Scotch Melody Maker, Celtic Troubadour, Actor
I'm a native born Scotsman with three Irish grandparents. I sing tenor, inherited from Charlie Duffin, my maternal grandfather whose great tenor voice inspired and entertained the troops, his Regiment: The Royal Enniskillen Fusiliers, during WW I. He also played pipes and drums. He was my first inspiration when I was a wee lad. He sang everything in the Scots/Irish popular repertoire of his day. He especially loved the great John McCormack, and of course, oor ain lad, Robert Burns who lived a mere 20 miles away, in Ayrshire, Scotland.
I recorded/released a compilaton of Scottish/Irish/Roots music at the end of 2005, the SCOTCH MELODYMAKER. It was launched at the Starry Plough, in Berkeley, CA, to a great reception, and it was broadcast over the web and on the radio at KPFA FM's, Cover to Cover with Jack Foley on Nov 15th, 2006. You can buy selected songs from SCOTCH MELODYMAKER at Amie Street.
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My passion for music led me to play in varous bands, as well as pick up a few instruments on the way: guitar, banjo, pennywhistle, piano and bass.
I love the classic Rock and Roll era, Beatles, Stones, Eagles, Cream, but I especially enjoy the great accoustic singer/songwriters of the Folk and Roots idiom. The Corries, Eric Bogle, Matt McGinn, Hamish Imlach, James Taylor, Paul Simon, The Clancy Bros, Kate Wolf, Van Morrison, Cat Stevens, Stan Rogers, Runrig, Dougie McClean, as well as the great US folksters, Woody and Arlo Guthrie, Bob Dylan, Kris Krisofferson, Don McClean, Jim Croce, Greg Brown Pete Seegar, Ewan McColl and on...
For 22 years I've been lucky to be a part of Bread & Roses doing musical outreach in the San Francisco/ Bay Area, singing for involuntary shut-ins-anywhere where people are confined, music can reach, and open hearts and minds. It has also been a heart-opening practice for me as well.
I'm also an actor and have a couple of film roles in process...keep you posted. I was trained at ACT in San Francisco and performed in 60 + productions: from Shakespeare to the modern playwrights. My first film role was a reporter opposite Jeff Bridges in the movie, Tucker: A Man and his Dream...Check out my upcoming film, Honest Man.
or for more info, visit my Myspace actor site and check out my IMDB. site.
Neil O’Neill & the Celtic Tyger's Friend Space (Top 24)
Thanks for the add! But remember we aren't just about riding around with our kilts flapping in the breeze at Got Kilt
And it's not all about our T-shirts
We have alot of fun with our Scottish Heritage in the form of hilarious stories, pics, movies and our Monday morning Celtic joke blog. So come join us!
I see you are in Pleasanton this weekend! Nice one, hopefully we can meet up and maybe even get a tune? I'm performing with Joann Gilmartin who I'm sure you know!
I'm out the door & heading to the airport for Oakland in 5 minutes.
