Grainne (pronounced Grawn-ya) is a singer/songwriter, artist and environmentalist who grew up on a small farm, on the outskirts of what used to be a small farming community, about 45 minutes north of Toronto. She has lived there on & off all her life. In the past 4 – 5 years it has exploded with new houses and big box stores. The population has at least doubled in that time and as a result, some most fertile soil in Canada is being paved over.
Being very environmentally conscious, Grainne began to feel a deep sadness as she watched big bulldozers on a daily basis, ripping up precious land in her community. Along with the loss of fertile soil, trees are being cut down, animals are losing their homes (and becoming “pests” according to some people) and green space is being devoured. Grainne feels that “the developers don’t give a damn about the farmland, the trees, the animals or the green space. All they care about is lining their pockets with cash. That’s what it always boils down to, the almighty dollar”.
Grainne’s concern for this issue inspired her to write “Big Yellow Machines”. The song describes how it feels to watch such destruction taking place. ” I don’t want to know how lovely it could be” refers to the advertising campaigns these development companies use such as “find your home in the meadows today” or “contemporary living with a scenic point of view”.
The footage for this video was taken from a concert series that Grainne performs at, called Foster Fridays at The Thomas Foster Memorial in rural, Leaskdale Ontario. As you can see and hear, it is a totally unplugged performance because of the venue’s incredible acoustics. Grainne felt that the haunting sound of this version of Big Yellow Machines would go well with her video idea. As a struggling artist, she is on a very tight budget, so she put this video together herself.
Watch the video
Grainne is currently getting ready to record her next album which will include Big Yellow Machines, along with other politically and environmentally inspired songs. She is hoping to release the album in early 2009. Her last album, called All The Money (also politically and environmentally inspired), received rave reviews from around the world and put her “music with a message” on the map. You can hear more of Grainne’s music, view some of her artwork and learn more about her at: www.grainne.ca or you can check out her MySpace page: www.myspace.com/grainneryan. To contact her, e-mail: info@grainne.ca.
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Love the song “Cotton Candy”…listen to it on her web site: http://www.grainne.ca/