Samstag, 7. April 2001, 20.15 Uhr: Schlosskeller Fraubrunnen
Weitere Informationen: www.shirleygrimes.com
Shirley Grimes: Eigenwillig und sensibel
Irischer Folk, gespickt mit Trip-Hop-Elementen:
Diesen Mix versucht Shirley Grimes auf ihrer aktuellen CD «New
Waters».
Die in Bern wohnhafte Irländerin ist keine, die sich
anpasst:
Mit 18 in die Schweiz gekommen, veröffentlichte sie ein Jahr
später (1993) ihr erstes Album «Songs of Seas and
Ferries» und landete damit in den Schweizer LP-Charts auf Platz
acht. 1997 gründete die sensible und eigenwillige Shirley ihr
eigenes Label und ihre eigene Produktionsfirma, um fortan
eigenständig zu produzieren - losgelöst von Gnade oder
Ungnade irgendeines Major-Labels.
Discography
«Songs of Seas and Ferries»
Shirley Grimes - vox/
guitar
Bänz Oester - Double Bass
Gilbert Paeffgen - Hammer Dulcimer/ Drums
Produced by Grimes/ Oester/ Paeffgen
01. The water is wide - trad.
02. You couldn't have come at a better time - Luka Bloom
03. Leave us all blind - Grimes
04. The long run - Atkinson/Schumann
05. Hold on to your heart - Grimes
06. Fight to be free - Grimes
07. Here and there - Grimes
08. Eleanor Rigby - The Beatles
09. Funeral March - Paeffgen
10. Fever - Cooley
11. No Frontiers - McCarthy
12. Moondance - Van Morrison
13. Ev'ry time we say goodbye - Porter
Shirley Grimes - Vox/
Guitar
Wolfgang Zwiauer - Bass
Gilbert Paeffgen - Hammer Dulcimer/ Drums
Joe McHugh - Uillean Pipes/ Low and High Whistles
Robbie Overson - Guitar
Produced by Shirley Grimes
01. Ode to the Beloved (Grimes)
The feeling grew, in my heart , all the fears that lingered there had all disappeared
I knew not what this man held in his heart, all I knew was I was there
She wrote him long letters singing I la lye lye lye eh
And all the birds that sang at dawn, they sang for him
Feel the rush through my bones, can this love be real or just a wish
How can one man give so much and demand not more than I can give
02. Day by Day (Grimes)
Sunshine eyes guard that smile that is you
Teardrops fall these are hard times for me and you, for us all
Who is hurting more here who could hurt less, when hurt is on.
Whisper it in the corridors but the corridors shout back
Tell it to your best friend but I‘ll bet he‘ll tell it back
That she loves you, she loves him and she loves you
Caught in nets of dreams that this can all work out
Day by day didn‘t mean much before, it means everything now
Don‘t loose your patience on me, loose your patience on life
Will it ever go away, this pain inside, this need inside, this want inside this fear inside, this love, inside.
03. Cast your Anchor (Grimes)
In all the dreams I sought for, I sought for you
In all the woods I walked through, the trees were you
The roots they always seem to fail to hold
In all the eyes I‘ve looked to, yours I behold
And call my bluff mate, and twist my ankle
And try and find faith, and cast your anchor
Walk through words and wonder what I should say
How long will it take love, to find your way
The plans that we had planned all wait in line
I wish I had the patience to say take your time
04. Dance of the Mermaids (Grimes)
There o‘er the bend my love, lies sea,lies land
Hold what I‘d like to be and not what I am
Bunches of roses are always sweeter in mind
Play with reality, feel the scent of day
Hold my hand, weep for me, drown in this self pity
That swallows you up, hear the cries, feel the music
Wish wash arms all over me, breath in and out always through me
Hypnotize with eyes that cut through the dark, dance of the mermaids
Feeling the cold of night chill my bones, chill my heart
Counting the minutes that we are apart
Bunches of roses are always sweeter in mind
Play with reality, feel the scent of day
05. Mc Guire's Bus of Broken Dreams (Doran)
06. The Bridge (Grimes)
On the bridge, on a cold morn‘ in summer, I await the sound of the news
On the lakes the ducks as they wander in search of ponds where bullets don‘t fly
See the coach, the wheels as they thunder down the hill to the place where I reside
See the sermon in the eyes of the sayer, in one breath he tells me my dreams must die
As the rush, the rush calmed down inside me, I excused the man at my side
Land is ruled by men with no meaning and the sword it sags, it sags and the people they cry
Oh my ruler, the promises made are all worn and long overdue
I await that things here will change or I challenge my lord, my lord to a man to man duell
Pull your sword you coward called saviour, slay this man or give him his due
As the blood, the blood spilled on my mantel all my visions they faded, like the mists of this tune.
