Steven Page of Barenaked Ladies busted for coke

I logged onto my Comcast page yesterday and this was one of the big headlines of the day. You can find the article here.

I also happened upon the BNL message boards for a quick 5-minute tour of various fan reactions. The general consensus among fans seemed to be surprise and dismay because Steven and the rest of the BNL boys always seemed so "normal". Then it seemed like there were about four categories of opinions -- total disapproval and vowing to sell off all BNL albums, a questioning of whether or not they could remain fans, total support for Steven in his "time of need" and then ones who simply said "I could care less if he snorts something, I still enjoy listening to their music".

I can't exactly what camp I fall into, but I'd be lying if I wasn't a tad bit disappointed in Stevey boy. As posted on my blog a few weeks back, we just went to the children's concert they put on here in Boulder. I guess it's an understatement to say it's bad timing to get busted for coke after releasing a children's album and being in the middle of a children's tour. Steven looked trimmer than usual at the Boulder show and now I might have an explanation for that. According to various gossip sites and fan comments, Steven separated from his long-time wife last year (they have 3 sons), he has been battling drug addiction for some time, and has also had bouts of depression.

What's funny to me is how BNL always has seemed like the boys next door who struck it rich doing what they love. You could see they loved what they did (both before and after they made it big) and always made you feel like you knew them. I can't think of a time I saw them that they didn't tell some anecdote that made me feel like I got to know them better. Not only that but they always make an effort to get to know the place they are playing which made you feel like they were getting to know you and where you live. Maybe that's why all the fans are so upset by this information. It's like when a good friend tells you that they're getting a divorce out of the blue... it seems like an affront that you didn't know about it because you were friends and should have known something so important.

But why would we know that Steven Page has battled some drug and behavior demons? Do you think he would outright tell us this in his songs? I suppose you can read subtext into a lot of their songs, especially Call and Answer, and assume that he knows a thing or two about demons. One of their earlier big hits, Brian Wilson, now seems like a foreshadowing about Steven Page's life instead of the troubled Beach Boy singer.

One of the first things Kevin and I bonded over was our mutual affection for BNL. Triathlons were also a big draw, but BNL was the reason I sent Kevin my first email communication. I was going to be home in August of 1998 and was wondering if he was planning on going to their bay area show. Good excuse to write a potential date, right?!?

Since then he and I have seen them probably a half dozen times, and my guess is that we've seen them separately another dozen times. Our ears have been blessed with their music during countless road trips and weekends around the house. We don't see them live as much anymore because they play huge venues and generally we are not fans of the huge venue. My guess is that we will continue to listen to them (I actually have them on right now as we speak) and support the band as long as they make good music. But that image that they were our friendly neighbor next door does seem a bit different now.

My hope is that it doesn't mean that BNL is done for now that their leader has proven he is going a bit off the deep end. I would hate to see them break up and stop making music. And I hope Steven gets some help and his family and friends are there for him. I wonder if he's lying in bed, just like Brian Wilson did.