Barenaked Ladies’ career spans more than three decades and includes such timelessly iconic hits as “One Week,” “Pinch Me,” and “If I Had $1,000,000,” in addition to the theme to The Big Bang Theory. On top of having their own ice cream flavor and eight Juno Awards in Canada, the group was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2018. And on July 16, Barenaked Ladies released their 16th full-length record, Detour De Force, a record that is full of diverse sounds and themes, from funky full-band jams to raw, introspective, acoustic tracks. We caught up with Barenaked Ladies drummer Tyler Stewart who, in addition to talking songwriting and 30+ years of Barenaked Ladies, breaks down the new record.
Just to bring it back to the beginning, what inspired you to pursue music or drew you to songwriting and performing?
Tyler Stewart: For some reason, I was always drawn to the drums. I got a snare drum when I was eight years old for Christmas — from Santa — and I played the living shit out of that drum for a number of years, and then I let it sit for a bit. I got into other things; hockey, baseball. And then I got back into drumming because a friend of mine joined a drum and bugle corp, and he suddenly became this great drummer. And so I joined up, too, and got some chops. When you’re playing drum corp style drumming, you really learn a lot about rudiments and stick control and things like that. I really got into it. And then I got a drum set when I was in ninth grade, and I really never looked back from there; I joined the school band, started a basement rock band; was always into it. Even when I went to university, I bought a new drum kit and I got into it again. And shortly thereafter, I met Barenaked Ladies and oddly enough, it was an acoustic experience. They were playing at a buskers carnival. They were the most compelling act on the street, and I was playing with some friends acoustically; I was playing a suitcase with brushes. That’s when I started to get into more of the music, like singing and harmonies, and then I met Barenaked Ladies and they were all about that. And that was in 1990, so 31 years ago, which continues to blow my mind when I say it out loud.
What’s your relationship with certain super iconic singles, like “One Week” and “Pinch Me” at this point, where the songs have been out for so long — do they ever get tired for you?
Stewart: Well I think, now since we’ve had all this time off, it’s going to sound like the greatest song ever when we play it, I tell ya. But one of the things that happens with your familiar material, songs that you play every night of your career like “One Week” is that, maybe you can get a little tired of it or you go into auto-play mode, but any time that happens, what I try to do is look at the crowd and see how much they’re enjoying the song. I feel like a song like “[If I Had A] Million Dollars” even “One Week,” it’s not even our song anymore; it’s their song. They’ve come to sing along at the top of their lungs with their friends and have a great time and lose themselves in the music. I try to remember that beyond me, there’s thousands of people, hopefully, who really, really love the song and want to hear it. That to me is inspirational. Honestly, what got you there were those songs, and what keeps you there are those songs, really.
The hallmark of Barenaked Ladies is the clever humor you infuse into your music — how do you go about writing a funny song?
Stewart: I’ve only really written one funny song, and for me, I’m not really one of the core writers of the band, but for me when I wrote “Allergies,” it was topical; so many people are afflicted with allergies. I think the main thing is to try to say something in a clever way, but not too clever. Accessible and relatable, but at the same time, remember to write a good song. I think Ed and Kevin and Jim, they’re all great musicians and they all have a great sense of what a great song is. And so, any kind of funny lyrics are often couched in interesting instrumentation or cool chord changes or a good arrangement. I think that’s the main thing; don’t forget that musically it’s gotta be interesting as well. I think with Ed toeing the line between funny and serious, they’re actually closer than you think. Most comedians are making you laugh but they’re making you laugh at social situations or societal things. Sometimes, humor is the best way to understand something.
As a drummer, when you’re putting together tracks for Barenaked Ladies now, how do you think about finding the right beat or drum pattern so you elevate a song without overpowering it?
