Biography
Bif was born Beth the summer of '71 to two private school teenagers,a Canadian and a Brit, in New Delhi, India. Soon afterwards, she was adopted
by American missionaries with the surname Torbert who moved her to
Lexington Kentucky (where she learned to smoke, y'all). Eventually, after
moving around a few times ("like a typical Army brat" she said), she ended
up in Winnipeg, Manitoba where she spent her high school years doing
everyday high school activities such as shimmying to the sounds of Bobby
Brown at dance clubs and apparently cajoled by her best friend into dating
professional athletes during her spare time.
She enrolled at the University of Winnipeg as a theater major but soon left
when she found her true calling as a vocalist upon joining the band Jungle
Milk, an eclectic ensemble with conga players that had a penchant
for covering old school rap tunes, among other things.
Afterwards, she joined Gorilla Gorilla and married Brett Hopkins, the
drummer. The marriage lasted only a few months, but she continued touring
with the band for two years, eventually relocating to Vancouver.
Her next bands were Chrome Dog and Dying to be Violent, though those gigs
were short-lived as she felt her creativity and songwriting were being
restricted. Finally, she decided to go solo and released an EP called "Four
Songs and a Poem," followed by a full length self-titled album in
1994 on Plum Records. Plum, unfortunately, went kaput, but Bif refused
to go out of business.
Bif bought back the masters and created her own record label, Her Royal
Majesty's, and licensed her debut album to Edel Records in Europe, where she
soon received the royal treatment during the tour in support of the
album. Read: chartered buses and nice hotels. The same album was
re-released in Canada by Montreal's Aquarius label in 1996. She also
adopted a straight-edge lifestyle, eschewing drinking and drug use, after
the "party 'til you boot and pass out" touring lifestyle began taking a
toll on her.
She followed up her debut record with a spoken word album in 1997 called
Okenspay Ordway, a mix of musings about averything from her straight-edge
lifestyle choice to her childhood intestinal problems to her soft spot for
small animals and teddy bears. In February of 1998 she released her
second album "I Bificus" in Canada and was picked up by Sony 550
in the United States. The latter fell through, but then Lava/Atlantic came
biting and "I Bificus" was released in the States in August of 1999,
spawning the hit single "Moment of Weakness" and instantly gaining her
recognition.
In 1999, Bif has toured endlessly with such artists as Kid Rock, the Lilith
Fair ensemble, Fuel, and Days of the New. She has also appeared on
Jay Leno and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, been signed to Wilhelmena
Modeling Agency in NYC, hosted several shows for MTV, had "I Bificus"
certified gold, and the list goes on. When she's not traveling to a town
near you, she resides in Vancouver with her her dogs, Nick and Anna, and
enjoys eating lots of sushi with an occasional chocolate cake, going
snowboarding at nearby Whistler/Blackcomb, and perfecting the
martial arts.