Bif Naked
(born Beth Torbert
; June 15, 1971) is a Juno Award-winning, multi-platinum record selling, Canadian rock singer-songwriter, poet, cartoonist, and actress.
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BIF NAKED TICKETS
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Biography
Personal life
Bif Naked was born in
New Delhi, India to teenage parents attending private school.
[1] She was subsequently adopted by
American missionaries.
[2] She spent part of her childhood in
Lexington, Kentucky, where her father was a professor at the
University of Kentucky. She went to Kelsey Elementary School in The Pas, Manitoba for a couple of years. After living for a time in
Dauphin,
Manitoba, her family eventually settled in
Winnipeg.
[3] [4] She graduated from
John Taylor Collegiate and studied theatre at the
University of Winnipeg.
A noted
poet, she has also released a
spoken word album called The Promise. She is heavily
tattooed, getting her first, an
Egyptian Eye of Horus, when she was 16. Her tattoos include a symbol of the
Tao,
Japanese writing,
Buddhist poetry and images (such as the
Bodhisattva), and
Hindu imagery, she has stated on
MTV that her favorite tattoo, on her left arm, reads "Survivor." Naked is also a
comic cartoonist.
The name Bif started as a nickname based on the mispronunciation of her real name, Beth.
[5] Bif has always been frank about her
bisexuality,
and the lyrics of her autobiographical songs (such as 1995's "Everything" and 1998's "Sophia") detail her attractions to and relationships with women. She is also a strict raw food
vegan for health (as opposed to
ethical or
religious) reasons. She identifies as
straight edge.
[6] [7]
She was diagnosed with a heart
aneurysm, but corrective surgery was ruled out. Her song "Everyday," from her album
Superbeautifulmonster,
is in part a response to that experience. Bif married her drummer, became
pregnant, and later had an
abortion. She wrote the song "Chotee" afterwards, with
lyrics such as "So long my baby...". However, her song "Moment of Weakness" was about a man she vacationed with in Mexico.
[8] Bif married
Vancouver Sun
sports writer Ian Walker in a traditional church ceremony in Vancouver on September 29, 2007.
[9]
In January 2008, she announced that she had been diagnosed with
breast cancer, and underwent a
lumpectomy and
chemotherapy.
[10]
Bif Naked
blogs on
MySpace about
politics, her personal life, and dealing with
cancer.
Music career
Prior to her solo career, Torbert played with punk bands Gorilla Gorilla and Chrome Dog. She has toured Europe, the United States, and Canada as a headlining act, and has performed on bills with
Snoop Dogg,
Billy Idol,
Dido,
Sarah McLachlan,
Sheryl Crow,
Chrissie Hynde, the
Foo Fighters,
the Cult and many more. She recorded a version of "
I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" for the
MTV:
TRL Christmas CD. She was also featured on the
Ready to Rumble
soundtrack with a cover of
Twisted Sister's "We're Not Gonna Take It", the
Celebrity Deathmatch
soundtrack with "Vampire", and ''
Buffy the Vampire Slayers soundtrack with "Lucky". She made a guest appearance in the song "Fucker", on Strapping Young Lad's album
The New Black'' in 2006.
Bif Naked has also made guest appearances with artists such as
SNFU on the songs "One Last Loveshove" and "You Make Me Thick". She also appeared on the
Dead Celebrity Status album
Blood Music on the track titled "In This Day And Age".
Solo albums include
Bif Naked
, a
self-titled album,
Purge,
and
I Bificus.
In 2005, after narrowing it down from over 50 songs, she released
Superbeautifulmonster
with 13 tracks.
The Promise
was released in 2009 and was dedicated to her fans. Bif recorded the album during her chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer.
She was in
Moist's music video for the song "Believe Me" and "Silver." She also appears briefly in
Simple Plan's music video, "
Save You" near the end of the video along with other people (such as
Sharon Osborne and
René Angélil) who have been treated for cancer.
Acting career
- 1990: Archangel
, credited as "Bif Torbert," playing a Russian soldier
- 1997: The Boys Club
playing "Liquor Store Manager"
- 1998: Television series Once a Thief,
playing Nastassja Momomame in one episode
- 1998: The Crow: Stairway to Heaven
as herself, performing a untitled song.
- 1999: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
as herself; she performed her songs "Anything," "Lucky" and "Moment of Weakness."
- 2000: The Chris Isaak Show and Big Sound as herself
- 2000: Daria movie, Is It Fall Yet?
, playing a bisexual art camp attendee who attempts to seduce Jane Lane.
- 2001: Canadian film, Lunch with Charles.
- 2002: became the first host of the CBC Television series ZeD
. [11]
- 2003: cameo in the zombie horror film The House of the Dead
(2003).
