They both grew up in the Rhine Valley, make successful music and perform at the benefit event for the Rhine Valley Hospital in Marbach: Shem Thomas and Carlo Lorenzi.
Altstätten/Marbach. Just 19 seconds were enough for Shem Thomas to win over the first jury member on “The Voice of Switzerland 2014”. With Cat Stevens’s “Father and Son”, the Rheintaler delighted both the jury and the audience and made it clear that he is no flash in the pan. More pranks of this own kind were to follow. In fact, Shem succeeded in singing his way through to the final with his versions of well-known songs and burned himself into the memory of Switzerland with his voice, charm and down-to-earthness. Time and again, the 36-year-old has been praised for his covers. Shem takes a song, extracts its essence, strips off what is superfluous and finally delivers his own creation.
The Swiss discovered his love of music in his youth. While dance and rap were at the top of the list of favorites in the 1990s, today it is primarily the singer-songwriter genre where Shem feels at home. “I thought DJ Bobo was cool. Vanilla Ice and New Kids on the Block were my heroes back then,” smiles the “Voice” finalist. However, he was not proficient in English as a youth. No obstacle. He simply memorized the lyrics of numerous chart hits, sang along and experimented. Shem knew he didn’t just want to listen, he wanted to be heard. Music as a passion and a way to express one’s feelings – singing, dancing and performing as a life’s work. “I attended the teacher’s semi. Used every free minute to learn how to play the guitar in the music room, to draw or to skateboard. You could say that art was more important to me than school itself,” says the Rheintaler.
Shem Thomas performs at the jubilee of the Kanti Heerbrugg. (Image: Seraina Hess)
Since his success on “The Voice of Switzerland 2014”, Shem Thomas has been performing again and again on stages in Rheintal. On Saturday, September 20, he will sing to benefit Rhine Valley Hospital. On stage he meets another musician from the Rhine Valley, Carlo Lorenzi
Carlo Lorenzi: Stories – told with the drums
Carlo Lorenzi tells stories – with the drums. The solo drummer from Diepoldsau with Italian roots tells stories about the changes in life with drums, percussion and electronics. They come suddenly or slowly but steadily. Carlo gives rhythm and sound to the coming and going of time.
Solo drummer Carlo Lorenzi
Film premiere and charity event
The benefit event on Saturday, September 20, in the multi-purpose hall Amtacker in Marbach, consists of two parts. They can be attended both or individually: Film premiere and benefit concert. To kick things off, at 6 p.m. (aperitif, 5 p.m.), Swissfilm GmbH will present the premiere of the documentary film “The Promise – the long breath of Stephan Holderegger”. Producer and board member Benjamin Pipa and director Lawrence Carls interviewed Stephan Holderegger’s companions and accompanied the main character to key places in his life. In fifty minutes, the film team paints a multi-layered picture of the hospital initiator. At 8 p.m. (admission 7:30 p.m.) the charity event begins. Performing will be: Enderli Chicks, Shem Thomas, Carlos Lorenzi, Nicolas Senn, Lisa Stell, Drum2Streets, Rhein Valley Line Dance Group and Grand Cannon.Victor Rohner will lead the evening.
Tickets are available at Kühnis Brillen, at the box office or via www.rhein-valley-hospital.org. (vdl/pd)
