By Jim Barber
One of the most unique, most badass, most impregnably authentic, most compelling and profound artists to call The Great White North of Canada home, Bif Naked has spent her lifetime and career pushing boundaries, defying expectations, and issuing forth art that is as unfiltered and open as it is memorably melodic.
After releasing her latest studio album, Champion, last year, Bif Naked went on a different sort of tour as she traversed the continent, making appearances in soft-seat theatres and conferences in support of her film, Bif Naked: A Documentary (streaming on Super Channel). Each sold-out screening featured a Q&A with Bif and the filmmakers, as well as a special live, stripped down musical performance.
“Lift Me Up,’ a song composed for the film, was recently released as a new single, and has already generated a groundswell of acclaim for it’s unabashed positivity and message of love and endurance.
Music Life Magazine’s Jim Barber, who chatted with Bif Naked last year about the documentary (insert link), had another conversation with the now-Toronto based artist, best known for songs such as ‘Spaceman,’ ‘Lucky,’ and ‘I Love Myself Today,’ about the new song. The interview has been slightly edited for purposes of clarity, flow and to avoid repetition.
MLM – So is ‘Lift Me Up,’ the first of something leading to a new album? Or is it just kind of a standalone for now?
BN – ‘Lift Me Up’ is from the documentary. I can’t say enough good things about Ezra Sipes my co-writer. So Ezra and Gabe Sipes are a pair of brothers that we actually signed to [Bif’s own record label] Her Royal Majesty’s Records in the 1990s. A lot of people don’t remember, but when Her Royal Majesty’s Records was like pumping it back in the early 90s, we signed bands.
The Way Out was this band that was Gabe and Ezra Sipes, who to this day remain to me anyway, the most prolific songwriters and musicians I have ever come across. So songwriting with Ezra is something that is, if I have opportunities to collaborate with him, it’s something that I jump at the chance to do because being in the same room with him makes me aspire to be a better human.
Ezra is such an incredible human being. His humanity, the pureness of his heart and his musicality is otherworldly, but also he just writes from this place of, I don’t know, I can’t describe it. He’s just like, man, this guy is just so earnestly loving and so hopeful. And those lyrics in ‘Lift Me Up’ are very, very hopeful lyrics. He allows me to view my yearning and my idea of romantic love in the same way.
And so this song is very much reflective of that. And it’s such a hopeful song that, you know, I don’t write from this place that love is a drug, blah, blah, blah. The way this song is, it’s just such a song of hopeful yearning that I couldn’t have written with anyone else.
MLM – Is he still in a band now or does he write for other people?
BN – He has a studio, and he works with a lot of other people. He also is a solo artist, Ezra Ben Shalom. You can find him on Instagram. And he has his own solo albums. He also is a Juno nominated artist. They have a band called the Oot n’ oots. And my favorite song by the Oot n’ oots is ‘Tiny Horsey,’ which is a children’s record.
MLM – I think I read somewhere that you folks have kind of been chipping away at this song for a while. Has it had a long gestation period?
BN – Yeah, it’s a vision that Ezra had for quite some time. I always think that people have more confidence in me than I do, always. And Ezra is one of those people. I’ve been friends with him for, you know, 25 years.
I fail at romance all of the time. And I think that Ezra, along with his wife Rio, they just have faith in me that I don’t have in myself when it comes to romantic love, believing that one day my prince will come. Yeah. It’s kind of the dream that the bridge really speaks to in the song. Singing something like, ‘come on, lover man, take me by the hand’ is something where I would think I can’t say that. And Ezra’s like, ‘yes you can. Manifest this, dare to dream. Yes, you can say that. Yes, you can sing that. Why not?’ It was one of those things where Ezra was just like, ‘yeah, you can. You can be that vulnerable. You can say these things. You can put it out there.’
MLM – So are you asking this lover man to lift you up? Is that one of the contexts? Because I think there’s a deeper meaning to the positivity of your lyrics.
