The Frames are an Irish rock band based in Dublin. Founded in 1990 by Glen Hansard, the band has been influential in the Dublin rock music scene.[1] The group has released six studio albums. In addition to Hansard, the band's current line-up includes original member Colm Mac Con Iomaire, Dave Hingerty, Joe Doyle, and Rob Bochnik.
The band was established in 1990 and consists of survivors of Dublin's prolific early 1990s rock-and-roll scene. Through support slots, the band was central to the development of many emerging Irish rock bands of the time, including Turn and Bell X1, and a host of singer-songwriters such as Mundy, Paddy Casey, David Kitt and Damien Dempsey. In December 2004, Hansard appeared on stage to collaborate with Paddy Casey and The Dublin Gospel Choir. In 2007 The Frames toured Australia and New Zealand as the support act for Bob Dylan.
The name The Frames arose from Hansard's habit of fixing bicycles of his friends. The large number of bicycle frames lying around his house led neighbours to dub it the "house with the frames". In a 2001 interview, Hansard said, "I worked in a bicycle shop for a little while, but the name came from ... my back garden was so full of frames, my house became known as The Frames house, much to my mother's distaste, she hated it. But my garden was full of frames, old bikes, I would make up bikes for my friends out of all the old bikes. So it sort of became known if anybody found a bike up on the hill on the way home they would throw it into my garden, a graveyard for old bikes."[2]
The band has had many members over the years, some of whom have also been, or later became, members of other Dublin rock bands. Colm Mac Con Iomaire and Dave Odlum both were founding members of folk group Kíla. Graham Downey, son of Thin Lizzy drummer Brian Downey, played bass for the band between 1993 and 1996.[3]
The Frames have always collaborated closely with other groups that emerged from the buskers on Grafton Street, Dublin, where Hansard started his music career. Among these groups were the aforementioned Kíla, and Mic Christopher. When Christopher died in 2001, Hansard and his band were heavily involved in organising the Skylarkin' concert to commemorate his life and release the album. The Frames still occasionally perform Mic's songs—chiefly "Heyday"—as a tribute.
In 1991, Hansard came to public attention after taking the part of "Outspan" Foster in the film The Commitments.[4] However, Hansard regretted this role as he felt it distracted from his music career. Mac Con Iomaire also had a cameo in the movie as a violinist auditioning for the band. Bronagh Gallagher, one of Hansard's colleagues, can be seen wearing a Frames T-shirt in her appearance in the film Pulp Fiction.[5] Hansard appeared on screen as the principal character parodied by Irish music comedy Web site Eyebrowy.com[6] and in 2007 as the lead in the movie Once which featured his songs.
As of 2007, the band consisted of Glen Hansard, Joe Doyle, Colm Mac Con Iomaire, Rob Bochnik and Johnny Boyle. Various people played drums during 2003 and 2004, including Graham Hopkins who drummed Dance the Devil, Burn the Maps, and the band's latest album The Cost. On one version of the album Fitzcarraldo, the band used the name The Frames DC, to avoid confusion with an American band.
The band released its sixth studio album, The Cost, on 22 September 2006. They appeared on the setlist at Lollapalooza 2006 just 12 days afterward.
The band's song "Dream Awake" was used in the pilot episode of NBC's Life. Also, "Finally" was prominently featured in the 11th episode of the show, when the title character reaped the rewards of the detective work which he had been doing all season. However, a different song is used in the version of the episode on nbc.com. The band's song "Seven Day Mile" was used in the season six premiere of House on Fox.
The band's ex-bassist, John Carney, is now a film director, best known for writing and directing the film Once, which stars Hansard, who wrote much of the music for the film. Hansard and Marketa Irglova won an Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Falling Slowly" from Once.
On 13 May 2008 the US iTunes store released a Deluxe Edition of The Cost. This edition included three extra songs—"The Blood", "No More I Love Yous", and "This Low". It also included the music videos for "Falling Slowly", "Sad Songs", and "The Side You Never Get to See".
In late 2009 the band appeared on The Swell Season's album, Strict Joy. On 24 March 2010 the band announced their first concert in three years at Electric Picnic to celebrate their 20th anniversary.[7]
The Song "Rise" from the album The Cost was featured at the end of season 3, episode 13 of the ABC series "Castle".
