Section A • Page 8
The University Daily Kansan
Wednesday, July 26, 2000
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2500 WEST 6TH ST.
841-6200
944 Mass. 832-8228
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Choose from our Classic Spicy Red Wine Sauce or our Homemade Pesto Sauce. Our cheese is our own blend that we shred fresh daily. We offer a traditional white crust as well as our own Honey Whole Wheat Crust, and each are available in original thickness or thin St. Louis style. We have over 40 tappings from which to choose...everything from Avocado to Zucchini.
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Artist sheds tough exterior to bare soul
By BritAnne Hess editor@kansan.com Kansan co-editor
She looks like a badass on the cover of her third album.
But a conversation with Bif Naked reveals that the lead singer of the pop-punk band (of the same name) wears her fragile heart on her sleeve and is intimidated by tattoos.
Bif Naked will open for The Urge at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at the Granada, 1020 Massachusetts St. Why I, Bificus for the name of your second album?
I thought it was funny — kind of a reference to I, Claudius. (Roman emperor from 41 to 54 A.D. known for his lenient and fair rule.) If not through music, how would you express yourself?
Well, my folks stuck all of us in the performing arts — ballet, drama — so I've always had a career in the performing arts. Song writing is the best medium for me. It's the best way to travel, and I really like my job.
The stupid things about life. The stuff I go through. I wear my heart on my sleeve, and it gets broken a lot.
What would be the best compliment someone could give you?
What are your inspirations?
BIF NAKED BIO
That they can relate emotionally on some level sometimes. There's a song about sexual assault on my first album. I've had like 10 girls come up to me at every show and say thank you for writing that song.
Born in New Delhi, India, in 1971 to two private school teenagers.
18 years later — enrolled at the University of Winnepeg, where she joined the local music troupe, Jungle Milk. Dropped out of college.
Adapted by two American missionaries.
Married Jungle Milk's drummer -- divorced 6 months later
Became front singer of skater-rock group Gorilla Gorilla
1994 - left another band,
Chrome Dog, to join Dying to be
Violent.
Later in 1994, Bif went solo and released her indie EP, Four Songs and a Poem.
Released her self-titled album.
1995 - abandoned eating red meat, smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol.
1998 - released I Bificus.
1999 — performed with Lilith Fair and toured with the Cult and Kid Rock.
Yesterday, a guy told me they were using "Lucky" as their wedding song. He asked if I could sing it at the wedding.
Why Bif Naked?
"Bif" has been a nickname for Beth since I was 12 years old. "Naked" was the moniker bestowed on me at the tender age of 17. I thought about changing my name when I was 20, but it's not the name on my driver's license.
The first time I heard one of your songs, it was "Lucky" on the Buffy
the Vampire Slayer soundtrack. Are you a Buffy fan?
Kind of — but I don't have a TV at home. When we played on the show, Sarah Michelle Gellar was very nice, though. I was impressed.
And you have a dog?
I have two actually — a Maltese, Niklas, and a Bichon Frise, Annastasia. They're white foo-foo dogs like Liz Taylor. I even put barrettes in their hair. Nik has little-dog syndrome. I think we're both co-dependent.
Do people often stereotype you by the way you look?
They think I'm going to be tall like Xena or something. I'm 5'6". They also expect me to have a harder personality. It's all in their own misconceptions. It's just the way society is. If I saw a guy with tattoos, I'd be intimidated, but that's just the way it goes. He's probably the nicest guy on the face of the earth.
The Urge turns up the volume on Too Much Stereo
By Derek John
Special to the Kansan
The Urge Too Much Stereo
When the new album from The Urge arrived at the newsroom this past week, this nostalgic critic was whisked back to an earlier era. An era when downtown Lawrence was a musical sanctuary for local and regional talent.
The music scene — drawing from skilled musicians with a grassroots sensibility — found support from then-alternative rock pioneer, KLZR 105.9 FM.
Ambitious local concerts, such as the Jayhawk Music Festival, brought in quality Midwest acts just before they exploded onto the national scene.
Omaha's 311 and St. Louis' The Urge, are prime examples of bands who found their regional neighbor, Lawrence, to be a willing incubator for their music, before hitting the big time.
These glory years are now but a distant memory.
Alternative rock, on a larger scale, has lost much of its punch and Lawrence is no exception. The local music scene still
thrives but is headed in a different direction. KLZR is a joke and the local rock festivals seem to have lost some of their edge
That said, it was with some hesitation that I listened to Too Much Stereo.
But the new release proved to be a pleasant surprise. The album begins somewhat reluctant, but by the fourth track, "Four Letters and Two Words," the group found its stride as angst-ridden guitars buzzed over a rumbling bass line and tight percussion.
The lyrics are bittersweet in their memory of a lost love: "She was able to make the immovable movable/ She was able to make the impossible possible/ Four Letters and Two Words/ Words that mean the same/Funny how one is 'love' and one is your name."
Other tracks feature the band's signature horns and ska-like guitar licks that fit John Doe's lead vocals like a glove.
Whereas in the past The Urge cranked out head-banging groove after head-banging groove, this album reveals a more sensitive side. Catchy hooks bolstered by unusual harmonies provide a nice contrast to the
usual fare and definitely sets this group apart.
We can never go back to the mid-'90s, but albums like Too Much Stereo prove that period of musical excitement was no fluke. Is this new album worth purchasing? Probably, but go out and listen for yourself. The Urge play The Granada with Bif Naked on Saturday.
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