THINK LIZZY

Review of Think Lizzy at the Concert Pub - Houston Music News February 2013

You may think you've traveled a long way to get to a show, but it's unlikely you gone the distance that Stephen O'Brien has. In 2003 the Dublin, Ireland-based musician flew to Austin, primarily to catch a gig by King's X and, as an added bonus, maybe soak up the city. He must have like it because he later decided to leave the Emerald Isle and relocate permanently, gigging in a variety of musical projects and cover bands.
But the singer/bassist has gone back somewhat to his roots as the Phil Lynott stand in for Think Lizzy, a Thin Lizzy tribute band. In addition to O'Brien, the band also includes Buffalo Speedway (guitar), Brownbag Johnson (guitar) and new drummer Ron Jeffcote.
The music of the real-life Ireland-based Lizzy has seen something of a resurgence in recent years, which has seen much of their catalogue reissued in deluxe editions, a reformation of the band by guitarist Scott Gorham (they opened for Judas Priest in Houston this summer), and the recent discovery of 150 tapes that Lynott recorded featuring unheard complete original songs, jams, and covers (Lynott died in 1986 at age 36 due to complications from heavy drug use).
Rocks Off spoke with O'Brien by phone (no clue if he wore his afro/shades/white shirt/leather pants Lynott stage costume while talking) about his journey, forming the group, and what he was very happy to see at the band's second and most recent gig in Houston...all while correctly pronouncing the real band's name in the Irish brogue as "Tin Lizzy."

Rocks Off: What kind of exposure to Thin Lizzy's music did you have growing up?
O'Brien: When you're in Dublin and you're a musician, you have to [hear] it. Live and Dangerous is kind of the Bible: "Dancing in the Moonlight," "Jailbreak," all those songs. I got the albums Jailbreak and Black Rose first at a cheap record store, and it was the best stuff ever. But we live with Thin Lizzy there. Even more than U2, and they'll tell you they used to play Lizzy songs. I'd love to hear those tapes.
RO: What made you decided to start Think Lizzy, especially when 90% of casual rock fans here only know "The Boys Are Back in Town," and, maybe, "Whisky in the Jar." What made you think you could sustain the audience for a whole set?
SO: Buffalo and I were in a U2 tribute band in Austin, and on the way back from [a gig], we were tossing around ideas for something else. And both of us said Thin Lizzy! But then I thought "Oh hell! That means I've got to be the front man!" And all the songs I'd have to learn...and there are a lot of words to those songs! But it's a great challenge. But it's great music, whether you know Thin Lizzy or not. And if you look up the real band after you see our show, that's great.
RO: And coming out looking like Phil with the wig and the outfit?
SO: I believe if you do a tribute band, you do the look in addition to the music, or at least attempt it. In the ZZ Top tribute band, I wore the beard and the shades and the ten gallon hat and the shiny jackets. In the U2 tribute band, I dressed up like Adam Clayton. And I have basses from the eras. But yeah, some people will understand why there's a white guy with an afro! (laughs). And there's a fun factor to that.
RO: You've only played two gigs in Houston so far. Any difference in the audiences here than in Austin?
SO: Well, at the gig last week, we were happy to see women at our gig, and dancing at our gig. And we were really happy to see dancing women at our gig! (laughs). We also sold a lot of T-shirts. It's gonna take a few gigs to get warmed up, but in a bigger town like Houston or Dallas, people know their rock. And they come out and understand what we're doing. We might be a bit of fresh air, with the bit of Irish.
RO: How often are you adding new songs?
SO: We have a new drummer from Houston, and I'm adding songs slowly, like one per gig. But he's really good, and the goal is to get down all the songs on the Live and Dangerous record. And we'll do some [more obscure] thin - Houston Press

Steve O'Brien was asked to do an interview with LA based JRock Houston of the Under the Influence Project. - by JRock Houston

Visigoth made their furthest trip east as they played only their second show, ever, in Texas. The Salt Lake City group came into Austin on tour supporting NHOBHM revivalists Night Demon. Although having a show on a Tuesday night didn’t produce a full house, the overall concert, including local tribute Thin Lizzy tribute band, Think Lizzy, was one of the best shows to ever embrace Beerland’s dark confines.

