Revealing Barenaked Ambition

Any band calling itself Bare-naked Ladies and scoring its first hit with a song called “Be My Yoko Ono” is practically asking to be dismissed as a novelty act.

The members of this quirky Toronto-based band know how hard it can be to change first impressions. Even winning group-of-the-year honors at the 1991 Juno Awards--Canada’s Grammys--had little impact on America’s perception of the group.

Yet in using a wide-ranging musical canvas to paint pictures of post-adolescent anxiety, tangled relationships and whimsical, pop-trash culture, the group--reduced to a quartet after last year’s departure of keyboardist Andy Creeggan--is interested in much more than mere frivolity.

Their folk-rock-based style encompasses everything from alternative rock to harmony-laced pop to jazzy swing and is built on solid musicianship, smart lyricism and the distinctively creamy, colorful vocals of Steven Page.

So how do you go about persuading people, particularly those in the United States, that you’re no one-hit wonder?

“One of the best ways for us to do that is to make sure we do good, professional shows every single night,” Page said during a recent phone interview.

Misperceived or otherwise, the band’s music is at least getting heard. Benefiting from airplay on radio stations nationwide with formats similar to both KROQ-FM (106.7) and KSCA-FM (101.9)--plus the presence of a song (“Shoe Box”) on the “Friends” TV-series soundtrack--Barenaked Ladies is watching its U.S. fan base begin to grow.

That’s evident in the size of the places the group is playing on this tour. The band has graduated from nightclubs to such theater-sized venues as the 2,500-seat Freedman Forum Concert Theatre in Anaheim, where the group will be tonight.

The band also is embracing modern technology with its “Shoe Box” EP and full-length CD, “Born on a Pirate Ship.”

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Both releases use the new Enhanced CD format, which allows them to be played on regular CD players for audio only, or on computer CD-ROM drives to access a range of additional graphics and text-based features. These include snippets of every Barenaked Ladies song and each of the band’s seven videos, a discography and a glimpse of the band performing live.

“A lot of people out there, particularly in the U.S., don’t really know the band or haven’t had the opportunity to see us live or see our videos,” said Page, a stocky man known for wearing square-framed eyeglasses.

“The CD-ROMs were our management company’s [Network Productions] idea--their multimedia arm is really on the cutting edge. Personally, I’m into the whole cyber thing . . . not necessarily for artistic purposes, but for its communication potential. I mean, do you know how many people are out there using computers every day? And for me, there’s something quite pleasing about the nonlinear fashion of a CD-ROM as well.”

Along with innovative self-promotion, another key ingredient to the longevity of any band is its ability to adapt to change.

When Andy Creeggan tired of the constant traveling and quit the band last year, Page said, “at first, we thought, ‘What are we gonna do now--we’re only four-fifths of a band?’

“But once we realized we could actually be four-fourths of a band, then everyone had a better chance of stretching out,” he said. “I think we’ve become more focused, and now that we’re a quartet, there’s more space to be heard and it’s easier for everyone to have some input.”

What hasn’t changed since the group was formed in 1988 is the focus of its songs. Whether subtly drawn or delivered with a sledgehammer, the ups and downs of personal relationships continue to supply the band’s thematic core.

“That’s what life’s all about, isn’t it? Living with other people,” Page said. “Whether it’s politics, business or sex, it all boils down to making relationships work.”

* Barenaked Ladies and the Bogmen perform tonight at the Freedman Forum Concert Theatre, 201 E. Broadway, Anaheim. 8 p.m. $16.50-$19.50. (714) 999-9599.