In September 1994, Sónia Tavares, Nuno and John Gonçalves, Miguel Ribeiro and Ricardo Braga enrolled in the Bar Ben Music Competition in Alcobaça and took second place in the competition, to everyone's great surprise, given the band’s short time in existence.
The band performed its first show at the Alcobaça Monastery in July 1995. This was followed by the Belém Cultural Centre (Lisbon) in September 1996 and the Labirintho Bar (Porto) in November 1996.
The Gift masterminded their first record, with the intention of using it as a demo for the media and labels. From this effort, “Digital Atmosphere” was born, a six track enhanced CD featuring interviews and videos, recorded at home but not available in stores. In 1997 the band went on the road, playing at over 30 theatres (many of which sold out) and released video at the end of the tour at Belém Cultural Centre and the Alcobaça Cine-Teatro shows.
Soon after the Digital Atmosphere Tour finished, Ricardo Braga left the band and The Gift was now a four member group once again. In 1998, they established themselves as an independent band forming g their own label, La Folie with the visionary goal of releasing a next record as independents.
Sónia Tavares, The Gift - photo by João Loureiro
In November 1998, the band’s first true record “Vinyl” is released. "Vinyl" combined the potentials of new technologies (samples and synthesizer) with classical instruments (violins, cellos, trumpets, saxophones etc.). “Vinyl” , which was fully funded by The Gift themselves, was named Album of the Year by the Diário de Notícias newspaper a first for a Portuguese independent band and began courting the attention of the labels that previously ignored The Gift’s work. In spite of this, the band chose to stay independent, opting to to use distribution contracts.
From November 1998 through 1999, The band performs over 80 shows, including the biggest Summer Festivals, sells out the most important venues in Lisbon and Porto, wins several awards with the first hit single “Ok! Do You Want Something Simple?” and sells over 35,000 records.
At the end of that year The Gift performs for the first time abroad, in Paris (at La Cigalle) and a few months later participates in the prestigious music fair MIDEM 2000 (in Cannes), taking the first step towards the band’s career outside Portugal.
In early 2000, the band closes the “Vinyl” era, simultaneously releasing the photo book “A Single Diary” (by Ana Pereira) and the video “Single Hand Camera Documentary” (by Gonçalo Covacich), two artistic visions and documentary pieces on the Vinyl Tour. Once again, all the, costs incurred were covered by the band establishing The Gift once and for all as a solid DIY band.
The steps taken abroad continued to gain momentum in June 2000 with the band’s first mini-tour outside Portugal, including dates in Germany (Expo 2000 – Hanover), Macau and again, France (Paris).
At the end of the year The Gift take a break from touring and start writing songs for the next album, some of which are introduced later in 2001 at the Eurosonic Festival in the Netherlands, representing Portugal .
Howie B produces “Film”, The Gift’s second album released again through theirown label, La Folie Records. The band shows its “Film” throughout the country, playing at the Paredes de Coura Festival, the optimushype@meco Festival (sharing the stage with Howie B and Matthew Herbert), at the Interactive TV’s launch in Portugal, live for Sic Radical channel, and radio Antena 3.
“Film” goes Gold at 25,000 units and The Gift win several more awards for its videos (“Waterskin” and “Question of Love” – the album’s first two singles). At the end of 2001, the band was once more invited by Cap Magellan to promote “Film” in Paris.
In March 2002, The Gift flies to the United States to enter the South by Southwest Music & Media Conference in Austin, Texas; in June returned to Paris to perform at the Hôtel de Ville Square; in August Popkomm and Musikfest Am-Ring festivals in Germany; Spain followed in September with shows in Barcelona; in October the band was back in the USA for a short tour in a few north-American cities New York); and in November its first concert in Madrid, Spain, took place.
Of the few performances in Portugal, the Manchester Mad Remixers (which featured The Gift together with Rodrigo Leão and Pedro Oliveira) concerts are a highlight (first at the nightclub Lux, and later at the Frágil and the Clinic bars). This was a project specially created for the "24 Hour Party People" film's premiere.
The band performs in numerous places, Barcelona, Valencia, Madrid, Bilbao, Vigo, New York City, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Boston, San Diego, London, Caracas, Dunkirk, amongst many other cities.
