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.
Five Minutes of Everything
The Gift Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Those days when you wake up
And there's no one by your side
My arm slides slowly to my left side
And to my right side, there's no one there
To kiss you or to hear you
And you go out of bed
Thinking in those days that you need
And everything that stops your attention
You used to talk, talk about
Everything
Those days when you walk at the bar
And try to keep a conversation with somebody else
And no one out there you could sit down or walk
There's no one there.
Five minutes of love
Five minutes of hate
Five minutes I try to call your name
Five minutes of passion
And no one knows the right place to go
No meaning or just self-control maybe
And you walk out of there
You need to talk with somebody else
And to know the problems are waiting for
Outside the door
Are waiting for
The clock won't stop
And even if it stops
Five minutes of love
Five minutes of hate
Five minutes I try to call your name
Of passion
Five minutes of everything
Of everything
Maybe you want to talk about old questions
Right next to my ear
But I don't care about those silly things
The Gift's song "Five Minutes of Everything" highlights the emotions one goes through when there seems to be a lack of companionship. It describes a situation where the singer wakes up alone and realizes there is no one beside them to kiss them or listen to them. They try to converse with someone at a bar, but there is no one to sit down with or talk to. The singer desperately needs someone in those moments when they feel lost and alone, but they find no one. The song then mentions "five minutes of everything," which can be interpreted as the duration of a brief period when the singer experiences emotions like love, hate, passion, and self-control.
The song captures the feeling of loneliness that many people relate to. The lyrics suggest that sometimes all one needs is someone to talk to, someone to listen to them, or someone to hold them. However, in that particular moment, you find yourself alone with your thoughts, ideas, and emotions, and that's where the problem begins. The song highlights that the singer would cherish only five minutes of love, attention, and affection from someone they long for; it would mean everything to them.
Line by Line Meaning
Give me please five minutes of everything
Requesting five minutes of everything
Those days when you wake up
Referring to days when waking up alone
And there's no one by your side
Feeling lonely in mornings
My arm slides slowly to my left side
Arm searching for a partner in bed
And to my right side, there's no one there
Feeling the absence of a partner
To kiss you or to hear you
Missing physical and emotional connection
And you go out of bed
Get out of bed while feeling alone
Thinking in those days that you need
Reflecting on the need for a partner
You used to talk and talk about
Talking excessively about various things
And everything that stops your attention
Finding things interesting and getting distracted easily
You used to talk, talk about
Continuing to talk about everything
Everything
Talking about various things that interest you
Those days when you walk at the bar
Referring to days when trying to socialize
And try to keep a conversation with somebody else
Attempting to communicate with others
And no one out there you could sit down or walk
Being unable to find someone to converse with
There's no one there.
Not finding anyone to connect with
Five minutes of love
Desire for love and intimacy
Five minutes of hate
Feeling angry or upset
Five minutes I try to call your name
Wishing to be with someone specific
Five minutes of passion
Yearning for sensual experiences
And no one knows the right place to go
Uncertainty and confusion about romantic options
No meaning or just self-control maybe
Confusion about what is driving emotions
And you walk out of there
Leaving the place of socializing
You need to talk with somebody else
Craving social connections and interaction
And to know the problems are waiting for
Being aware of life's challenges
Outside the door
Challenges outside of the current situation
Are waiting for
Problems and challenges that lie ahead
The clock won't stop
Time marches on
And even if it stops
Acknowledging the inevitability of time passing
Five minutes of everything
Requesting five minutes of all emotions and experiences
Maybe you want to talk about old questions
Reflecting on old topics or questions
Right next to my ear
Close, personal conversation
But I don't care about those silly things
Dismissing past, unimportant topics
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Speedy
Em 2019 ainda alguém vem aqui ouvir isto, como eu? Isto é sublime!!
Bruno Espadinha
eu vi o lançamento do álbum na aula magna,lindissimo nunca vou esquecer.
Hugo Silva
me too, bons velhos tempos
Tati Carlsson
Enquanto ela canta... eu me arrepio <3
Gê Viana
Magnificos. Estou encantado.
Nelson Patriarca
tão bom, tão bom, tão bom !
esencia_9
Preciosa canción 😍!!! Teacher me haces sentir como nunca pensé que sería capaz de sentir, te quiero tanto... Te llevo dentro amor ❤️
Mirtes Oliveira
Maravilhoso!
Hugo Silva
andei vezes sem conta com o discman em loop c este albúm...
paulo jorge magalhães da Costa
fantástico,fascinante!