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Stewart: We’ve done all manner and all styles of songs. We have loud, rockin-verging on metal moments; we have straight pop; we have funky and modern stuff. And also, where the band started: acoustic-based, where the main focus is on the voices blending. So, over the years, I’ve had to adapt to each style. When I first started playing the suitcase with brushes, I did it because it was quiet. You can get some rhythm going but you’re not overpowering the room. Drums are so freaking loud. You have to have some technique and play with control, but when you really want to feel it, you have to hit them. I’ve found over the years that brushes, or the suitcase, or hand drums, have really come in handy. In the fleshing out of a song or the rehearsing of a song, trying to get it together, we’ll still do that. And then sometimes we’ll break it down when we’re on stage as well, so it’s quiet and a little more nuanced. I really enjoy all the different challenges I’ve had in the band; trying to master a Latin groove or an odd time signature; I’m always on my toes, so I’m always looking for cool ways to back up or propel the song without being some animalistic over-player.
Detour De Force marks your 16th studio album — over thirty years and 16 records, has that process of putting together an album ever got old for you, or is it always an exciting challenge?
Stewart: I really enjoy it. It’s a very intense time. This last one, in particular, we all went to Ed’s cottage and crammed our gear into his cottage space. Once we got all the gear in there, it was pretty cozy. It’s sort of like camping together. You’re forced to be together and collaborate, so it can be very rewarding because there’s this intense feeling of togetherness. And then, also, sometimes in the studio you can be separated — you have to learn to trust your ears and what you hear is coming out of your headphones because you don’t always have the visual. It can be stressful but it’s also fun. The studio is this great palette. It’s like you’re making a stew; you can add whatever you want, and hopefully, at the end, it’s edible.
Is there an overriding theme or motif that ties the new record together?
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Stewart: I think there’s a lot of songs on this record that are about coming to a point of realization. Whether that’s realizing that the constant bombardment of information isn’t really good for your health; a 24-hour news cycle maybe isn’t great. The polarized nature of our society today; you’re either on one side or the other. You’re either canceled or you’re woke. All that kind of stuff. “Flip” brings to mind that. I think essentially, the album’s about living your life; not hiding, experiencing. I think during the lockdown, a lot of these songs took on more meaning because people were so constrained. People having to stay in their houses or dealing with illness or constant fear, I think a lot of the songs on here address those issues and also offer relief from the shut-in, cloistered feeling.
‘Good Life’ seems to tell a pretty personal story: the journey of Barenaked Ladies. How did that track come together and what does it feel like that a song that examines your career and where you wound up is out in the world?
Stewart: Ed wrote that song with Kevin Griffin from Better Than Ezra. I think he really wanted to get the message across that he is living a great life largely because of this band. The first time I ever heard the song, I responded in all caps with ‘documentary channel banger.’ As in, it’s a total full-on chronicle of the group and really captured the spirit of what it’s like to be on this rollercoaster ride. I really love the song. I love playing it, I love singing it. I think it captures all kinds of different elements of the band; the rap section and the groovy beat. It’s definitely a song that I’m very proud of and I think really hits the nail on the head.
“God Forbid” has a different sonic feel to it than the rest of the record — it’s slower and very raw, vocally. Where did that song come from?
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Stewart: Well man, you really just highlighted the two environments of the record. You mentioned “Good Life” first, which is definitely a product of the recording studio in Toronto. It has an urban sound; a lot of production. That’s something which we arrived at after doing the first part of the album at Ed’s cottage. And then “God Forbid” is a great example of acoustic and small and intimate. That sound is really the basis of where we started the album, and then the lockdown happened. It gave us a chance to evaluate what we had done. We thought we were missing that ‘dancer’ element. We’ve made a lot of records in the last 10 years that are full-production albums. We really love the results of that. It’s a lot of fun to get right in there and polish everything up.
But “God Forbid” is definitely indicative of the whole acoustic session. I love the lyrics. I think my favorite line is “though I do not believe He exists, I still say God forbid.” It’s about something terrible happening and you hope that it doesn’t happen, you hope nothing terrible happens, but it’s always right there, whether it’s a pandemic, cancer, environmental catastrophe, it’s right there. I love the song. It’s a question about ‘what is your faith? What is it that’s keeping you going? Is it God? Is it your life force? And what are the things that you hold dear?’ And I think the song really delves into that question.
