They were only teens when they wrote "If I Had A Million Dollars," but today Ed Robertson and Steven Page of Barenaked Ladies have their plates full -- they've got several hit songs, a small army of kids, and a new "family album," SNACKTIME! We talked with them about writing children's music for kids, what it's like to be famous dads, and how having a million dollars really changes after you have kids.

This is your first kids CD. What's the best thing about it?

Ed Robertson: My favorite thing was making it. All of our kids came in to sing on it, which was really fun. We have 11 kids between the five band members. I have 3, Steve has 3, Tyler and Jim have 2 and Kevin has 1.

Steven Page: It was lots of fun to make. We were able to be really creative in an unselfish way. The music is really all about kids, and fun music that would make them feel good, make them want to dance, and entertain them.

Was it more fun to make than your other CDs?

ER: It was liberating in that the sole goal of the record was to be entertaining to kids. We weren't worried who thought it was cool, or impressing management or a record label. We just got to be dads and think 'what would our kids find really fun and what would they really enjoy?'

How else was it different?

ER: There were really no rules, except for no swearing. But it felt like making a Barenaked Ladies record all the same.

Yeah, Barenaked Ladies music is pretty fun and energetic, I can see how it could transition to kids' music.

ER: Yeah, it still feels like a record by us.

So what did you listen to when you were kids?

SP: When I was a kid I listened to Abbey Road. There were songs like "Octopus's Garden," which I liked, but then there was "She's So Heavy" which was more adult in sentiment. I would just discard the parts that weren't relevant to me. The most important thing was if the music was something I enjoyed, how it made me feel. That's what we tried to do with this album.

Can kids really enjoy adult music, even if they don't understand it? How can kids appreciate music with adult content?

ER: Too often people dumb stuff down for kids. Kids are smart and they like interesting things -- they like learning through music too. You don't need to spoon feed kids things they already know in music. It's okay to challenge and engage them and open them up to certain things they might not otherwise be into.

What were your other goals, besides creating music kids would enjoy? Did you want kids to learn something, or just to enjoy? How important was it that adults like the music, that you like the music?

SP: For us, enjoying the music was the number one priority of the album. Lessons are difficult to make good. School House Rock did it, but it's not that often that that happens. We wanted this music to reflect the stuff our kids liked and what we liked when we were kids. Like "bad day" is just about those feelings you have when you have a bad day. We sang about food because we love to talk about, think about, and connect with food. We like to think of it more as a "family album," though, stuff that parents can enjoy with their kids.

Do your kids think you're cool? Or do even your kids think you're lame?

ER: I have all three stages. I have a 5 year old who doesn't quite get what I do. I think maybe he thinks everybody's dad is in a rock band. Then I have an 8 year old who thinks I'm the coolest thing in the world. He wants to tell everyone we pass on the street that his dad is in the Barenaked Ladies. Then I have a 12 year old daughter who wants me to drop her off outside the school and doesn't want her friends to see her with me.

Wow, so that must be pretty universal.

ER: Yeah. I'm still just her embarrassing Dad to her.

SP: My kids were nervous the kids' CD would be lame or babyish, but we brought them in to sing on it and now they love it. Plus, they saw the music videos on YouTube, so they think that's pretty cool. My kids were never really embarrassed of me, though. I don't think they see the big deal (that I'm in a band.) When my son was in kindergarten, I heard him asking the other kids "what band is your dad in?"

Are they interested in music?

ER: Yes all of my kids are very musical, actually.

So you wouldn't be horrified or scared if they said "I want to be in a band, that's what I want to do with my life."

ER: Absolutely not. It's been a great life for me. It's a difficult one and you're not always guaranteed success, but if it's something you love to do it can be its own form of success. As a parent I encourage my kids to do what makes them happy and not compromise. So many people, when they try to pursue an art education or an art- focused life, they're encouraged to do a business degree too and have something to fall back on. I really don't subscribe to that. You need to go for it whole heartedly. If you have something to fall back on, you will fall back on it. When kids say "I'm going to be a lawyer or doctor," there are no parents saying "well, make sure you do a music degree too, in case med school doesn't work out." I don't think going to med school is any easier than being a professional musician.

When did you write "If I Had a Million Dollars"?

We weren't even 19 when we wrote that.

Okay! Well how have things changed? Now that you're a dad, what would you do with a million dollars?

ER: You have to put most of it away for your kids' college fund. I have three kids in private school so that million dollars is disappearing rapidly.

SP: Yes, I put money away for college funds, plus there is that X-Box addiction. I also spend money on trips with the kids. Time together is short and we like to make the best of it.

What's the dad difference in parenting? Is there one?

ER: My wife and I try to parent equally and try to be a unified front but I'm definitely the good cop, if there's a good cop/ bad cop in the house, which maybe is not the traditional role. But my kids still look for different things from each of us.

SP: Everybody is different. I know that I really want my kids to learn to make their own choices, and feel confident and comfortable with themselves. I don't know if that's a dad thing. Dads talk to kids in a different dynamic (than moms), but I think they treat them similarly.

What was the most surprising thing about being a parent?

SP: That you feel instant love for a creature you've never met. It's hard not to feel that all the time.

ER: For me the most surprising thing was how naturally it came and how easy the transition was. I heard nothing other than "oh it will change your life, everything will be so different." But I really found that not to be the case. I found that having a child has made everything better.

Did you picture yourself having a child when you were just starting out with your music, when you were thinking about your band?

ER: I wanted kids when I was really young. I was really anxious to have kids.

SP: I always imagined being a dad, but it still shocks your system.

What's the best parenting advice out there?

ER: The best piece of advice that I've taken to heart is to talk about the behavior of the child versus the child. Instead of saying "you're being a bad kid" saying "that's bad behavior" so that you separate the behavior form the child. It's a really subtle thing but it has far reaching psychological consequences. Of all the cacophony of parenting advice, that's all I've taken to heart but that's what is the most important to me.

SP: You can't control them all the time. Allow them to be themselves and love themselves for who they are.

You have a song called "Things" about things that make you sad, things that make you mad, things that make you Dad. What makes you a Dad? Is there a heralding moment, or an event? When did you feel like a dad?

ER: Right away. The fundamental difference when you become a parent, you realize you are ultimately responsible for another human being. For the first time in your life, you can't be selfish. You literally cannot be selfish. Every decision you make you have to have another human being in mind. Even when you enter into a serious relationship with someone or you get married, that person is as much independent as they are a couple with you. But when you're a parent, you hold someone's life in your hands.

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