Brendan O'Neill

Previous bands and history

Pride, Deep Joy, Mash, CSS, All Of Us, The Regency, The Real McCoy, Swift, Rory Gallagher Band, Gerry McAvoy Band, Joe Turner, Nine Below Zero.

Musical influences and preferences

The Beatles, Miles Davis, Various Jazz Artists, 'The Blues', Good Pop Music (Mostly Sixties)

Personal preferences

Blondes, sunny days, good crack(conversation) nice people.
Dislikes hangovers, negativity and lack of sleep.

Recreational activities

Listening to music, exercise of all sorts.

Other relevant info

5' 6" tall, green/grey eyes, shy nature, dark hair (sometimes) and loves affection.

Instruments: -

Slingerland Drum Kit - early 70's

Bought new in 1972 - later added another Tom to it, which is actually earlier (1964). 12x8, 13x9, 14x14, 20in bass drum. Used on "Jinx" (Rory Gallagher) and NBZ tracks "Burn Love", "Hangman in the Sand" and "Bleeding Heart".

Pearl Drum Kit 1982

All maple export - 10x8, 12x8, 13x9, 16x16, 20in bass drum. This kit was used live with Rory. it was originally green but was recovered grey. It was also used on the "Defender" and "Fresh Evidence" albums.

Pearl Drum kit Red

Used with NBZ up to early 1991-92. Brendan did not get on with this kit.

Gretsch Drum kit - Champagne, late 1960's

12x8, 13x9, 16,16, 22in bass drum. Purchased from Supreme Drums in the winter of 1992, just before NBZ went on tour with Sting. A great kit which Brendan thinks really suits him. Used every gig.

Black Beauty

Bought in London in 1986 for £360. this is the snare Brendan uses live! It has got a big sound and works well live. Also used in the studio on the tracks "On the Road Again" and " Kiddio".

Slingerland Snare 14" x 4 1/2

Used in the studio on "Soft Touch" and "Another Kind of Love".

Pearl Super Gripper 14x6 brass snare

Used in the studio on tracks "Satellite Blues" and "Fire Down Below".

Tama Snare 14x4

Used in the studio on track "Work Shy".

Gretsch Metal Snare 14x5 1960's

Used in the studio on "Never Loved a Woman".

Ludwig Super 400 14x5 Snare - late 60's

Used on the "Refridgerator" album.

Cymbals

Brendan has worked with Paiste exclusivly since 1981 and has visited the factory many times. He has found the ultimate set of cymbals for him in the Paiste Traditional Range. They are so good. brendan uses 22" ride, 18" thin crash,17" thin crash, 16" crash, 14" hi-hats, 18" signature series China Type.

Hardware

All the hardware used by brendan is Pearl's as we have found it to be tough and very accurate to set up.

Sticks

Brendan has his own special sticks made to his own specification by Shaw Stix, which he is very satisfied with.

Brendans first snare was a gigster and his first kit was a Broadway 1967. His second kit was a new Premier kit with a 2000 snare, bought for him by his mum. This is the kit used in his first band "Pride" with Gerry playing bass.