Bif Naked may not be sitting on top of the world, but she's gets a better view than most. With a new major record company contract for her latest release, I Bificus ( Aquarius/EMI in Canada), she's allowed some rock-star luxuries. Today that means lunching in the revolving restaurant high atop Toronto's Harbor Castle Hotel.
"This is the coolest shit, " says Bif, looking around. "You and me, we're like Cinderella at the ball!"
The midday buffet includes all kinds of gluttony-iducing delights, but sight seeing appeals more to her than sweets. if you look past the singer's prominent tattoo's, you'll notice Bif is Buff -- and, rather than a gorging fat cat, she's happier chowing down on conscous and imbibing her beloved lattes with skim milk.
It's all part of Bif Naked's new lifestyle: No drinking, no smoking, a healthy diet and regular workouts. It's been over two years since i made the switch and i never felt better.
"I was an extreme drunk, " she admits. "I found that the only way i could stay sober was to be extreme in my philosophy and really be straight edge. All my associations with letting my hair down became food.  When i celebrate, it's with chocolate cake. So i really try hard to stay super fit."
One only need listen to the lyrics on I Bificus to know that Bif Naked's life wasn't so wholesome. On "Lucky", she sings the first time we made love/i wasn't sober," one of my very references to her youthful naiveté. "Anything" , "Only The Girl" and "Sophia" are all wide-eyed love songs tat cover what Bif writes about best : Boys and adolescence.
"My inner child won't die, " she laughs, " I have to maintain a lot of self control not to put names in. I have One x-husband, one ex-fiance and four ex-boyfriends. Man, with every passing year they get more pissed off."
On I Bificus, Bif's public displays od affection ( and dissatisfaction) are pumped a notch by real production values, courtesy of Glen Rosenstein. The singer spent more time than usual actually singing. " Just like anyone who tries to improve their craft, i wanted to do a better job then i did last year, " says Naked.
For all the effort, I Bificus still lacks the sophistication of a world class record. The first single. "Spaceman", exemplifies hoe Bif's material gets shoehorned into generic '90s pop/rock song structure --- radio friendly , but hardly revolutionary. What she lacks in innovation, Bif makes up for in her candour, as revealed in her forthright lyrics, interviews and the hand drawings and rants that decorate her work. I Bificus includes power-punk and quite ballads along with dance-pop tracks that reflect Bif's long-time interest in club sounds.
"When i was 15, me and my girlfriends went to the funk bars, " she recalls.
"We'd take my mom's car drive to the bar and go listen to Bobby Brown and dance with 25-year-old CFL players. We thought it was the thing to do."
While she still loves dancing, Bif doesn't hang out with the late night crowd much these days. She'd rather meet people who can understand both her rock and roll career and her straight edge lifestyle. people like Gail Greenwood (Belly, L7), who praised on I Bificus' " Peacock Song."
"When [we were] introduced, I was really fucked up, " she explains. "I'd just quit drinking. I didn't know anyone who didn't drink, not one person. Gail has been straight edge all her life and she was the first girlfriend i could talk about periods and, touring with."
Gail is the only now of Bif's new-found inspirations: She can't rattle off professional women body builders by name, and says if she wasn't making music she'd like to train professionally.. She admits, however, that even fit can succumb to the beauty myth.
"I'd been working out daily for a year, " she recalls, "and i was going to the Germany Grammy Awards. So i tryed on all these dresses and i was freaking! All the dresses were one shoulder or strapless and, lets face it, I ain't no spring chicken. I'm standing in tears because nothing looks good on me. I said that's it, I'm getting implants. Then i got the new Muscle and Fitness magazine, and all the girls who ever got implants are interviewed --- and i thought if it's the last thing I do, I'm not getting them...now i think it's my responsibility not to get implants, to be strong and healthy."
Did someone say "Girl Power?" C