We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Steve O’Brien. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Steve below.

Alright, Steve thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

I learned to play bass the old-fashioned way. I put LP’s on the record player, plugged in the bass and practiced until it sounded right. I wish I could have taken lessons and learn to read music to speed up the learning process. Had I taken lessons and played with better musicians, I could have joined more bands in the early days and gotten the experience on stage. I think if I played with more musicians with different styles, I could have learned faster what goes into the art of playing music. The skills I find most essential is locking in with the drummer to find the groove. Also, playing both finger and pick style for a wider variety of sounds and tones. Also, learning how to sing while playing the bass is a very necessary skill especially for my band now, Think Lizzy. The obstacles that stood in the way of learning more would be not having enough extra time to learn and master the skills. When I was first learning, you have to practice a lot and living at home with the folks made it difficult. I also had limited access to information such as tutorials and videos due to lack of internet growing up. I had to watch television shows and listen to LPs to figure out what was going on in the song. The upside of that is I developed the skill of learning by ear.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

My name is Steve O Brien from Dublin Ireland but now residing n rocking in Austin Texas. I have been a bassplayer since 1986 and a vocalist since 1996 in many various bands both here nd back home,covering a lot of blues,soul jazz ska and rock. First band was a ZZ Top inspired 3 piece which started me on bass as the drum spot was taken, and from there I practiced by playing along to records a lot until I was ready to play and then I started with the blues jam night, and never looked back.
Coming to Texas in 2003,the first band I auditioned for ,,,,was a ZZ Top tribute, which started my journey on the Texas music scene.
From there I joined a U2 tribute band and played with them on n off for about 6 years, playing all over the state,doing live TV and winning an Austin Chronicle Music award with them in 2010
.
In 2010, I started THINK LIZZY, my own Thin Lizzy tribute band as a side gig with the guitarist from Wales, to initially play a St Paddys Day show in Austin.

This went over so well that we decided to keep going and see how far we could take it. I have since shared the stages of Texas with some fantastic musicians, playing everywhere from holes in the wall to the Houses of Blues and large theatres, introducing the finest Irish rock music to the crowds and having great craic doing it!

I am most proud of having a couple of the founding members of the original band, Thin Lizzy, give us the 2 thumbs up and tell us to keep the music alive, which we have done for 12 years running

We are the only Thin Lizzy tribute in the US with that bad reputation, as we are known for being as authentic and loud n live and dangerous as we can be. We cover the hits as well as the deep cuts and always have fun with the audience.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

My story from the get go has been usually people saying no one knows Thin Lizzy music except for the 3 hits- Cowboy Song, Jailbreak and The Boys Are Back In Town. My usual answer to that is fuck it this is killer 70s classic Irish rock and we’ll introduce ALL of it as such.

What happens is the diehard Lizzy fans are stunned to hear us playing the other deep cut songs, and happy that we do it and the rest are impressed that we can do it!!

I have had many times where band members have moved on and left me stuck to find people who are good enough to play this music, as it is intricate, but those who have played it have left with a real appreciation of it, and hopefully have improved their skills.

I have not really thought much about giving it up as its one of the few things I really enjoy doing ,seeing it as a challenge to keep the whole thing going. To have people come up after and thank me for playing it is always a reason to keep doing it.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect for me with this band has been getting the recognition from those of whom we pay tribute, as to me it means we must be doing something right.

Another is getting 4 musicians in a room and working on the songs and the set, and hammering it into shape for a show
and then nailing it on the night of the show. Clams are inevitable but that’s part of the live show fun, because I know the guys are on the ball with the music.

Another aspect is also the positive reaction from the audiences we have played for. We assume most people haven’t heard any of the Lizzy catalogue so we go out hard and aim to win them over!

Even if its only from one person, from the one die hard Lizzy fan to the newbie who might go home and listen to some more Lizzy, then my job is done and I go home satisfied. And if we get paid, even better!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.thinklizzy.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/thinklizzytexas
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/thinklizzytx

Image Credits
Debrah Watts