BN – Of course, people are always going to take lyrics, you know, and apply them to their own life. But I think the thing that gives this song legs and why it resonates with people, is that the world is always going to be a dumpster fire. People are always going to think the world is so bad because there’s always something awful going on, you know, whether it was in the late 1980s with El Salvador or whether it was Rwanda or whether it is now with the Middle East and America, you know, whatever it is geopolitically, there’s always going to be something of a dumpster fire in the world.
So you can apply the song to that and say the world’s a disaster and look for hope in any song that you’re going to listen to. You can apply it to any one of our personal lives. You know, I’m a divorcee chronically. I can’t seem to find a truthful person. Or there are many people that we know who are losing their parents or they’re losing, you know, their adult children or their siblings.
In so many ways, people are experiencing loss and they’re experiencing moments of learning or reflection. And so a song like this or any love song, any song about heartbreak, people are going to relate to it and they’re going to find either comfort or hope in a song like this.
MLM – I’m playing amateur psychiatrist here, but do you feel incomplete without a romantic partner, without your proverbial lover man, like the one in this song? I’m asking because one of the things I’ve learned as I’ve careened into old age is that happiness is a choice.
It’s not reflective of the situation you’re in or the person you’re with. It’s the choice to be happy and feel complete and approaching a relationship from a position of strength where you don’t need the other person, you want the other person.
BN – Oh, absolutely. That’s a hundred percent true. And I think that applies to a lot of people. That’s why dating apps are popular. That’s why people are constantly doing that type of matchmaking and whatnot and why TV shows about matchmaking are popular because people are always yearning and they’re seeking, and they are constantly doing the swipey thing or whatever it’s called on their phones.
I think that, for our generation particularly, we are of the age now that people are looking at their lives, their kids are launched, and now they’re facing themselves and one another and going, wait a minute, what do I really want? They’re really taking stock of their lives and wondering what it is that makes them happy, what it is that makes them complete. They really are reassessing what’s going on for themselves.
It’s a big moment for everyone. I think back in the day when our parents were our age, things were different. I think now there are different choices people can make. And yes, happiness is a choice. It’s always been a choice for people. And, you know, once that light bulb goes on for people, people can make huge shifts in their lives.
MLM – Another thing that I kind of got through the lyrics was the line, ‘we could find some land and grow our own food. We’ll break all our plans and live true.’ That’s one thing that I’ve kind of embraced is simplicity in life. Even though that’s written within the context of a relationship I think you can apply that to any situation. Like, keep it simple, stupid.
I think we live in a very complicated world. And this is a message that, when you pare it all down, when you put life through the crucible – and you have been through a crucible because I’ve watched the documentary and I’ve talked to you a number of times over the years – when you come out the end, you come away stripped from a lot of the pretense and a lot of the, you know, ‘things.’
But I believe the world is still telling people to be complicated. You’ve got to have 17 different points cards, and you’ve got to have this super new phone, and you’ve got to be on different streaming services. Why not just get a chunk of land and grow your own food?
It’s not just about romance in this song. It’s about whether you want to say love is happiness or love is contentment or love is satisfaction. Am I on target at all?
BN – Absolutely. Absolutely. It can apply to any facet. And people will take from it what they want to because, of course, it’s subjective.
MLM – As someone who creates music and art, how important is music and art – not just to distract people, but to help other people process life and to give people joy and to be able to express themselves. How important do you think music and art are in this world? And do you think it’s more important now than ever?
BN – I do. Because I know for myself, as a music fan, sometimes songs really help me reflect on what I’m going through in my own family and my own life. I know that when my sister was diagnosed with her breast cancer, the Anoushka Shankar record Flight had just come out, and I still can barely listen to it without crying. The first opening notes of the record just evoke such emotion in me, and always will, because it’s just attached to that feeling for me.