07. Heart Inside (Grimes)
Through the burnt down streets seen through Irish eyes always caused by English hand
And demands are flying high in that deadly sky where borders have no say
And you cry your eyes out and you blame them all.
He lets go is he who will not fall
Look from a distance, look through my eyes, look from the heavens, now who do you despise
The face of famine we will not forget, the face of freedom lies in the heart inside
Green fields in amber rays same as in the old days when questions were not asked
Play in fields stacked high with straw, heedless to manmade laws that land belongs to one.
And you dream your dreams instead of living fast
Miss the future from living in what has passed
08. Louis Hat (McHugh)
09. Ghosts (Grimes)
Darkened clouds curtain the moon, eerie colours play an eerie tune
Make uncertain what‘s darkness got to hide on the roads, in the bushes
Or in my mind
The man behind me isn‘t even there, the ghost who‘s hiding doesn‘t really care
Is this the phanthom, the past or is it now, that awaits in the darkness
Dressed and hid in shrouds
The way is clear, the way is now, accept the fear that lurks behind the clouds
It won‘t hurt you is what everybody says and that works ‚til I‘m alone and in my bed
Then it lingers, the cry
Did you hear it, the sigh
10. Thin Ice (Grimes)
(for veronica)
Look at the stars in her eyes, breathing in and out and in and out all the time
Look at the bomb in her hand, who is she going to, going to ignite now
She‘s aware that she is walking and she is talking on thin ice
Look at the tears in her eyes, those bitter faces with no names
Dig and dig, find and find only lies and lies
She‘s aware that she is walking and she is talking on thin ice
On thin ice
11. Solid Ground (D.McLean)
12. Siuil a ruin (trad.)
13. Grey Funnel line (Tawney)
Shirley Grimes - vox/
acoustic guitar
Wolfgang Zwiauer - Bass/ baritone/ acoustic guitar
Fabian Kuratli - Drums/ percussion
Oli Hartung - Electric Guitar
Joe McHugh - Uillean pipes/ Whistle
Mat Callahan - Electric/ acoustic guitars
Produced by Mat Callahan
01. Steadfast
Steadfast in my mind, in my memory
Steadfast in my soul, had it hidden
With a whisper he could comfort me like no other
With a smile this man turned the day
All the years I knew that I knew nothing
Through all the years it took for this to come
He's my willow and I feel alive
No longer widow to my own life
Steadfast in my mind, in my minds eye
Steadfast in the place between dreams
With a will and a way there came that day
I had hoped for, with a smile
I took, its hand
02. I believed
I believed in the plight of this run down human race
With flowers in my eyes and stars painted on my face
Spent the summer with the trees and the winter with myself
As the years slipped on by, my faith began to melt
I believed in a god that protects us from all we do
Help the planet fall apart ‚lord we know not what we do'
Then I opened up my blinds to see it's a humble excuse
It's amazing what we'll find, to pardon our constant abuse
I Believed, I Believed
I believe in the young ones like to think I'm one of them too
They're degraded, they are blamed for what the world is coming too
Though they're forced to play a hand that their forefathers have delt
Left half in hunger and in need the rest laden down with wealth
I'll close all my windows and bolt all my doors to stop myself finding out anything more
I'll leave my illusions up here on a shelf, start spending my time on finding myself
Can't you see I'm working on, can't you see I'm building on my beliefs
I believed, I believed
03. This Island
Mother stand at the door now, in the doors way
Mother where is the light gone, that shows me my way
Father why am I frightened, father why do I cry
I‘m a little too old now, to still ask why
But the days are long and the themes are too And it all builds up inside
And your like an Island in search of its sea And your like a forest in search of its trees
Brother why do these new bones, sometimes feel so old
Like a weight that I carry, on this well ridden road
Sister tell me what‘s happening, did this happen to you
Like your standing in quick sand, horizons slip out of view
And it drags you down, and it eats at you
And you can‘t get out, ‚cos it‘s got in
And your like an Island in search of its sea
And your like a forest in search of its trees
And your like a baby, struck out in the cold
And if you had a shoulder, you could stand all the cold
Your could take it, I‘m sure
04. (For) Too long now
Hey honey leave that pistol outside on the floor