Never have I seen a local opener produce as much anticipation as Think Lizzy. Before taking the stage, members of Visigoth told the band before the show started how much they wanted to see them, and their members plus the Night Demon guys were up front supporting the tribute act. Led by a real Irish man, Steve O’Brien, who donned an afro wig to look just like fallen singer/bassist, Phil Lynott, the group played a full set of Lizzy tunes.

The crowd sang along to a full set of Lizzy classics while playing air guitar to some of the best guitar harmonies ever produced (air guitar was ever-present from the crowd). The group even brought up special guests like Night Demon’s newest guitarist Armand John Anthony and former Eternal Champion bassist Sean Weingartner. Weingartner took over the bass and mic to perform a non-Lizzy song, “The Ace of Spades.” Armand joined the group in a Maiden-esque three-way of melodious guitars for arguably the band’s most metal song “Emerald.”

Following an excellent Thin Lizzy cover band like Think Lizzy was a tall task, singer Jake Rogers said he would rather just watch another hour of the band, but Visigoth was more than up to the task. Right from the first “mammoth striding” riffs, the group captured the crowd’s metallic hearts. Watching them was akin to receiving the magic so often related in their lyrics. Decked out in leather, spikes, gauntlets—Rogers captivated the crowd gesticulating lyrics of battle, might and magic. He grabbed the air like he were grabbing the gods. Jamison Palmer led his mates in galloping riffs and licks that were faster than a shark. Two musicians from the Salt Lake Area, Noah Hednutt (guitar) from the band Sanctifyre and Conner Carlson (drums) of Delusions of Godhood were excellent choices to fill in for main stays Leeland Campana and Mikey T.The group performed choice cuts from their “The Revenant King” album like “Dungeon Master,” “Mammoth Rider” and the title track. Fellow epic metal band, Eternal Champion, a group Rogers credits as one of his favorite of this ilk, was represented by the presence of singer Jason Tarpey, who, in a sense, is part of Visigoth. Tarpey plays the king in their video for the title track. What a great song the title track is, too. The title track’s lyrics about the king reclaiming his throne after death and the fist-raising lyrics to “Iron Brotherhood” were some of the highlights of the band’s incredible set.

While I prefer the music of Visigoth to Night Demon, the quality of Night Demon’s production and energy was hard to deny. Playing in the style of NWOBHM bands like Angel Witch, Diamond Head and Tokyo Blade, the Ventura, California-based group kept heads banging and fists pumping. One simply cannot understand how great this band is just by listening to their recordings. They are really something that has to be felt live. In front of side banners depicting black crosses and a large backdrop of the Satan-charged, axe-wielding maniac from the cover of “Cursed of the Damned,” which was represented in its entirety, the band plowed through occult classics like “Satan,” “Screams in the Night,” and the title track. They even represented the self-titled EP with “Ancient Evil” and ended with their namesake track.

While Night Demon’s music is strong enough to embed their selves permanently into the brains of every metal head, seeing their stage production makes for an over-the-top performance. Starting in the dark, the band beckoned the crowd to the stage with every metal head’s favorite soundtrack, “Conan The Barbarian.” The eyes of the Satanic entity eerily glowed as did other aspects, considering which colored light they used, of their backdrop. Normally, the stage is darkly lit at Beerland, but Night Demon brought their own lights. A ghoulish, robed figure shared a "Chalice" filled with I-don’t-know-what with the crowd.
From the barbaric speed metal of Visigoth to the occult-ridden classic metal of Night Demon to the rich guitar harmonies of Think Lizzy, all three bands played amazing sets that resulted in one of the best shows to ever grace Beerland. Make sure to check if the “Final Curse” tour is coming to your town. You don’t want to miss what may be one of the best shows of the year. Check the side bar to see if they're coming to a town near you. - metalunderground.com

Round 2 of the Night Demon and Visigoth tour takes us to Austin’s Beerland. At the request of Beerland’s booking manager, I was asked to find some opening acts for this show. That proved to be a little more difficult than I had anticipated but my friends in Think Lizzy, a local Thin Lizzy tribute, stepped up and were the only local presence for the show. Both Night Demon and Visigoth are huge Lizzy fans and were excited to have the tribute as an opener.