The Gift was invited to open for The Flaming Lips and Cousteau, and at the end of the year, in December 2003, get an invitation to perform for the recently launched Portuguese MTV, recording one of the first MTV Live shows in the history of MTV Portugal.
In 2004, The Gift celebrated its first 10 years in music and returned to album releases. By the end of the recording sessions, The Gift was faced with a double album, where two distinctive but complementary environments surfaced (one more intimate and introspective, the other more euphoric) and in which duality was the key word. The new relese, the first in three years, is entitled “AM-FM”.
“AM-FM” was released in November 2004 with great expectation from the group's fans, who rapidly sold out the presentation concerts in Alcobaça, Lisbon and Porto (a few days after the band's shows in London, New York and Los Angeles. A week after the retail release, “AM-FM” goes Silver and not long after Gold, selling more than 25, 000 copies.
In 2005 they won the MTV Europe Award for Best Portuguese Act.
The album Fácil de Entender, their first live album was released in 2006. Sells over 25,000 units.
The Gift acted with great success on the Expo 2008 Zaragoza, the day of Portugal at the exhibition.
In 2008 and 2009, The Gift's Sonia Tavares and Nuno Goncalves along with fellow musicians, Paulo Praça [Plaza]and Fernando Ribeiro record and tour with their side project Hoje’s: Amalia Hoje. Amalia Hoje garners triple platinum status selling over 85,000 units and is the Portuguese runaway Album of the Year.
2010 The Gift returns to record Their 5th Album explode and invite Ken Nelson [Coldplay, Gomez, Kings of Convenience, Badly Drawn Boy to produce the Album. The Gift spends three months in Madrid recording
2011 is the year of Explode. Explode is released in Portugal on 1 April and immediately goes to number one in the charts where it holds top ten for over 10 weeks.
Explode is scheduled to be released in North America on 27 September 2011
www.gift.pt
2) THE GIFT are a Symphonic Prog band from, London, formed after Mike Morton (vocals, 6/12 string acoustic guitar, piano and string arrangements) and Leroy James (lead and rhythm guitar, backing vocals, samples, effects and programming, piano and string arrangements) came up with the idea of creating a band and making a concept album at the same time.
The concept was devised by Mike Morton and was initially meant to be just one piece.
They brought in other musicians to help with the recording, viz. Jim Thomas (bass), Rod Haverhill (keyboards) and David Storey (drums) and THE GIFT was born.
The band made some initial demos and pressed on with the idea. They sent the demos out to various places and general opinion was positive. So positive in fact, that the Cyclops label (responsible for bands such as Mostly Autumn, Pineapple Thief, Saens and Tr3nity) gave them a deal.
THE GIFT had the desire and conviction to record the album itself. The idea initially was to record one multi-themed piece (a suite called Awake and Dreaming), about “savagery and war and the final triumph of piece” (as their MySpace biography notes), but Cyclops felt it need to be longer and asked them to record a slightly extended finish. This ended up as another suite (of 30 minutes in length), called Fountains of Ash about “domestic violence, again seeking solace in the human spirit” (from their MySpace bio).
Their sound is quite varied, but takes on a definite symphonic rock air to it. They have hard rocking sections, pastoral songs, and “complex time signatures, wild key changes and ambitious concepts.”
Their progressive rock influences include Pink Floyd, Genesis (Gabriel era), Yes, David Gilmour, Roger Waters, Porcupine Tree, King Crimson, Tangerine Dream, Rush and Dream Theater. They also take influence from non-prog bands such as Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Thin Lizzy, The Who, Beatles, Massive Attack, U2, Sex Pistols and Prince.
Their debut album (a double CD) Awake and Dreaming, was released on October 9, 2006, by Cyclops.
3) The Gift is a funeral grunge band from Washington, DC featuring members of Turboslut, Exosus and Tradition Dies Here. Their debut LP "Mostly in Sickness" is out now on Amor y Lucha Records, www.amorylucha.org. Free tracks can be downloaded and streamed at their website, www.thegift.bandcamp.com.
