Turning the Page

It just won’t be the Barenaked Ladies without Steven Page. BNL’s lead vocalist and chief songwriter is calling it quits with the band.

The news isn’t altogether surprising, given the roundly crummy time it has been for the 38-year-old Page, who was busted last year in a late-night cocaine bender with his girlfriend and another woman in upstate New York.

“These guys are my brothers,” Page said in a statement on the group’s web site. We’ve grown up together over the past 20 years. I love them and wish them all the best in the future.”

The web site statement continues: 

“The band also wish Steven well in all of his endeavors. Ed Robertson says: ‘It’s the start of a new chapter for all of us. Here’s to the future!’”

Um, good luck with that, Ed, but color me skeptical. Robertson is no slouch as a songwriter, but Page’s quasi-falsetto vocal chops and brilliant lyrics were the soul of Barenaked Ladies.

Page says he will try his hand at a solo career and perhaps some theatrical writing. I wish the guy well. BNL’s stock has dimmed considerably since its heyday of such gems as Gordon and Stunt, but the Canadian-based group was still managing at least two or three superb tracks per disc.