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If anything, they might be too easy-going for their own good.
"Because we're unassuming and we work hard and we don't whine and complain a lot, we're not taken seriously," says Ladies singer/guitarist Steven Page.
"We are the Rodney Dangerfield of rock," adds bassist Jim Creeggan, only half-jokingly.
They might be right about that. The Ladies' nice-guy image and relentlessly good-humoured music have helped them sell millions of records in both Canada and the U.S., but they're still widely seen as a goofy college-kid band rather than an increasingly sophisticated ensemble. With its wide range of sounds, Everything To Everyone -- out Tuesday -- may be an attempt to quash that notion.
"That was definitely part of it," acknowledges Page. "We brought so many styles in that it became an issue. We had to decide whether to embrace the eclectic quality or streamline it, and we decided to embrace it."
But the title also refers to a shift in The Ladies' songwriting process, which now includes all five members instead of just Page and fellow frontman Ed Robertson.
"We included everybody right from the beginning, whereas usually it's been separate camps," says Creeggan. "That was a big change."
It wasn't always easy, however. "Too many voices can be distracting," admits Creeggan. "And it's hard to write lyrics in front of everybody. So Steve and Ed often finished things off, and it worked better that way."
"Lyrics by committee don't work," Page agrees. "Ed and I have built a really good relationship where we trust the common goal. Not that I don't trust the other guys, but each person you add gives more opportunity for dilution."
'A FORUM FOR MY SONGS'
"I never felt that the Barenaked Ladies was a forum for my songs," says keyboardist Kevin Hearn, who, like Creeggan, has a solo career as well. "But I really enjoyed collaborating with these guys in a new way."
Another switch was taking more time to write and record the album -- their first studio effort since 2000's Maroon.
"We basically took eight months off," says Page. "We made music on our own, did some acting and spent time with our families. And then we got together just a few times a week, which allowed us some space. We wrote tons of songs and demoed them."
The Ladies like the demos so much, in fact, that they made three of them -- including the single, Another Postcard -- and all are available on a limited edition of the CD. There is also a deluxe DVD version with 11 acoustic performances.
"The demos sounded so good it was weird to get on to making a real album," says Hearn. "It felt like we'd already made it in a way."
Everything's songs reflect on depression and suicide, lost opportunities and uncertainty, as well as the traps of celebrity -- even their own.
"I think we're the kind of people you want to be stars," says Page. "We've cultivated this regular-guy image, and in a lot of ways we are regular guys. We're part of our community here, and relatively well-read, things that celebrities tend not to be."
And the Ladies have put their fame to use, raising money for SARS relief and, in Page's case, getting involved in political activism.
"If you can use it as I've been trying to -- for things that you think need attention, that are going to help people -- great," he says. "But you'll get killed unless you really have some substance to back it up. The guillotine of celebrity can be ruthless."