Frames

The Frames is an influential Irish band based mainly in Dublin. Founded in 1990, the group has released six albums and appeared in numerous music videos. more...

Home
Contemporary (1968-Now)
Animation Art, Cels
Apparel, Accessories
Bags, Cases, Wallets
Banks
Bobblehead Figures
Books
Bottles
Calendars
Cast Member Exclusives
Clocks, Radios
Coins
Collector Clubs
Comics
Figurines
Frames
$1 - $15
$15 - $30
$30 - $50
$50 - $75
$75 - $100
$100 - $200
$200 - $500
Holiday
Housewares
Jewelry
Keychains
Limited Editions
Lunchboxes, Thermoses
Mugs, Glasses
Other Contemporary Disneyana
Paper, Notepads
Pens, Pencils
Phones
Pins, Buttons
Pixar Collectibles
Plates
Plush Toys
Posters, Prints, Lithos
Premiums
Records, Tapes, CDs
Signs
Snowglobes
Stickers, Decals
Theme Park Souvenirs
Toys, Games, Puzzles
Trading Cards
Video, Laserdiscs
Watches, Timepieces
Vintage (Pre-1968)

Their ex-bassist John Carney has become a film director, who wrote and directed the award-winning 2007 film Once, which stars the band's singer/guitarist Glen Hansard, who also wrote much of the music for the film.

History

The band has existed since 1990 and are survivors of Dublin's prolific early 1990s rock-and-roll scene. They have also been central to the development of the current crop of emerging Irish rock bands, including Turn, and have toured with other Irish artists as support, including Damien Rice and Bell X1. In December 2004, Hansard appeared on stage to collaborate with singer/songwriter, Paddy Casey. 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, at a young age, of fixing the bicycles of many 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."

The band have had many members over the years, some of whom have also been (or gone on to be) 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.

The Frames always collaborated closely with other groups that emerged from the buskers on Grafton Street, Dublin where Hansard had started his music career. Among these 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.

The band are also known for interspersing snippets of songs by other artists into their own as a form of homage; notable examples are "Redemption Song" by Bob Marley, "Ring of Fire" by Johnny Cash and "Pure Imagination" from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, all of which are captured on the live album Set List.

Read more at Wikipedia.org