On 1 December 2012 the band announced that the documentary In The Deep Shade would be released in 2013. The film, which captured their 2010 20th Anniversary Tour, was shot by Conor Masterson.[8]
Since shooting to stardom in the wake of 'Once' and his Oscar win, Hansard has played primarily solo concerts (often with several members of the Frames) in recent years. The Frames have continued to play a handful of gigs; in June 2014 they played Whelan's in honor of its 25th anniversary, surprising the audience by buying all of their drinks. The venue's owners had lent money to the band in the 1990s to enable them to record Fitzcarraldo.[9]
In 2015, the band played a pair of shows at Iveagh Gardens in Dublin. On 4–5 July they treated an enthusiastic and loyal fan base to such rarities as 15 Seafort Parade. On 11 July they played the Marquee Festival in Cork.
In April 2020, the band were forced to postpone a sold-out show marking their 30th anniversary in Kilmainham, Dublin on 20 June 2020 due to the COVID-19 restrictions in force in Ireland.[10] However they later surprised fans by playing a live set on Instagram from a secluded location in Ireland on the same date. The band subsequently rescheduled their three September 2020 shows in the US for dates in 2021 which were then cancelled due to complications with international travel restrictions and visas making it impossible for the band to enter the country to perform.[11]
The Frames 30th Anniversary show finally went ahead in the grounds of the Royal Hospital Kilmainham, Dublin on the evening of 28 May 2022 to an audience of approximately 10,000 fans. Opening acts Cormac Begley and Wallis Bird entertained the audience before the headliners took to the stage at 8pm to deliver a 25-song setlist to the enthusiastic crowd on what was described as a 'perfect summer's evening'.[12]
Glen James Hansard is an Irish singer-songwriter and musician. Since 1990, he has been the frontman of the Irish rock band The Frames, with whom he has released six studio albums, four of which have charted in the top ten of the Irish Album Charts. In the 2000s, he was one half of folk rock duo The Swell Season before releasing his debut solo album, Rhythm and Repose, in 2012. His 2015 second album Didn't He Ramble was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Folk Album.
Set List is the second live album by Dublin-based rock band The Frames. It was recorded live in Dublin's Vicar Street venue in November 2002. The inside cover reads "for mic" in reference to Mic Christopher, musician and friend of the band.
Kíla is an Irish folk music group formed in 1987 in Irish language secondary school Coláiste Eoin in County Dublin.
Coláiste Eoin is a Catholic voluntary secondary Gaelcholáiste for boys, under the trusteeship of the Edmund Rice Schools Trust, in Booterstown, County Dublin, Ireland. It has hurling and Gaelic football teams, traditional Irish music bands, and Irish language debating teams. The school is financed by resources from the Department of Education and voluntary donations.
Michael "Mic" Christopher was an Irish singer-songwriter, best known for his posthumously-released debut album Skylarkin'.
Graham Hopkins is an Irish drummer. He was the drummer in The Swell Season, The Frames and rock band Therapy?.
Another Love Song is the first studio album released by Irish rock band The Frames. First released in 1991 on Island Records, the album went out of print a few years after its original release and has become of a collector's item among fans. The singles "The Dancer" and "Masquerade", the former being used as the soundtrack to Match of the Day's 'Goal of the Week' segment in the early 1990s.
Colm Mac Con Iomaire is an Irish composer and musician from Blackrock, County Dublin, Ireland, who plays keyboards, violin and sings with The Frames.
Skylarkin' is Mic Christopher's only solo album, which was released following his death in November 2001. The album was finalised by Karl Odlum and David Odlum. Many fellow musicians from the Irish music scene contributed to the album including Glen Hansard and Colm Mac Con Iomaire of the Frames, Rónán Ó Snodaigh of Kíla, Lisa Hannigan and Gemma Hayes.
David Odlum is an Irish music producer, engineer, guitarist, and drummer who has worked and played with Academy Award winners and Mercury Prize nominees. Originally a member of Kíla, a band which was founded during his schooldays at Coláiste Eoin, he left them and joined rock group The Frames, fronted by the Academy Award-winner Glen Hansard, and with whom he played guitar from 1990 until 2002. Since leaving the band, he has pursued a career as a music producer. Odlum has established a long running association with singer-songwriter Gemma Hayes, producing her Mercury Prize-nominated debut album Night on My Side, as well as later albums The Hollow of Morning, Let It Break and an as-yet untitled fifth album due in 2014. Odlum also played briefly with her.