It‘s been so long lets not fight old fights anymore
We‘ve been misused and abused like everyone we know
It‘s funny how our own cries, that are close, are the ones we don‘t hear
Shake my shoulders, shake the pain out of me
Shake my shoulders, i‘ll catch myself while I‘m
Breaking in windows, I‘ve been kicking down doors
I‘ve been screaming at shadows that don‘t exist anymore
I‘ve been standing in car lights and crying at railroads
For too long now, too long now
Hey old friend leave the past outside where the past belongs
Where it might like to be
We‘ve done too much wrong to try and right it lets try and leave it be
We‘ve been misused, we‘ve abused like everyone we know
It‘s funny how our own cries, that are close, are the ones we dont hear
Shake my shoulders, shake the guilt out of me
Sake my shoulders, i‘ll catch myself while I‘m
05. Song for Aoibhinn
There she lye‘s she‘s reality
Her soft breath like a whisper
Her eyes full of that innocence and trust
Her first sight just came yesterday
Her first words, I will miss them
But that smiles found a place deep in my heart and won‘t go away
And everydays a discovery and everything adventure
The world is full of giants that all laugh
I‘ll become a memory
When I am there beside you, and I am there inside you
I‘ll let soul birds fly the miles away
Let these words fall on you
May she slide through a million dreams
Not forget how badly she‘ll need them
For our dreams are our food and fruit in life
And find faith in what feeling say
And find words to express them
And stand strong to what your life will become
May everyday mean discovery and everything adventure
The worlds still full of giants that all laugh
Can you see them
They are there beside you, and they are there inside you
Let soul birds fly the miles away
Let these words trickle on you
Let them fall on you
Let them fall on you
06. This isn't a love song
There goes that look that we all know
The one that hides, what‘s hidden down below
There goes that grin that makes us smile
Still laugh at jokes that this man has told me a thousand times
It‘s all been said, it‘s not allowed
We can not feel what we feel, can‘t let these smiles out
Could not enjoy the start, lost the bonus that new romance has
They say it‘s wrong and that‘s why
This isn‘t a love song, this isn‘t a love song
When will I wake from this trance
Still follows me though we said we‘ve danced our last dance
Look forward now, learn to let go
And you with all the tips tell me something that I don‘t already know
Not that it will fade, it all fades with time
Not that I should turn my back, clear up what‘s in my mind
I am aware that this is wrong
I am aware that this here
This isn‘t a love song, this isn‘t a love song
07. little girls grow up
Wild wet dreams and impurities
They wake her up, in the night
Cold shoulders and hot looks loads of
Guilt ridden thoughts that run wild
Of when she slapped her, of when she kissed him
Of when she touched herself in the night
The cross it hangs high, belief it sinks low
Full of disorder, can‘t understand why
Does she know it‘s all a part of breaking out and finding herself
Does she know it‘s all a part of growing up becoming who she is
Blood rushes rush, like they should do
Breasts start to grow to golf balls
Look in the mirror and feel like shit
You picture daddy‘s lap, your full of zorn
I need him near me, I need them far away
I don‘t need nobody, not at all
The burden hangs high
Little girls growing up
Big girl will learn to live, with little girl inside
Does she know it‘s all a part of growing up and finding herself
Does she know it‘s all a part of breaking out becoming who she is
If she knew it‘s all a part ofgrowing up and finding herself
If someone had told her, would have helped her out
Helped take the fears away
08. now
All the weeds are gone, this year has been a long one
Spent picking through the thorns, trying to find my feelings
The dusk it held so long, suppose it‘s what I needed
Now I‘ve dusted off the past, I‘ve made way for the present
Come take my hand I will lead you through my gardens
Full of earth and sand I will feed you fruit and flowers
Oh understand how the past it took forever
Now all I want is now
Pleasures in the night, fights that end in laughter
Are what held dark away, what kept the lights a-lighting
To touch you on the cheek, to feel you breath beside me
The thought it makes me weep, the thought it makes me want to
To take your hand and to lead you through my gardens
Full of earth and sand Iet water wash away the memories
Oh understand how the past it took forever
Now all I want is now.
