Hedreich Nichols

Schwan

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!!

Gölä continued… Read More »

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.

Art On Ice – Schwan – VIP After Party Read More »