Waikato music: Jesse O’Brien

May is New Zealand Music Month, which aims to celebrate Kiwi music and the people who make it. The Waikato has some incredibly talented musicians, so we are showcasing some of them this month, whether they are currently based in the region or they grew up in the mighty Waikato.

Throughout Jesse O’Brien’s life, music has been his solace. He’s always been surrounded by it within his family and it’s got him through some tough times.

He was born and raised in Dunedin, before moving to the Waikato 14 years ago.

Music is in Jesse’s blood. His father and maternal grandad were musicians however they both tragically died when Jesse was five.

Because he was so young he doesn’t particularly remember them being musicians, but his mother tells him stories of when Jesse used to fall asleep in his cot while his dad’s band practiced in another room in the house.

Jesse says his biggest musical influence growing up was the fact that his mum listened to a wide variety of music records all the time on their old record player.

He started singing in the church choir at five years old.

“I didn’t know much about music, but I always sang because it moved me,” Jesse said.

Eventually he started playing guitar at age 14. That was because he shifted schools and he really wanted to learn German, but the only other course at high school that would fit in his timetable to be able to learn German was music.

Jesse’s father’s acoustic guitar was in the cupboard at home, so he dusted it off and learnt guitar in the music class.

“Thank goodness I took music, because it opened up a whole new world for me and became a real anchor during a turbulent time in my teen years,” Jesse said.  

“I had some dark times as a teenager and music was my outlet for channelling that.”

Once he started learning guitar he learnt songs from bands he enjoyed such as Nirvana and Alice in Chains. He ventured in to writing his own music as well.