“Man Made Lake” fits into a similar category as “God Forbid” — it’s slower and more raw. There’s a line in it that I connected with in a really powerful way: “when I was a kid, I thought it was the ocean. But now I’m taking on water in a man-made lake.” What is the inspiration for that track, and what does that line mean to you?
Stewart: From talking to Ed about it — and he co-wrote that song with a great Canadian songwriter named Donovan Woods — and I think the two of them were just ruminating on how things are so different when you’re older. When you’re young, the world seems enormous and wondrous, and in this case, the man-made lake that Ed’s talking about is the one that his cottage is situated on. There’s this big beautiful lake there and you think it’s a natural thing; it seems so enormous. And you get out there and realize, ‘wow, this was created by man.’ The illusion of nature, although it’s also about losing yourself in the things that man has created: technology, food, booze, materialism, technology, all that stuff. It’s easy to get lost. I think that ‘taking on water in a man-made lake’ is definitely an allusion for drowning in man’s creations, as opposed to losing yourself in nature, which is often very therapeutic.
I think that it’s a very raw vocal, very personal and up-close. It’s the first song that we recorded for the album, and I think it really set the tone for those acoustic sessions, and obviously, it’s a standout on the record.
The record, on the whole, seems very steeped in introspection — I know that you reworked the album when the pandemic hit; was the intention always to be this deep or was the initial framework for the record a little lighter?
Stewart: We’ve never been intimidated by the fact that we have this serious side. I think, if anything, there’s more songs like that throughout our career than there are the ‘novelty’ songs. Because I think when you get the tag of being humorous and some people just want to keep it. They don’t want to let us out from under that. I think of bands like The Beatles and The Beastie Boys, Elvis Costello, artists like that, there’s a lot of humor there. But they don’t get labeled as this fun, novelty band. Whereas we have had that foisted upon us in the past. I say our catalog of material says otherwise. I think we always try to bring a rounded conversation to the table. There’s all kinds of aspects to the group. It’s so funny you say that, because every album we put out it’s ‘oh, this is a more mature side of Barenaked Ladies.’ Every time, it doesn’t matter what. It’s like our first album was Ronald McDonald the clown show. It’s just one of those things that’s become the legend of Barenaked Ladies. We are funny. In concert, we exploit that and have a good time on stage. We enjoy making each other laugh, but largely that’s just to get through it all. To keep ourselves sharp and interesting and interested, with the wit. And also, it’s more fun to laugh sometimes than it is to cry.
You guys were inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2018 — looking back at the start of the band, what’s it like to have that kind of recognition?
Stewart: It’s pretty cool man, it’s really cool. To be chosen by a jury of your peers, to be in the Canadian Music Hall of Fame is pretty great. You realize I’ve been in Barenaked Ladies longer than I haven’t been. To me, to be acknowledged for the sheer amount of commitment is great. But to produce quality for all those 30 years, 16 studio albums, and countless tours — an internationally known band, it’s very fortunate, but it’s also the result of a lot of hard work. When you get the nod to go into the Hall of Fame, it feels like yeah, wow, thank you. We deserve this, but also we’re very grateful. The fact that Geddy Lee from Rush did our induction speech was probably one of the greatest things to ever happen. We were all very excited by that because Rush, man, they’re our idols.
You’re playing shows again in July and in the Fall — how excited are you guys to get back out there and play the new songs?
Stewart: Very excited. Can’t wait to play the new songs. However, I was rehearsing the other day and I was like ‘wow, I played that?’ A lot of the shit I played it in February of 2020, and then since, haven’t even played them. We’ve had a few things, some live streams, so I had to get back on the horse and try to figure out a way to keep these songs on the top of my memory plus all the other ones which we haven’t played in a while either. It’s the Malcolm Gladwell, 10,000 hours. Some of those songs, I think I’ve played 10,000 times — it’s just muscle memory. Committing the new ones is going to be an interesting trip, so that’ll keep us focused and engaged for the next little while, trying to make these songs sound like they belong in our natural catalog.
You can check out Detour De Force here.
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