Think Lizzy hit the stage and played their good mix of Lizzy classics. The band is really good and the singer is from Dublin and does a great job vocally and on bass. Armand John Lizzy from Night Demon plays in a Lizzy tribute back in Ventura and got up and played Emerald with the band. It was pretty sweet. Somewhere mid-set, Steve asked me to join them for Motorhead’s Ace of Spades. He asked me if I’d do it a few days before the show and I said it’s not Thin Lizzy but apparently they’ve had it in their set for a while. Since I occasionally do a Motorhead tribute in Austin, he wanted me up there so it happened. I strapped on his Ibanez bass on and we went into a pretty loose but good version. The crowd seemed to like it. - The Metal Files

Today we’d like to introduce you to Steve O’Brien.

Hi Steve, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My name is Steve O’Brien and I am a bassist originally from Dublin, Ireland. I got my first bass in 1986 and taught myself by listening to records of a lot of styles but was mainly influenced by the Blues like ZZ Top, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Rory Gallagher.

On a whim in 2003, I moved to Texas and started playing around the state with various Texas blues bands (including a ZZ Top tribute band).

In 2009, I answered an ad for a bass player for a U2 tribute band.

This led to the formation of THINK LIZZY with our Edge, Andy Sharp, in 2010, as a one-off gig for St Patrick’s Day at Fado Irish Pub.

After receiving positive feedback, I decided to see how far THINK LIZZY could go so I put a band together and dared/recruited Debrah Watts to be band manager to help spread the word around.

Since then, we have played all over Texas from tiny stages like Headhunters to the House of Blues and all points in between, and always in a Live and Dangerous style. People leave the show impressed with the musicianship and stage show, while we have fun doing it.

Among the many highlights of our THINK LIZZY career are two that stand out.

In 2011, Thin Lizzy’s longtime manager, Frank Murray, happened to see us at a SXSW gig in South Austin. He was so blown away by our show and the authenticity and sound of the band, he had to walk away for a minute.

Then in 2015, we met legendary Thin Lizzy guitar player Scott Gorham after a Black Star Riders show in Houston. We got the thumbs up approval and he dug the name of the band. He appreciated the fact that we are playing tribute to Thin Lizzy in Texas and encouraged us to keep the music alive and rockin’.

So after ten years, 150 guitar players and 19 drummers, all high calibre musicians, my goal remain to pay tribute and keep rocking the legacy of Thin Lizzy as the greatest ever Irish rock band!

Special mention must be made to some of our loyal and hardcore fans, who have supported the band from early on, and have given us reason to keep the band going: Uncle Ben from Brady, Texas, Abe and Katherine from McAllen, heavy metal Sean W, Greg G from Austin, Ernie and Silvano from San Antonio, Phil and Jenna from Old School Liquor and Market in South Austin, and of course, our favourite Stout Irish band, Blaggards.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
It hasn’t always been a smooth road but it’s been a hell of a fun ride. There have been times where I have lost talented musicians for various reasons. The struggle is finding the right musicians as the music is very unique and precise.

Also, since the music isn’t as well known in America apart from three hit songs (Jailbreak, The Cowboy Song, and The Boys are Back in Town), it’s been a fun challenge to introduce Thin Lizzy’s music to a wider audience.

And then there’s the “coyote call”….!!!

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
We are a Thin Lizzy tribute band which means we try our best to look and sound like the original and keep it as authentic as possible. I’m most proud of bringing Thin Lizzy’s music to a wider audience and getting recognition from an original member of Thin Lizzy. We are the longest-lasting Thin Lizzy tribute band in this part of America.

What’s next?
To keep on rocking wherever we can!

Contact Info:

Email: debrahwatts@hotmail.com
Website: www.thinklizzy.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/thinklizzytexas
Facebook: www.facebook.com/thinklizzytx - VoyageAustin.com