Bif ready to rock and ride during Snow Scene
Who: Bif Naked with LiveonRelease
What: Snow Scene Extreme Sport Weekend
Where: Delta Whistler Ballroom
When: Saturday, Dec. 14
Bif Naked can’t wait to strap on the Burton this weekend. That’s assuming she gets the all-clear from her doctor. The extreme sports loving, punked and pierced rock chick is nursing a few cracked ribs after a recent fall. But something tells me not even the medico’s thumbs down will keep this boisterous energy ball off the mountain.
Despite her wounds, she’s been bouncing around stages across the USA, playing songs from her latest album, Purge . While Whistler isn’t part of that tour, which wrapped up a week ago, in Bif’s eyes, it’s a gig that is definitely filed under "F" for Fun.
"I’m so excited, Whistler is always a good time," she enthused. "My one motivation right now is to be board ready ASAP. I want to be up there almost every weekend this winter as my boyfriend has a house there."
Bif and her band’s live shows are known for packing a punch but this tattoo-adorned powerhouse is a woman that’s hard to pigeon-hole.
"People call me bad-ass because of my on-stage antics," she said. "Sure, I spit, I swear, I scream. I rock as hard as I can and I love a mosh pit, but I’m really just a normal girl."
I can vouch for her statement. Her honesty was apparent the moment she said hello, but her lyrics are the best indication of what she’s all about. She writes about all the things women think about but never get to say. Love, loathing, sadness and sex – she covers it all.
A reformed non-drinker, Bif is an icon for cool girls every where. It’s a role she accepts but doesn’t wear too comfortably.
"It’s weird, I didn’t set out to be anybody’s hero but at the end of the day, I guess it’s good to be able to encourage and motivate young people," she said.
Oh Bif, you humble thing, you. After years of rock ’n’ roll excess of the noxious and nocturnal kind, Bif has since done more than most of us could ever dream of. She’s toured around the world, played with acts such as L7, Kid Rock, Nickelback and Dido. She’s guest-starred on TV shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She’s hosted extreme sports events. She’s landed on the glossy pages of Vogue, Rolling Stone and Nylon. She skates, she snowboards, she BMX bikes and she’s skilled in martial arts. If that’s not enough to convince you of the wonders of healthy self-empowerment, I don’t know what is.
Bif’s soul-baring lyrics reflect her amazing life story. The Vancouver-based 31-year-old was the product of a passionate tryst between two teenagers in New Delhi, India. She was adopted by American missionaries who moved her to Minneapolis, and Lexington, Kentucky, before ultimately winding up in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The teenage Bif – by the way a nickname for her real name, Beth – studied theatre before moving into music and played in numerous bands for many years. She filled her young woman’s dating CV with the usual nightmare assortments, and got hitched and unhitched faster than you could say "I do." After one too many alcohol poisonings on the road, she went straight, making a commitment to soul preservation that continues today.
"I am a lifelong student when it comes to my spirituality. I find it goes with me everywhere now," she said.
Purge
is Bif’s third full-length album. It follows 1999’s introspective LP I Bificus , which received rave reviews. The first single from Purge , I Love Myself Today, fast became a feel good anthem among the masses, and Tango Shoes is following suit.The band beside Bif will be original bassist Doug Fury, left-handed girl guitarist, Ginger Harris, who Bif calls "very easy on the eyes" and legendary drummer Scotty Sexx who "is a big hit with the ladies."
Opening will be LiveonRelease, an all-girl teen rock band on Bif’s own record label, Her Royal Majesty’s Records. They are looking at a future of L7 proportions.
Tickets are $28.75 and $1 from every ticket sold goes to the Province Empty Stocking Fund. Call 604-938-2769 for more details.