- 2005: Canadian Independent film Crossing,
playing Bernie
- 2006: a one episode part in the The L Word,
playing a character named Cynthia
- Since 2006 she has been one of the hosts of Bodog Fight. [12]
- She voiced the character Zoe Payne in the SSX
(Snowboard Supercross) videogame series.
- 2007: narrated the chronicles of her and her spouse's life in Bodog's web reality show "Bif Naked Bride" up to the wedding finale.
Band membership
Current lineup
- Bif Naked – vocals, background vocals
- Jason Darr – guitar
- Jacen Ekstrom - bass
- Flavio Cirillo – drums
Past members
- XFactor (aka Gene Poole) – guitar (co-writer of "Chotee")
- Chris Crippin (now in Hedley) – drums
- Gail Greenwood – bass
- Gillian Hanna (now in Love For Money) – guitar
- Britt Black (now in Lillix) – guitar
- Rich Priske – bass
- Mike Sage – drums
- Doug Fury (now in Scatterheart) - guitar, bass
- Scotty McCarger (now in Southern Death Threat) - drums
- Scott Cooke - bass
Political Activism
On
June 26 2009, Bif Naked and
Nazanin Afshin-Jam participated in the
worldwide solidarity with the people of Iran. They performed the song
someday
.
[13]
Discography
Singles
1995
| "Tell On You"
| Bif Naked
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1995
| "Daddy's Getting Married"
| Bif Naked
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1995
| "My Whole Life"
| Bif Naked
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1995
| "Everything"
| Bif Naked
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1998
| "Spaceman"
| I Bificus
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1998
| "Chotee"
| I Bificus
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1998
| "Lucky"
| I Bificus
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1999
| "Moment of Weakess"
| I Bificus
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2000
| "Twitch"
| Another 5 Songs and a Poem
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2000
| "We're Not Gonna Take It"
| Another 5 Songs and a Poem
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2001
| "I Love Myself Today"
| Purge
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2002
| "Tango Shoes"
| Purge
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2003
| "Leader"
| Purge
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2003
| "Choking on the Truth"
| Purge
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2003
| "Rich and Filthy"
| Essentially Naked
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2004
| "Back in the Day"
| Essentially Naked
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2005
| "Let Down"
| Superbeautifulmonster
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2005
| "Nothing Else Matters"
| Superbeautifulmonster
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2006
| "Everyday"
| Superbeautifulmonster
|
2007
| "My Greatest Masterpiece"
| Crossing - Soundtrack
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2009
| "Fuck You 2"
| The Promise
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2009
| "Sick"
| The Promise
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2009
| "King of Karma"
| The Promise
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Albums
Studio Albums
- Bif Naked
– 1995
- Okenspay Ordway: Things I Forgot To Tell Mommy
(spoken word album) – 1997
- I Bificus
– 1998 (CRIA - Gold)
- Purge
– 2001 (CRIA - Gold)
- Superbeautifulmonster
– 2005 (#12 CAN)
- The Promise
- 2009 (#30 CAN)
EPs and Collections
- Four Songs and a Poem
(EP) – 1994
- Another 5 Songs and a Poem
(EP) – 2000
- Essentially Naked
(greatest hits album) – 2003
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Music videos
- "Everything" (1994)
- "My Whole Life"
- "Tell On You"
- "Daddy's Getting Married" (directed by William Morrison 1996)
- "Spaceman"
- "Lucky"
- "Moment of Weakness" (1999) (directed by Marcos Siega)
- "We're Not Gonna Take It"
- "Chotee"
- "Twitch" (1999)
- "I Love Myself Today"
- "Tango Shoes"
- "Choking On The Truth"
- "Back In The Day"
- "Rich and Filthy"
- "Let Down"
- "Nothing Else Matters"
- "Everyday"
- "My Greatest Masterpiece" (2007)
- "Fuck You 2" (2009)
- "Sick" (2009)
- "King of Karma" (2009)
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References
- *{{imdb name|id=0620466|name=Bif Naked}}
- New tattoo and wedding vows for Bif Naked
- A Blast Called Bif
- Bif Naked
- Interview With Bif Naked
- Is That a Mic Between Bif Naked's Legs?
- Giving Back
- http://www.videocure.com/music-video-code/b/bc6ebb84df1e7fa7773616373480af55.html
- Bif Naked To Tie The Knot With Vancouver Sun Sports Writer
- Bif Naked diagnosed with breast cancer
- Sandra Sperounes, "Indie artists have a new home in ZeD," ''Edmonton Journal,'' March 22, 2002, pg. E.4.
- Bodog bio for Bif Naked
- Bif Naked and Nazanin Afshin-Jam sing "Someday"