The Cost is the sixth studio album by The Frames, released in Ireland on Plateau Records on 20 September 2006. The album was released worldwide on ANTI- on 20 February 2007. The album exhibits a sound more like that of For the Birds than their more recent album Burn the Maps. The Frames' line-up for The Cost features Glen Hansard on guitar and vocals, Colm Mac Con Iomaire on violin and keyboards, Joseph Doyle on bass guitar and backing vocals, Rob Bochnik on lead guitar and Graham Hopkins who played drums in place of the Frames' regular drummer Johnny Boyle. It was recorded in Black Box, France by Stephen Fitzmaurice and David Odlum with assistance from Fabian Lesure. The front and back covers feature photography by frontman Hansard of oak leaves, accompanied by a handwritten inscription reading: "Ni identitat permanent, ni idea de persona, ni d'ésser vivent, ni d'un temps d'existència". The album is enigmatically dedicated to "Multi ".
Dance the Devil... is the third studio album by Dublin based band The Frames. The album was first released in Ireland on 25 June 1999 on ZTT Records and subsequently in the UK and USA later in the year. On this album the band returned to using their original name in place of the moniker The Frames DC employed on Fitzcarraldo. The band's line-up for this album featured Glen Hansard on guitar and vocals, Colm Mac Con Iomaire on violin, Joseph Doyle on bass guitar and backing vocals, Dave Odlum on lead guitar, Earl Harvin and Graham Hopkins on drums. Doyle replaced Graham Downey on bass.
The Cake Sale was a collective of mostly Irish musical artists, with Swedish singer-songwriter Nina Persson of the Cardigans and Australian musician Nick Seymour of Crowded House.
Paul Anthony Noonan is a songwriter, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist from Lucan, County Dublin. He is best known as the frontman of the Irish group Bell X1 and as a solo artist and collaborator on various musical projects.
Fitzcarraldo is the second studio album by The Frames, released under the moniker The Frames DC to avoid confusion with the American band of the same name. Another version of the album would be published in 1996. The album was released on ZTT Records in November 1995. The Frames' line-up for Fitzcarraldo features Glen Hansard on guitar and vocals, Colm Mac Con Iomaire on violin, Graham Downey on bass guitar and keyboards, Dave Odlum on lead guitar, Paul Brennan on drums and Noreen O'Donnell on backing vocals. They also featured Pete Briquette on keyboards & programming, Dee Armstrong on viola and Kevin Murphy on cello. It was recorded at Totally Wired Studios, Dublin by Ivan O'Shea and Tom Skerrit and produced and mixed by Pete Briquette.
For the Birds is the fourth studio album by Dublin based band The Frames. The album was first released in Ireland on 2 April 2001 on Plateau Records, the Frames' own indie label. The band's line-up for this album featured Glen Hansard on guitar and vocals, Colm Mac Con Iomaire on violin, Joseph Doyle on bass guitar and backing vocals, Dave Odlum on lead guitar and Dave Hingerty on drums with additional keyboards by Dave Odlum's Brother Karl Odlum.
Breadcrumb Trail is the first live album by Dublin based band The Frames, recorded in Stará Pekárna, Brno in the Czech Republic. The album was released on June 2002 on Indies Records in the Czech Republic and the Frames' own indie label Plateau Records in Ireland. The band's line-up for this album featured Glen Hansard on guitar and vocals, Colm Mac Con Iomaire on violin, Joseph Doyle on bass guitar and backing vocals, Simon Good on lead guitar and Dave Hingerty on drums.
Joe Doyle is the bassist and backing singer for Irish rock band The Frames and The Swell Season. He has been a member of The Frames since 1996, appearing on six albums to date. In addition to appearing on Frames albums, he has also plays bass and contributes backing vocals to two Swell Season albums: the soundtrack to "Once" and "Strict Joy." He is currently touring as a member of the Swell Season, which also includes Glen Hansard (vocals/guitar), Marketa Irglova (vocals/piano), Graham Hopkins, Rob Botchnik and Colm Mac Con Iomaire. Doyle originates from Allenwood, County Kildare, Ireland.
Strict Joy is the second album by The Swell Season. It was released in Ireland on October 23, 2009, the rest of Europe on October 26, and on October 27 in North America on the Anti- record label. The title of the album was derived from a 1931 book of poems written by Irish poet James Stephens.
Dave Hingerty is an Irish drummer and photographer. He is the drummer of The Frames, after a break of almost 10 years, and has played with and recorded with a number of other acts including Josh Ritter, who he performed with on several albums.
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