Brian O'Connell (musician)
| Brian O'Connell | |
|---|---|
 Brian O'Connell during his time with Junoon. | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Brian O'Connell |
| Born | July 20, 1963 |
| Origin | Queens, New York, United States |
| Genres | Hard rock, sufi rock, blues-rock, folk rock, instrumental rock, alternative rock |
| Occupations | Musician, Arranger, Actor |
| Instruments | bass guitar, guitar, recorder |
| Years active | 1992–present |
| Labels | EMI, Sadaf Stereo, Lips Records |
| Associated acts |
Eclipse Junoon (1992-2003, 2011) |
| Website | www.junoon.com |
Brian O'Connell is an American multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger, record producer and actor. Best known as the bassist and producer for Pakistani sufi rock band Junoon, O'Connell has since gained respect as both a musician and a producer in the Pakistani music industry.
O'Connell and Salman Ahmad were friends of one another since high school. O'Connell joined Junoon when keyboardist, Nusrat Hussain, left the band and Salman Ahmad contacted and invited him to play bass on the band's second album, Talaash. He is known for harmonizing the western 5-string bass riffs with the traditional tabla and drums. After the release of the band's seventh studio album, Dewaar, O'Connell went back to his native land the United States. Since his departure, Pakistani musician Mekaal Hasan and the band's producer John Alec have been playing bass guitar for live shows. He was married to Pakistani actress and model Ayeshah Alam.
Recently, he is currently residing in New York and play live concerts with former Junoon band member, Ali Azmat, that are held in the United States.
Biography
Early years
O'Connell's musical roots stretch back to Tappan, New York. In 1978, O'Connell, then a sophomore at Tappan Zee High School, was invited by two classmates to join their band "Apple Corps", a group that played mostly Beatles covers. Shortly after O'Connell joined the band, Apple Corps changed its name to "Sloke", and modified its repertoire to include Led Zeppelin, Boston, and the Grateful Dead. In early 1979, O'Connell and the other Sloke band members invited their friend Salman Ahmad to join the group. Ahmad had only recently taken up the guitar, but was already good enough to play with the band at a Tappan Zee High School talent festival in February of 1979. That performance marked the first time that O'Connell and Ahmad performed together publicly. Following the departure of Sloke's bassist several months later, O'Connell and Ahmad formed a new band, "Eclipse". Before the two could take their aspirations onto a bigger stage, Ahmad's parents moved back to Pakistan in 1981, and Ahmad began to study medicine at Lahore's King Edward's Medical College.[1]
Junoon (1992-2003)
After Junoon released their self-titled debut album Nusrat Hussain departed from the band and then Salman Ahmad contacted O'Connell and invited him to play bass on the band's second album. O'Connell quit his job as a social worker and traveled to Karachi, Pakistan, where he reunited with his old friend. It was after ten years the friends reunited.[1] In 1992, the band started working on their second studio album. The album was recorded and mixed at Tahir Gul Hasan's Sound On Sound recording studios in Karachi. While working on their second album at one side, on the other hand the band also featured in a television series, Talaash, directed by Atiqa Odho and written by Anwar Maqsood, based on the true story of the band in which the band members acted themselves and due to its novel storyline it became an extremely popular television series in Pakistan.[2] The television series were aired on PTV.
O'Connell continued to play for Junoon until their seventh studio album, Dewaar, the album which last featured the trio together. However, after the release of the album O'Connell went back to United States.[3] Since his departure, Pakistani musician Mekaal Hasan and the band's producer John Alec have been playing bass guitar for live shows in place.
Junoon 20th anniversary (2011)
On August 12, in an interview with The Express Tribune Salman Ahmad confirmed that he is set to celebrate Junoon’s 20th anniversary with the band's former bassist Brian O Connell.[4] “We are reaching Junoon’s 20th anniversary, so I’m excited about more projects coming up regarding that,” Ahmad told The Express Tribune.[4] Ahmad also confirmed that Junoon’s 20th anniversary celebration concert will be held at the Asia Society on September 24 in New York.[4] The band announced that it will release an album to mark two decades of Junoon. The album will be featuring Strings, Bilal Khan, Aag, Outlandish, Usman Riaz and Laal’s Taimur Rahman.[4] Shoaib Mansoor will be writing lyrics for the band's anniversary album.[5]
Discography
With Junoon
- Talaash (1993)
- Kashmakash (1995)
- Inquilaab (1996)
- Azadi (1997)
- Parvaaz (1999)
- Millennium 1990-2000 (2000)
- Andaz (2001)
- Daur-e-Junoon (2002)
- Junoon for Peace (2002)
- Dewaar (2003)
- Dewaar: The Best of Junoon (2004)
- Junoon 20 (2011)
Filmography
- Talaash (1992)
- United for Peace (2001)
- Islamabad: Rock City (2001)
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Junoon - Biography Retrieved on May 30, 2010
- ↑ Talaash PTV Show Retrieved on July 24, 2010.
- ↑ My Position in Junoon is Temporarily Non-existent Retrieved on July 27, 2010.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 20 years of Junoon Retrieved on 12 August 2011
- ↑ Shoaib Mansoor as the lyricist for Junoon's 20th Anniversary album Retrieved on August 12, 2011
External links
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