And there are so many other records. Dead Can Dance has meaning for me. Different pieces of music are attached to moments in time for me, and they always will be. It’s just amazing. Even things that I hear today, new pieces of music that I will hear, whether they’re contemporary or classical, I’ll think of my mother, who is starting to drift a little into her own kind of, not dementia, but old age. I feel badly because I think, ‘ah, she would love this.’ She loves music so much, but now I can’t share this with her. Previously, I would be able to send her a piece of music that I know she would love. I can’t do that anymore, so then I feel badly about that, or I feel kind of nostalgic about it, or things that I think that my late father would like.
I know that music connects us in so many different ways. There is a Parisian dance song that I sent to my friends in Montreal last year, because I knew they would love it. And it’s still our song. Whenever they’re having a bad day, we share that song back and forth, and it always brings us joy. I believe that music is more important than ever to connect us and help us either get through a day or remember a feeling. It’s just so important.
MLM – How do you feel when people come up to you and say, one particular song or in general terms that your music means so much to them, that it helped them through a tough time? That must be a powerful and even humbling thing to hear from someone because that’s not necessarily why most musicians and songwriters set out to write songs.
BN – When I was younger, I had a lot of trouble hearing that. I found it deeply flattering and very humbling. But I’m the kind of person that is very quick to deflect, you know, because I would never want anyone to think I was trying to be special in any way. I’m the first person to try and minimize anything like that. And, you know, I think that over the years, just with being mature, I’ve tried to be a little more gracious and just try and say thank you.
Because I came from a Minnesota mother’s upbringing, it’s very difficult for us to take compliments in the first place. But it’s very, very humbling to think that my music would affect anyone in that way. For certain songs and with certain lyrics, I do understand, like ‘Tell On You,’ for example, or songs that maybe have described abuse that I had endured that I wrote about autobiographically. In those instances I have to really, really be present for the person that’s speaking to me about the song and what it means to them. Even in a crowd or in a long autograph lineup, if someone is really speaking to me and being very open, I try very hard, no matter how busy it is, to really be there for them and really listen to that. I always really try and be there for that person and really share that moment and really make them feel appreciated. And I do appreciate that they have said that, and it means a lot to me.
MLM – How does the creation of music help you, the artist, and how has it helped you over the years? You did mention in the documentary that music, whether it’s the creation of music or performing or getting involved in the music business, kind of saved your life. But even at this stage of your life and career, is it still that important an outlet for powerful emotions and a way to process what I call the good, the bad and the ugly of life for you as the creator of this music?
BN – Oh, nothing’s changed. And that’s unfortunate as my body ages because all I want to do is dive off the stage, and all I want to do is write these rageful, vindictive songs. As a female, now I find that as I age, there’s a different type of discrimination that happens. It is funny because I’m a pragmatic person. I was never that kind of misandrist kind of feminist or anything like that. I’m not going to be silly about aging or anything like that, but I love to save my rage for the lyrics. You know, I wish I were, you know, a young person that could be in a hardcore band, wouldn’t that be fun? But I’m not. Yeah. I have to understand where I’m at in life.
I have an unpublished book of poetry called Razorblade Chewing Gum and I always hold stuff like that close to my chest. But then I think why? Why be precious about it? I’d like to put it out there. And at this time I’m working on another book, which I’d like to maybe in the next five years publish it. I don’t know. We’ll see.
MLM – Another biographical type work like I, Bificus or something else?
BN – It’s more of an observational essay – short stories kind of thing. But definitely not fiction. I’m not a fiction girl. So we’ll see. The I, Bificus memoir came out over 10 years ago now, so it’s time to throw something else out there, because I feel like I’m a different person. I, Bificus is also a very polite book, and I’m not as polite a girl. And what I mean by that is that book was very politely edited. My writing was a little different than what was published. I’d like to put out something that’s a little more manifesto-like. It’s a little more guide to life-y – a little more whimsical, a little more tongue-in-cheek and a little more fun. But, yeah, something that’s a little more digestible for people.