09. let me inside
On this Island here I found you, as the tide it slipped away
Some old angel must have told you, that I was on my way
So guard your heart, guard your heart
Captured pictures no lost memories, cloud nine has been our past
As you swim away I see that, it was wrong to think we‘d last
Longer than a dream, than a dream
Break through horizons, see how walls fall
Play me a tune now, that I don‘t know at all
Free in your being, here by my side
Open your chambers, let me inside
Marbled stones and treasured gardens, sand strands and desert moons
Are the traits of what we stand for, we await the dawning doom
Of what we‘ve risked, what we‘ve risked.
10. this is how I see it
Back in the old days I had a winter dock
Where i‘d go when the rain fell down
I had such courage discovering new way eyes
Taking things that make colours fly
I was the captain no need for a co-pilot
I could just fly away to
Lands that I had formed up in my mind
To houses I had built with windows that I thought I‘d like
With kids that never cry, with fathers who didn‘t know how to lie
This is how I saw the world, this is how I see it now
Jumping off bridges and always survive the fall
Feeling too big to feel small
Fixing the hearts that needed to fix themselves
Well I‘m the women who means well
Closing it all up deciding to watch for me
Make sure these illusions stay
All that‘s been touched and all thats been broken
This no one can take
11. The Christmas Song
So long it‘s been since I wrote to you, since such words left my hand
I thought I‘d write a Christmas card to you, from this foreign land
Close my eyes and I think of days past
Close my ears against the screams asking what went wrong
We both know what went wrong
A part of me for over six years, you flowed through my veins
Through all the pain that I had caused you, you still remained
Find another who will love what you are
Wish me luck with the one I have found, how he calms my heart
How he stills my heart
Happy Christmas dear old friend of mine, I‘ve told whats to tell
Through all the tears it took to write to you, I wish you well
Outside here the boys prepare the anthem
Another blast or two of silent night, how I miss you now
How I miss us now.
All songs written by Shirley Grimes
about Shirley
"I believe in the young ones like to think i'm one of them too.
they're degraded they are blamed for what the world is coming to.
though they're forced to play a hand that their forefathers have
delt. left half in hunger and in need, the rest laden down with
wealth"
Shirley Grimes paints an unlikely picture of our times. If the
zeitgeist is defined fy superficiality, she is dancing seriously out
of step. Shirley left Ireland at the age of eighteen. Unlike a lot of
Irish performers Shirley had not grown up surrounded by a family of
musicians. It wasn't until she began to play guitar at the age of
fifteen that shirley really discovered music for herself or, it
discovered her. After singing her way through smokey bars, crowdee
lounges and rainy streets all over Ireland surrounded by traditional
greats, she left Ireland with the knowledge of what it meant to be
able to sing and how important it was to do so. She had learned that
as long as she knew where her music came from she would never have to
fear where it might go.
At nineteen she released her debut Album "songs of seas and ferries",
an Album that was awarded high acclaim and reached number eight in
the Swiss Album Charts. It was a compilation of her favorite cover
songs with filigree Jazz components added by two of Switzerlands most
respected Jazz musicians, Bänz Oester and Gilbert Paeffgen. The
success of this first Album catapulted Shirley into a rank where she
discovered that music often had very little to do with music and
everything to do with business.
