Brendan O'Neill
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Brendan O'Neill - Interview - June 25th 2009

(c) Copyright Nine Below Zero

Affiche Blues en Bourgogne (c) Copyright 106 dB


  1. You are here today for a gig at the Blues en Bourgogne in Le Creusot. What are your first impressions ?
  2. (c) Copyright Rock-Interviews
    Oh,it's a magnificent place, very beautiful. In fact we luckily played here last year also with the Animals and we were very impressed, and then also it's a very beautiful place, very beautiful.




  3. Back to the past, do you remember why you have chosen to play the Drums and not another instrument ?
  4. (c) Copyright Rock-Interviews


    I do, but it probably take quite a while to explain (laughing). It was busy when I was a young boy. I saw certain individuals and certain drummers. Where I was born and brought up in Belfast in Ireland they were a lot of Scottish bagpipe bands and marching drummers, I still really love marching pipe band drummers and then I found the Beatles, I loved that beat drumming and then I found big band drumming through Buddy Rich and all of these things came very quickly on top of each other and I just fell in love with the whole energy of the instrument and the rhythmic thing about it.


  5. How long have you been with Nine Below Zero ?
  6. (c) Copyright Rock-Interviews
    Oh, a long time with Nine Below Zero, quite a while actually, let me see. I think about seventeen or eighteen years.

    AM : And you toured with Rory Gallagher ?

    I did, yeah.

    AM : What is your best memory, the best memory you have from him ?

    The best memories, oh, there were lots of them and it's very difficult to pinpoint one thing. Obviously we had some fantastic shows, all over the world. One very memorable one was in Athens in Greece where Rory played, he was the only band on, just the Rory Gallagher band and we played in a big football pitch, reputedly between 30 or 37 thousand people at the show and it was a magnificent event, it was a highlight really.

    AM : How was Rory Gallagher ?

    He was a fantastic musician and a gentleman, he was very dedicated to his art, very dedicated to his art, in fact it was all consuming with him really, it was is life.



  7. What is your worst memory ?
  8. (c) Copyright Rock-Interviews
    The worst memory of playing in groups and bands ?

    AM : Yes.

    (Laughing) OK my worst memory was on my 40th birthday. We travelled ovenight from Switzerland to Holland to play a show, and it was a terrible gig on my 40th birthday and it was so disappointing we left directly after playing, and it was my 40th birthday ! and we won't ever forget it ! But it's all part of the music business, things are up and things are down.



  9. What kind of music do you listen to ?
  10. (c) Copyright Rock-Interviews

    I listen to almost all kinds of music, from jazz, to folk, to blues, to pop music, to funk music - music is music. I think it was Count Basie who said there are only two types of music, good and bad, and it's up to your choice what you find, what's good in it - you know.





  11. What do you do apart from the music ? Do you have some hobbies ?
  12. (c) Copyright Rock-Interviews

    I used to like to run a lot and I like to do bike riding, but I like to collect wine and I like to collect whisky, both are a bit of a passion of mine. That's it yeah.







  13. This is, you have a Nine Below Zero CD or DVD, it is called "Bring it on Home".
  14. (c) Copyright Nine Below Zero

    Yes, that's right, an acoustic record.

    We recorded this in a beautiful place in the North of England, called Rheged, it's an old Celtic Kingdom up there near Carlisle and they found a lot of things, antiques and stuff and they built this fantastic theatre there and multiplex cinema and stuff and we played there and we really loved the energy of the place and as you can see in the background it's near the lake district in Cumbria. It was a very lovely week-end we spent there recording this issue.


  15. Do you want to add something ?
  16. (c) Copyright Rock-Interviews

    No, if that's okay for you, that's fine !

    AM : OK and I think you're going to release another CD ?

    Yeah we should mention the new CD. We have a new CD which you can buy on our website at the moment. At the moment it is only being released through our website and for fans at reduced price but (c) Copyright Nine Below Zero I think it will be on general release and we will have it at shows by August time and it's called "Bring it on Home" - No it's not ! it's called "It's never too late" (showing the CD : "This is called Bring it on Home") - it's called "Never too Late".

    AM : And it is never too late...

    It's never too late, absolutely. That's our point.

    AM : OK thank you very much Brendan.

    You're very welcome.

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(c) Copyright Nine Below Zero

Affiche Blues en Bourgogne (c) Copyright 106 dB