IT'S an era in which bands are here today and gone later today, but the huge success that just came - after almost 10 years - to five fully dressed Canadian men who call themselves Barenaked Ladies could signal a change in the music industry.
The Ladies' first record release, a cynical 1991 single called "Be My Yoko Ono," was a huge hit in their native Canada.
But being big in Canada, say the Ladies (Ed Robertson, Steven Page, Jim Creeggan, Kevin Hearn and Tyler Stewart), is like being big in Luxembourg; it doesn't translate to international stardom.
But last week, after five albums and more than eight years of intense touring, the Ladies entered the U.S. charts at No. 3, with 141,000 copies sold of their latest album, "Stunt," which include the infectious hit single "One Week."
In this interview, singer-songwriter Robertson talks about the band's image, success and longevity. Barenaked Ladies is currently the H.O.R.D.E. tour, which performs at the Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, N.J., next Friday and at Jones Beach on Aug. 5.
Lisa Robinson: Do you think that for years the band suffered from the perception that you all had an overdose of quirkiness?
Ed Robertson: I definitely think that's the central image problem with the band. People sometimes only see the in-your-face, wackier side of the band. It certainly is a side of us, but it's only one of many sides. I think it's great that a lot of people think we're funny sometimes, and I have a lot of fun doing what we do, but we're not comedians.
Some things I think or feel are deeply personal and deeply serious, and some things are just wacky. I like that this band is open to all of that, and so are our fans. Also, these words have stigmas attached to them - like "funny" is bad, for some reason. The Beatles were hilarious. There are so many funny Beatles songs.
LR: Were you blown away by entering the charts at No. 3?
ER: To me, it's not like this flash, incredible thing that all of a sudden happened. What I'm proud of, and what I'm celebrating right now, is the work that got us to that point. It's been a series of tiny, tiny steps and such intense touring that led to this moment; it wasn't a rocket launch.
We worked really hard. Also, our live shows have always been a real strength for the band, and people have just become more aware of us.
LR: Do you think that a band needs to sell 141,000 records in one week for people to really sit up and take notice?
ER: I do think it takes numbers for anybody to notice anything. We were the same band the day before those figures were released; we were doing the same things, doing great shows, working really hard, and our album was the same album. But when those figures came out, we got an awful lot of attention. I guess the dollar is the common denominator.
LR: Howie Klein "president of the Barenaked Ladies" label, Reprise said that your success could encourage record companies to stick with bands longer. Do you agree?
ER: It would be great for music if it was the case, because a good band just gets better. The success we had in Canada had given us a deal where we had complete creative control, which can be a great thing for a band; but it's also healthy to have the voice of the record company in there.
When we did the album, it was the first time we really had an A&R person Sue Drew, and she's amazing, she's great. Sue's become very involved with what we do; she's a wonderful, wonderful person and gave us great input.
LR: Was it strange being huge in Canada, then coming here and playing to half-empty rooms for years?
ER: It was challenging. It gave us something to work for.
LR: Why did you choose to hook up with the H.O.R.D.E. tour this summer?
ER: We thought it was a great opportunity for us to get in front of people who might not necessarily come out to see Barenaked Ladies on their own. We wanted to play for Blues Traveler fans and Ben Harper fans and Smashing Pumpkins fans.
We've got this mass of fans who've been coming to see us from the club stages all the way up. What we need now is to get in front of those people that haven't seen the band before.