mastering sourdough bread making and mindlessly scrolling through TikTok, Robertson and his bandmates were hard at work keeping their 34-year streak going.
“For the first time in our whole career of making records, we had something we’ve never had before, and that is time,” Robertson says. “We have always really worked hard on making a record, and this time, like the rest of the planet, our plans were upended, and all of a sudden, we couldn’t actually physically go into a studio.”
Barenaked Ladies’ clever humor, adept musicianship and endlessly fun spirit shine through everything they’ve done since they began topping charts, filling the '90s and early 2000s with hits. Detour De Force, which dropped in 2021, is no exception. Although the pandemic stalled production, the timing ended up serving the Canadian foursome well.
“We had to sit with this record half-finished, which afforded us the luxury of being able to listen to the record over and over again and figure out what it needed to be the best that it could be,” Robertson says. “All the production tricks — I love what they do to showcase a song and make an interesting track on a record — but at the end of the day, it’s about four guys playing a song in a room.”
That sentiment could be part of how BNL have managed to find their way into the zeitgeist over the years. Even if you aren’t cool (or old) enough to know every word to '90s hits like “One Week” or “If I Had 1,000,000 Dollars,” you’ve most likely seen at least one episode of the Big Bang Theory and heard its super catchy theme song. Maybe you’ve heard the way media has poked fun at the band over the years, like in that one episode of Community in which Joel McHale’s character claims that no one should listen to Pierce (Chevy Chase) because he listens to the Barenaked Ladies, resulting in the rest of the group hilariously defending the “most celebrated Canadian alt-rock band of the mid-'90s.”
Luckily, Robertson has always taken a self-aware approach and knows how to keep things in perspective.
“We’re a band that has always taken the music and the lyrics super seriously, but we just don’t take ourselves really seriously,” he says. “You can keep that perspective and realize that you’re so fucking lucky that you get to do this thing.”
In addition to the accolades and eight Juno Awards (the Canadian equivalent of the Grammys), the Barenaked Ladies are known for putting on one hell of a live show. Robertson attributes this reputation to their commitment to being totally fearless on stage.
“We’re a band that has always taken the music and the lyrics super seriously, but we just don’t take ourselves really seriously ... You can keep that perspective and realize that you’re so fucking lucky that you get to do this thing.” – Ed Robertson
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“Every show is filled with improv and spontaneity. We are walking a musical tightrope every night,” he says. “I think that’s what makes the show fun for the audience, but it’s also what makes the show fun for us. It’s why it’s still exciting to do after all these years, because we never know what’s going to happen.
“The superpower of Barenaked Ladies is we do not care if we fuck up,” he adds. “If you don’t care if you’re gonna make a mistake, there’s nothing to be nervous about. We just go up on stage and we go for it. I think fans can feel that crazy energy … Ultimately, we are not neurosurgeons. If we make a mistake, the stakes are extremely low.”
As you might imagine, Robertson is thrilled that live music is back after the dark days of the height of the pandemic. He’ll be hitting the road soon with his bandmates: drummer Tyler Stewart, bassist Jim Creeggan, and guitarist Kevin Hearn, for the sixth iteration of their Last Summer on Earth tour, which was originally scheduled for 2020 and stops in Irving on June 7.
“We all love each other, and we all enjoy each other. That’s why we’re still doing this 34 years after I started the band,” Robertson says of the trio. “They’re not just bandmates, they’re like brothers. They’re like husbands. I spend way more time with those guys than I do anyone else in my life. We talk about everything, we see each other through crazy highs and also lows, and we have each other’s back … It’s way more intense than any marriage.”
Don’t worry — Robertson’s wife is totally cool with his having three “husbands.”
“My wife is fantastic,” he says. “One of the great things about our marriage is that we’re able to function apart and still be in touch and still be connected. We’re used to having large periods of time where we’re not in the same city, and I have to go live with my three husbands for many weeks on end.”
If you think BNL might be considering slowing down after this tour, you’re dead wrong. Robertson is already writing songs for their next album and assures us that they won’t be stopping anytime soon.
“Why would we?” he says. “It’s too fun.”