Barenaked Ladies Dude Busted For Blow

Stripper photos have not yet resurfaced, but you can bet they will now…

By Fred Mills

A few years ago some rock magazine published photos of members of cuddly Canucks the Barenaked Ladies canoodling with a bunch of pneumatically-enhanced strippers. O, the shame! The bloom was forever off the rose for the Barenaked Ladies (the band, not the bimbos, that is), an alterna-hitmaker during their ‘90s heyday, and for the most part considered family-friendly rockers who specialized in pop with a humorous edge that, while containing elements of social commentary and satire, rarely flirted with genuinely controversial lyrics or themes.

That they were also, er, as bland and musically unadventurous as they were tuneful and inoffensive often failed to register with their fanbase, of course. But those of us who could see the group for what it was — crap — still took solace in knowing that after the Ladies had their time in the sun they would, inevitably, ratchet down to a low level of operations where we wouldn’t have to be bothered even by thinking of them in the future save for the occasional radar blip announcing a tour, a new record, etc.

Now, though, a lot of Ladies fans are thinking of the band for reasons they didn’t expect. As you may have heard, singer/guitarist Steven Page was popped early last Wednesday morning with a cocaine possession charge. The Toronto resident was arrested by Syracuse, NY, police and charged with fourth degree criminal possession of a controlled substance (that’s a 15-year maximum stretch, by the way). Apparently he’d been partying with a couple of ladies at their apartment in suburban Syracuse, and at around two in the morning the cops spotted a car nearby with the door hanging open, so upon learning it was registered to a person at that address they approached the apartment and saw Page and one of the ladies at a table chopping up some blow. Both Page and the female were arrested; the second female was later charged (also for weed).

You can read the full A.P. report HERE.

But wait there’s more: the Barenaked Ladies JUST RELEASED A CHILDREN’S ALBUM! The title is… drumroll please… Snacktime. (What kinda snacks we talkin’ about, Steven?) Can you spell “career as children’s musicians down the toilet”? Furthermore, the band had a gig scheduled next month in Long Island to do the Disney-sponsored Playskool Play Aid Benefit Concert to benefit four children’s charities. Someone in charge of bookings may be rethinking that decision just a little bit, and in fact on Friday it was announced by the band’s management that they were pulling out of the gig.

"Members of the band completely support Steven Page but we don't want to put Disney in an awkward position before issues involving Steven's arrest are resolved," commented group manager Terry McBride, in a statement.

Maybe the bookers should have glommed onto those stripper photos from a few years back before making the initial booking, eh?