Eat or be eaten, Shirley knew she was not yet ready to embark on a
journey which would put her through the musical mill. She stopped
playing music completely and decided to enter the business side of
things through a back door where her name or her love for her music
would not be effected. Together with three friends, she opened a
Techno Club. She spent three years on this project where she claims
to have learned more about music than when she actively played
herself. After two years of not touching the guitar and not singing a
word Shirley began to feel the time was right and began to compose
again. She had a lot of things to write about; the break up of her
marriage, the gap that had slowly begun to grow between her and her
land of birth and the troubles that always seemed to surround that
country.
In October 1997 Shirley flew her band Wolfgang Zwiauer, Joe McHugh
and Gilbert Paeffgen home to Ireland to record her second album. This
work was entitled 'ode'. With this Shirley had opened the door to
letting the world know what her music is all about; no compromises,
no deals, just a reflection of what was going on in her mind. A
non-commercial album which was celebrated countless times as being a
'small masterpiece'. For Shirley 1997 was a turning point. It was the
year when she discovered she had not only to complete her songs
independently and ignorant of what the major record companies wanted
to hear but also the year when she founded her own record label
'offshore records' and shorly afterwards her own publishing company
"Strand Publishing" to enable her to complete all of her productions
under her control. Shortly after the completion of her second album
Shirley began preperations for her third. Her ability to compose was
strenghtening, her themes becoming more worldly, her confidence
growing. She knew it was now time to wander from the acoustic path
that she had chosen until then and into unknown waters. Up until then
her music had been mostly performed acoustically with acoustic
instruments. She knew that this was coming to an end. She wanted to
create a bigger sound more reflective of what was going on in the
world right now. She knew the instruments that she wanted to surround
her and she began composing with these instruments in mind. Because
she had never had anything to do with a band of this kind, because
she had never had any musical training and because she knew that she
needed someone whom could translate her feelings and ideas onto
paoer, she decided to look for help.
In december 1998 she met Mat Callahan. In February 1998 they got
together for the first time and spent the following six months never
listening to music but just talking about it. During these months
they reached a level of communication on which Shirley felt her
ideas, wishes and message were understood. At this point they began
to play music. Fabian Kuratli(drums), Wolfgang Zwiauer(Bass) were to
become the core of the new band. After a period of two months of
intensive pre-production together Shirley invited Oli Hartung
(guitar) and Joe McHugh (uillean pipes) to accompany them into studio
to record her third album.
The intensity of each individual player, the intensity of the songs
and the intensity of the understanding has brought this group of
musicians led by Shirley Grimes to create a unit of highest quality.
They have created an Album which roams from the traditional to the
contemporary. Analbum that was made with conviction and belief in
every note that was played and every word that was sang.
the making of
The making of... After recording my second Album 'ode' a lot of
things changed in my life. Up until then I had lived and played in a
pretty much sheltered environment never roaming far from what I knew
I could do well. After 'ode' I got the urge to break out of everthing
that was certain in my life. I underwent a huge change personally
which unavoidably led to a huge change musically. When this happened
I knew that the sounds that had surrounded the songs I wrote also
would have to change. I wanted to test something new, travel to
unknown places, to new waters. You see I had a vision. I knew what I
wanted the music to say, I knew what I wanted to say clearly and
really for the first time. I knew that if I were to make another CD
it would have to fulfill that vision. Knowing what things should
sound like became a help and a hinderence. I have had absolutely no
schooling in music. Up until then that had never been a real problem.
The musicians had always created wonderful sound pictures by
themselves. This time though I wanted to be more involved in this
creative process. When you want to explain exactly what you want from
the musicians you work with and you don't know exactly how, you wish
you had learned a little more theory. I knew I couldn't do it alone
and decided that I would have to find someone who could transfer and
communicate the ideas swirling around in my mind. It's funny how the
world works really. A few weeks after this brainwave I went to a
concert on Christmas day 1998. It was a gig where the drummer I
wanted for the new waters production was playing. As fate wanted it I
ended up sitting beside a guy called Mat Callahan. We started talking
and he told me he was working as a producer on a couple of different
Albums. Normally I am a sceptic and would have said 'nice' and turned
away but for some reason I listened and also began telling him about
the new CD that I wanted to make. That evening marked the beginning
of a friendship that later led Mat to producing the new CD. We spent
months upon months just discussing what I wanted from the new CD. I
had had several doubts about working with a producer. I didn't want
someone with a heavy trade mark that would change my music into
theirs, positive or not. I clearly wanted someone to communicate my
wishes. It became apparent very quickly that his wishes were the same
as mine. We were sure about how things should sound.