Changes
The Gift Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You can change any man
A friend
A tragic end
You can change at any hour
Change the colour of a flower
You can change at any hour
Change a song that needs a change
You can change all the rocks you find in your way
Change your mind
Change your life
Change the changes
Change the chances
You can change your shoes
You can change your blues
You can change the colour of your soul
Change your friends
Change your lens
But you know your heart you can't change
Change
You can change the world
You can change a lot more
You can change the girl who lives next door
Change your eye
Day and night
Change your eye
Day and night
You can change your shoes
You can change your blues
You can change the colour of your soul
Change your friends
Change your lens
But you know your heart you can't change
Change
The song "Changes" by The Gift is an upbeat, optimistic tune that speaks to the ability of human beings to change and evolve. The opening lines "You can change any man / You can change any man" set the tone for the rest of the song, emphasizing that no matter who you are or what your circumstances might be, change is always possible. The lyrics go on to list a variety of things that can be changed, from the color of a flower to a person's opinion. The message is clear - change is both natural and necessary in life, and it can happen at any time.
One of the standout lines in the song is "But you know your heart you can't change", which speaks to the idea that while external changes may be possible, a person's internal identity and values are more fixed. This is an important reminder that while we can grow and improve ourselves in many ways, there are certain foundational parts of who we are that are unlikely to change.
The chorus of "Changes" is particularly catchy, with its repetition of the phrase "You can change" over and over again. This repetition reinforces the song's central message that change is possible and encourages listeners to embrace it.
Overall, "Changes" is a song that celebrates the potential for growth and transformation in all of us. It's a reminder that no matter what challenges we may face in life, we have the power to adapt and evolve in meaningful ways.
Line by Line Meaning
You can change any man
It is possible to change anyone's behavior or mindset.
A friend
Even a close friend can be changed with effort and time.
A tragic end
Changing someone can lead to negative consequences or unexpected outcomes.
You can change at any hour
Change can happen at any time, not necessarily when it is expected or convenient.
Change the colour of a flower
Small changes can make a big impact, even changing the color of a flower can transform its appearance.
Change a song that needs a change
If something is not working, it's important to make a change and try something different.
You can change of opinion everyday
It's okay to change your mind and have different opinions each day based on new information or experiences.
You can change all the rocks you find in your way
Obstacles can be overcome and changed with effort and perseverance.
Change your mind
It's important to be open to new ideas and perspectives and be willing to change your mind if necessary.
Change your life
Personal changes can have a big impact on one's life and overall happiness.
Change the changes
Sometimes changes are not enough and it's necessary to change the change itself to achieve desired results.
Change the chances
Changing circumstances or opportunities can lead to different outcomes and chances in life.
You can change your shoes
One can easily change superficial aspects of themselves, such as their shoes.
You can change your blues
Personal emotions and feelings can be changed by altering one's mindset or situation.
You can change the colour of your soul
One's inner self and personal values can be changed and evolved over time.
Change your friends
Social circles can be changed and influenced by one's personal growth and development.
Change your lens
One's perspective and view of the world can be changed and expanded by gaining new experiences and knowledge.
But you know your heart you can't change
Despite all the external changes, one's innermost self and emotions cannot be easily changed.
You can change the world
Big changes are possible and can have a lasting impact on the world and those around us.
You can change a lot more
The possibilities for change are endless and can impact all aspects of life.
You can change the girl who lives next door
It's possible to influence and impact the people around us and help drive positive change in their lives.
Change your eye
One's perspective and point of view can be changed and influenced by external factors.
Day and night
This change can happen at any time, whether during the day or night.
You can change your shoes
One can easily change superficial aspects of themselves, such as their shoes.
You can change your blues
Personal emotions and feelings can be changed by altering one's mindset or situation.
You can change the colour of your soul
One's inner self and personal values can be changed and evolved over time.
Change your friends
Social circles can be changed and influenced by one's personal growth and development.
Change your lens
One's perspective and view of the world can be changed and expanded by gaining new experiences and knowledge.
But you know your heart you can't change
Despite all the external changes, one's innermost self and emotions cannot be easily changed.
Change
Change is constantly happening and can be positive or negative, but it is an inevitable part of life.
Contributed by Grace W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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