What the FAQ?!

Who are they?
Barenaked Ladies:
Steven Page, lead vocalist, sometime guitarist
Ed Robertson, co-lead vocalist, guitarist
Jim Creeggan, double bass, bass guitar
Tyler Stewart, bang dem drums
Kevin Hearn, keyboardist
Andy Creeggan was part of the original line up (Jim’s younger brother) but left shortly after Maybe You Should Drive was released. Kevin replaced him.

They’re all Canadian - Ed and Steven started the group in 1988 as an acoustic duet. They went to school together (in Scarborough, Ontario) and things escalated from there. Jim and Andy Creeggan joined them after they'd recorded Bucknaked (their first self-funded release) with Tyler joining the guys after seeing them play at a buskers' shindig.

Andy left after the recording of MYSD in 1994, to go to university. BOAPS was recorded with just the remaining four members, but Kevin Hearn joined them on their 1995 and 1996 tours and became a permanent member of the group.

How old are they?
Steven Page, born 22 June 1970
Ed Robertson, born 25 October 1970
Jim Creeggan, born 12 February, 1970
Tyler Stewart, born 21 September 1967
Kevin Hearn, born 3rd July 1969

So why the name then?
In Steven's own words...
“When we were teens, Ed and I were at a Bob Dylan concert bored out of our minds and we started making fun of bands that did not exist. One was Barenaked Ladies. It made us laugh and reminded us of when we were eight years old, and would look at the women's underwear section of the Sears catalog. When Ed got us our first gig he told them we were called Barenaked Ladies, and after that there was no backing out. Because if we changed our name, how would the seven people that were there find us again?”

CDs on worldwide release:
Gordon
Maybe You Should Drive
Born on a Pirate Ship
Rock Spectacle
Stunt
Disc One - All their greatest hits
Everything to Everyone
Live CDs/MP3 downloads - US Everything Tour 2004
Live CDs/MP3 downloads - UK Everything Tour 2004

For a full discography go to barenaked.net or bnlmusic.com

What's all this about Kraft Dinner?
Have you listened to If I Had $1,000,000 lately? The line 'We wouldn't have to eat Kraft Dinner... but we would' (or variations thereof!) inspired some early fans to aim cartons of the stuff at the band. What was once an endearing in-joke has paled over the years. KD lobbed with much force onto the stage has caused a number of injuries to the band members and their instruments (oo-er!) and BNL now state 'Those in the know, don't throw!'

For those trivia buffs amongst you, Steven has stated that the first time he remembers KD being thrown on stage was in November 1991 at the Danforth Music Hall in Toronto.

What’s Ed singing in the last verse of Enid?
[As posted by some amazingly sharp-eared person on the Chatter (sorry, can’t remember who - if it was you, I know you did mail me, but I lost the details!!)]

"I could teach you how to dance, how to sing, how to knit, how to make things that you never ever made before.
Enid I could teach you how to use cookie cutters to make crazy things out of Playdoh.
Little houses, little farms, little accessories for your Mom, for your Barbie set, for your friends, and your family.
Enid I could teach you to snowmobile, cross-country ski, snowshoe but I don't want to!"

These are the lyrics from the album version.

In concert, however, Ed sings different lyrics at every show. (At one show, the lyrics to Pearl Jam's Jeremy were used.) On top of this, somebody else (Andrew?) sings the following line twice: "Take you to dances, pay for your nightschool."

What's a hair shirt? Where can I buy one?
It's a shirt made from haircloth (a fabric woven from horsehair) and therefore extremely itchy. Monks and others such as the Crusader Knights would wear them next to their skin as penance. Do you still want to buy one? Go here.

Album/Song Titles
Gordon - given a name 'cos it seemed friendlier than a title.
Maybe You Should Drive - The lyric You Drive evolved into this title. Possibly something to do with the tragic drink-drive incident that killed Ed's brother too. Or, as mailed to me by Tyler (I'm assuming not the Tyler ) the title was taken from the first page of Hunter S Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.
Born on a Pirate Ship - OK, try saying it while pulling the same face as the kid on the cover...
Stunt - Ed explained once that the group liked the play on words - pulling a stunt, stunted.
Chickity China the Chinese chicken - refers to Chickity Chaco, the Chocolate chicken from the Tribe Called Quest song "Scenario", sung by Busta Rhymes. It also refers to the Hong Kong Chickens which were contaminated with the deadly flu virus and had to be killed.
Maroon - from a track on the Ken Nordine voice jazz album Colors. Basically the guy did 34 tracks all about individual colours and the feelings they invoke...
Everything to Everyone - I do know this, but I'm not telling you!

I'm sure there's a whole load more questions you can think of - mail me and I'll do my best to find an answer.