We fit. For months it had been clear for me that Fabian Kuratli on
drums and Wolfgang Zwiauer on bass would become the rythm section. I
had known these guys for quite a while and they had become dear
friends of mine. Wolf had played on 'ode' and toured with me for
nearly two years . He was a constant source of ideas and criticisms,
exactly what you need, food for development. Fabian is very similar
and together they form what I consider a world class rythm section
and great guys on top of that. What more could I ask for?
The hours and days of discussion came to an end when the time came to
turn our visions into music. Pre-production began with Fabian, Wolf,
Mat and I working on the basic rythm tracks for every song I had
written for the production. Within the shortest space of time we
evolved into a band with a very clear sound. The aim was to see how
much terrain that the we could cover before introducing other
instruments. We covered a lot but it was clear that something was
missing.
Parallel to all this a new friendship had began to grow between the
guitarist Oli Hartung and myself. He had become my objective opinion.
I could play him the pre-production tapes we were constantly making
and be certain to get an honest opinion. He was full of ideas and it
seemed only natural for him to try some of them out. I had never
really heard Oli play and I didn't know what to expect. He recorded
some ideas for me and on hearing them we knew instantly that we
didn't have to look any further than him.
My dear friend Joe McHugh who had also played on 'ode' was always to
become a part of the new production. The discreet addition of Uillean
pipes and Whistles made the sound complete.
In October 1999 the recordings in TBM studios in Tscheppbach,
Switzerland began. The reasons Mat choose this studio that no one had
ever heard of was apparently because of the equipment but also
because of the room they had to record the drums. When we arrived we
carried all Fab's equipment into a room that must have been over
200m2 in size and over 7m high. It was perfect. You knew on entering
it that you would have to do something seriously wrong to not get a
great drum sound out of this room.
The recordings took two weeks. The first week was used to record the
drum, bass, acoustic guitar and pilot vocal tracks. The second to do
the final vocals, electric guitars, uillean pipes, low whistles and
percussion overdubs. By the end of October all the material had been
recorded. After that we all took a two month break from recording to
listen to the work we had done. This gave us plenty of time to see if
we wanted to re-record anything. We didn't. It was all good.
In January 2000 we headed for Gallus Studios in St.Gallen,
Switzerland to mix. We had recorded knowing that we would mix on pro
tools. Gallus Studios was the only one around that catered for all
our needs as far as their system goes and their in house outboard
effects. The mixing took two weeks and was done by Mat who had a very
strong idea of how things should sound. Daniel Rühle who masters
the art of pro tools was the guy who transferred all orders to the
computer. I spent two weeks watching DVD's and smoking a lot of
cigarettes. Because I know very little about pro tools there was no
point in me disturbing the two who really knew what they were doing.
I was called in every few hours to give comments on how things were
proceeding and to make sure everything was taking the direction that
I wanted it to take. It was, which left me with even less to do.
When we walked out of the studio in St.Gallen, I knew that I had a
dat in my hand which contained the best music I could have hoped for.
These recordings were what I had heard in my head for months before
we even began recording.
When I began writing the text for 'the making of....' I wanted to
give you a picture of what is involved in the process of recording. I
started several times. I tried to remain factual but realized for me
that recording music isn't that factual at all. Sure the actual task
of transferring played music on to tape is an Art in itself and I was
very lucky to be surrounded by an extremely competant crew. But it is
still only a small part of a big picture. Recording music as a
musician, singer, songwriter is a fantastic experience that begins
months before the first note is played and doesn't end until you hand
it over to the public. Instead of getting 'the making of.....', you
got 'my making of....'. I hope you can all enjoy the music. We have
created it, pampered it, loved it and hated it.
Now we hand it over to you............
Enjoy