Gölä continued...

For those of you who are keeping up, you’re aware that Hedreich’s Swiss German repertoire is not just for the classroom anymore.

First the Hallenstadion live performance and then the Art on Ice TV broadcast. If you were witness to either, you got to hear Hedreich singing Gölä’s Swiss Rock Hymn „The Swan“ in her best (!) Bernese dialect. For those who love her and possibly even those who are just getting to know her, this was a pleasant surprise and sweet, in the way that foreigners are, when they do the unexpected. For the Rocker himself, maybe it was the fact that while playing that song he felt the love of the fans...or maybe it was that sweet but, ahh, Americanized version of the song that finally convinced him to do what even the Art on Ice moderator in a Swan Lake outfit failed to do—sing in “Bärndüütsch”.

Playing unplugged to a private audience near Bern, a Swiss German song about a blue collar man in a white collar world found its way onto the set list. This special “unplugged” performance featuring Walter Baumgartner on Harmonica and Hedreich on the duet „Easy Go“ set the perfect tone for the evening with “Büetzer” putting the icing on the cake.

Hedreich, who is usually featured on “Love Will Do” and “Have Mercy”, learned “Easy Go” especially for this performance and one three days later at the grand opening of Switzerland’s largest Do it Yourself store and mall in Lyssach. There, Switzerland’s own answer to Bruce Springsteen not only sang a fine short program ending in Büetzer. He even did an encore singing the beloved “Swan” as the musicians –real professionals who had never played the song in its entirety—called out the chords to one another! Hedreich was finally able to match her Bernese dialect to the original and it was a performance to be remembered!!

Memory Lane

After a few choruses of “the hills are alive…” while vacationing in the Austrian mountains, Hedreich is turning her attention to arranging. The background vocals for the upcoming Gölä club tour as well as a couple of new pieces for the choir are in the works.

In commemoration of the death of Brenda Waters in March of 2005, Hedreich is arranging one of the beloved singer/songwriter’s compositions, “Absent from the Body”. When asked why she feels the need to re-arrange such a good arrangement, Hedreich replied, “Replacing my mom’s solo in that song is pretty impossible so I want to do the whole song, including verses, as a choir piece. At first I wasn’t so sure I could do the song at all without falling apart—it’s still so soon—but somehow I manage to swallow the lump in my throat and get through it. It’s such a beautiful song, it would be a shame to let it just sit on the shelf.”

I WANT YOU!

And if you haven’t done it yet, you’ve still got time to download Hedreich’s voice off the website as the ring tone for your cell phone. And in case you need to hear her voice in the meantime, drop back by and listen in. We’ll leave a light on for ya! www.chirat.ch

Gölä and Art On Ice

Although making out anyone on stage is almost impossible in the cavernous Hallenstadion, the brilliance of Göläs backline sound pouring out over the speakers couldn’t be missed. After creating the vocals that give Gölä´s Rock and Roll a distinct touch of soul it was only natural that he asked her to bring the studio sound to life in his comeback performance at this year’s Art on Ice. Rock ‘n roll, soul, disco and enchantment on the ice made for some magical moments. “I’ve always loved ice skating and saw the Art on Ice show back when Vanessa Mae did the live music. Now to be a part of the team putting out the sound for top ice skaters like Stéphane Lambiel or Sinead and John, singing while watching the beauty and fire of the skaters, well it was an absolute pleasure” Of course grooving to childhood favourites and doing the finale with Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees was also a highlight.

Art On Ice - Schwan - VIP After Party

And, finally after singing Schwan year after year in the classroom, singing it on stage in front of a sold out Hallenstadion was a little like being grafted into Swiss music history for this native Texan. “Even though Gölä is doing his English thing now, his music along with Polo’s and Plüsch´s were my introduction to Swiss pop music. Those songs will always hold a special place in my heart and have become a staple of my secondary school curriculum. And singing it with Lesley, who was on the original recording, was the best thing that ever happened to my Bärndüütsch!” quips Hedreich, who also sang it at the VIP After party in Swissôtel.

And speaking of the after party, word has it that Hedreich is also a fine drummer who can hold her own with some of the best musicians in the business. After singing a few soul standards with Gary Scott’s band, Hedreich rocked the house by turning jam session drummer and hitting with Alex Auer (Gitarrist von Xavier Naidoo), Nikolo Kotzev und Wayne Banks(Gibb’s rhythm section sans Drummer) for a few tunes. The groove was enough to lure ice skating favorite Stéfane Lambiel op to the mike to do a crowd pleasing rendition of “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door”. And to round it all out, before her 3 inch heels drilled a hole into the bass drum pedal, Hedreich even managed to sing out a few good lines of “We Are Family” while playing. The crowd sang along and a good time was had by all.