THE SCENE: Arun O'Connor's music journey

"For me, it started when I was 11 and I first watched the performance of the Eagles Hell Freezes Over concert. That really made me want to learn guitar."

Arun O’Connor.

• MASSAV Productions has teamed up with The Southland Tribune to bring you a regular feature called “THE SCENE - Southland's Original Music Scene”. We will shine a light on Southland musicians, starting today with Arun O’Connor.

ARTIST - ARUN O’CONNOR

Q. What's your style of music?

A. Country Rock

Q. Tell us about your music journey, where did it start?

A. I come from a musical family so I was probably always going to end up playing music!

For me, it started when I was 11 and I first watched the performance of the Eagles Hell Freezes Over concert. That really made me want to learn guitar. I had been singing since I was younger but always considered myself a guitarist first and foremost.

Q. Who has been your music influences?

A. The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, Little River Band, Beatles, Toto, Pink Floyd, and Local Southland Musicians who I would go and watch as a kid, like Craig Allott.

Craig kind of took us young guys under his wing and got us playing shows like the 45 South book launch, Southland Musicians Club Theatre Restaurants and so much more.

Q. What does the creative process look like when it comes to you writing songs?

A: I normally have a song “theme” idea which I’ll write down on my phone and then go back to when I sit down to write.

I almost always start with a chorus and I have to write the lyrics and the music at the same time. I can’t really do one without the other.

I then write the rest of the song around that chorus and see what I end up with!

My co-written songs are normally the same format as I’ll go into a write with a clear idea of what I want to work on. That process is normally faster as there’s more people working on the idea to throw out bad ideas or make changes.

Q. What's been the most enjoyable gig where you have performed your own songs?

A: Probably Top Paddock Music Festival! Being able to play on a big stage to hundreds of people with a full band is always amazing, but it’s even better when I see people singing my songs back to me in the crowd.

That is the best feeling I think you can get as a songwriter.

Q. What song have you attached for the Southland Tribune audience to listen to?

A: When The Darkness Comes Around.

Q. How did that song come about, and why is it so special for you?

A: A friend of mine was going through a rough time in their life and it just seemed to write itself into a song for me.

It’s a sad song but it’s probably my favourite song I’ve written and the recording process of it was so much fun.

It evolved in ways I couldn’t imagine and channelled a lot of my influences like the Beatles, Pink Floyd, Joe Walsh. Some people have said it reminds them of Ozzy Osbourne so it covers a wide range!