Page, Barenaked Ladies part ways
Decision 'best thing' for band and Page, says Robertson
Last Updated: Wednesday, February 25, 2009 | 1:24 AM ET
CBC News
Singer-songwriter Steven Page has left the Barenaked Ladies to pursue solo projects. (CBC)Barenaked Ladies frontman Steven Page has left the group he helped form in Toronto to pursue his own solo projects.
In a statement posted on the band's website early Wednesday, the band said Page will be "parting company with the remaining members of the Barenaked Ladies" under a "mutual agreement."
"It's the best thing for Barenaked Ladies moving forward [and] best for Steven Page moving forward," singer and guitarist Ed Robertson told CBC News on Wednesday afternoon.
"No one will fill Steve Page's shoes. They're big shoes that he danced all over the stage with for 20 years."
On the band's website, the 38-year-old Page said he will be pursuing solo projects, including theatrical opportunities.
"These guys are my brothers. We've grown up together over the past twenty years. I love them and wish them all the best in the future," said Page, who was BNL's lead singer.
The remaining band members — Robertson, Jim Creeggan, Kevin Hearn and Tyler Stewart — have been writing new songs and plan to return to the studio in April before going back on the road in the fall.
The album and tour had been meant to mark the 20th anniversary of the band, whose hits include, If I Had $1000000, Brian Wilson and Pinch Me.
"A lot of those songs [...] Steve and I wrote together. They're intrinsic to what Barenaked Ladies has been," Robertson said. "This will just be a new chapter. I think it will be a great chapter."
'Tumultous' 2008
The news comes after a troubled fall for the popular band, which released an album of children's songs titled Snacktime in 2008.
Page, his girlfriend Christine Benedicto, 27, and her roommate, Stephanie Ford, 25, were charged in July after police allegedly found the trio with cocaine and marijuana in a Fayetteville apartment.
The following month, Robertson, his wife and two friends escaped a plane crash in southeastern Ontario. The musician received his pilot's licence in 2005 and also hosts a TV show documenting his travels by plane.
In October, Page and his companions secured a deal that will result in their charges being dropped. New York Judge Thomas Miller ordered Page to seek drug treatment and stay clean for six months.
"It obviously was a tumultuous year for us on many levels, but this move now is about moving forward," Robertson said on Wednesday.
"It's difficult and freaky, but we know it's the best thing. Ultimately, that makes it possible."