MLM – Less filtered.
BN – Yeah. Something a little more racy. A little more fun.
MLM – Now that you’ve had time to sort of sit back and reflect, what was the response to the documentary? How did people react to it, and what feedback did you get from those who saw it, especially as you were on your tour?
BN – I loved that environment. The thing that I particularly loved was the fact that when we did the screenings, we did them in these theaters – soft seaters. So the audience was basically the same audience that would come to my concerts, and they’re the same age as me. Particularly for the Q&As the house lights would come on, and I’m staring at myself, basically – they’re all my contemporaries. And we’ve all been through the same things. We’ve all started losing our parents and our pets, and most of us probably have been through a divorce or two.
Many brought their partners with them. Many of us have experienced cancer or car accidents or, you know, house fires or whatever the case. And it was just real shit, real conversations. We had lots of laughs. There were some questions, for sure, about this album or that album or stuff that went on in the documentary that was fresh that they wanted to ask about. And as you know, I’m long in the tooth, so there were lots of answers that would lead to other questions, and me asking questions back.
It would often become a very long night, and it was very gracious of many of these theaters to stay open long for us. There were lots of tears on my part and theirs. As someone who is a busy working person who’s always been, since I was 18 years old, only doing this, I don’t have a social life. This is what I do. I’m a performer. That’s it. I’m a performer and a performing artist. That’s all I do. For me, this is my community, so for us to gather like that for a night, was amazing. Next time, let’s bring our pets, and next time, let’s have a potluck. You know, because really, this is my community. This is our community.
But it doesn’t feel weird. Because we can be ourselves. Life is hard. Life is fucked. We don’t have pensions, and we have car payments. The kids are launched, but they can’t buy houses. Half of them don’t want kids themselves and the other half made everyone grandparents at 40.
We can all sit there and talk about how things were easier when we could just go to the smoke pit in high school, you know. And we laugh and we fucking cry because we’ve all lost people. Most of us have lost our fucking dads, and the rest of us had to have our dads move in because nobody can afford nursing homes or there’s a waiting list that’s so fucking long, they can’t take them. Or because our parents have Parkinson’s that’s dragging out. Or like my mother, who had a brain bleed after a fall, went to hospice and didn’t die fast enough, got kicked out of hospice and then had to go to a nursing home that is affiliated with one of the church organizations that doesn’t believe in me, even though she was eligible. Right.
These are real things that everyone in my audience is going through, all of us, because we’re all in the same generation. You know, the Boomers actually had it easy. They’re at the golf course. They all have pensions. They’re good. It’s like, we’re fine, you know, but we actually still wear Vans and skateboard. We know we’re fucked, but we’re cool, you know, so that makes me laugh.
It was this collective laughter that we shared, but also this simmering undercurrent of communal grief, because we have this shared fuckedness. We all acknowledge that we have this and the generation directly under us is insufferable. They’re just like insufferable little hall monitors.
I love it because this is something that I didn’t have, and I never get this opportunity to connect with the audience at my rock concerts in this way, ever. Because it’s like, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang 90 minutes is done. I’m off. And everyone’s like, ‘it’s two in the morning. See ya.’ Right. They’ve got to get home; they’ve got to work in the morning, or they’ve got pets that are waiting or whatever the case. In that regard, [the documentary screening tour] was just so meaningful and so touching and just so, you know, nourishing. My heart was full every single night.
MLM – But is this maybe giving you another avenue to do this sort of tour more often, maybe for the book of poetry. Maybe it can be part poetry reading, part TED Talk, part, you know, give and take session and just do that as well as. It just sounds like it’s a whole other avenue of expression and community for you as to just you. And if you feel like whipping out your guitar every so often and playing a couple of tunes, all’s the better for it.
BN – You are speaking my language, Jim.
For more information on ‘Lift Me UP,’ and other activities/output from the inimitable Bif Naked, visit https://www.bifnaked.com.
