Nathan Connolly
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Nathan Connolly (born Belfast, Northern Ireland, January 20, 1981) is a Northern Irish musician. He is currently the lead guitarist and backing vocalist for alternative rock band Snow Patrol.
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[edit] Early life
Connolly sang for a gospel church choir when he was 16, and the experience, he says, is what inspired him to be a musician. "I suppose I was always around music, and like any other kid, teenage kid, 12 or 13, I wanted to be a rock star and play guitar. I kind of fucked around with it for a few years and didn’t really learn much and wasn’t very good for the first two years, but then I started a band with my cousin and two mates from school and it kind of just went on from there. I started taking it a bit more seriously. I mean, I’ve always wanted to play in a band and write music, I just didn’t realize exactly how much when I first started."[1]
[edit] Music career
Prior to joining Snow Patrol, Connolly was a member of a band called File Under Easy Listening (or F.U.E.L), who were managed by BBC Radio 1 DJ Colin Murray. The band consisted of Nathan, vocalist Aaron Ditty, Dave Magee and Peter Comfort. Unfortunately, it did not last long; the single "Closure/Dryform" was F.U.E.L.'s first and only release.
While working at the record store HMV in Belfast, Nathan was introduced to the band Snow Patrol. He reluctantly agreed to join, despite the fact that the band had no record deal at the time. He jokingly recalls his mother thinking he "was being kidnapped by rock stars."
Connolly became a permanent member of the band near the end of 2002. His recruitment played a large role in shaping the band's new sound. As a composer of the band's new material, Snow Patrol garnered a new record deal and released Final Straw in 2003. The album proved to be the band's breakthrough and helped introduce them to a wide audience.
[edit] Equipment
[edit] Guitars
- Gibson Les Paul Custom - Tobacco 1979
- Fender Telecaster Custom - Sunburst 1974
- Fender Telecaster Custom - Blonde 1977
- Gretsch Countryman - Brown 1962
- Gretsch Duo Jet - Black
- Fender Jaguar - Sunburst 1965
- Fender Telecaster Custom - Black '72 reissue
- Fender Telecaster Nashville - Sunburst
- Guild Electro/Acoustic
He uses Jim Dunlop Tortex .60mm picks
[edit] Amps
- Vox AC30 (Used at Mandela Hall SG#3)
- Marshall JCM800 2203 Jubilee's (Current Stage Amp)
- Marshall 3315 Transistor (Used on Final Straw Tours)
- Fender Twin Reverb (Also Used on Final Straw Tours)
[edit] Effects
Connolly uses 'TC Electronics' rack mounted effects and some other pedals (Boss, Line 6, Dunlop).
The effects are:
TC Electronic MXL
TC Electronic D-Two
TC Electronic G-Major
All controlled by Voodoo Lab "Ground Control" System
[edit] Gallery
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[edit] Trivia
- Nathan earned a National Diploma in Popular Music.
- Nathan is a huge Star Wars fan. He says, "The first toy I ever got as a kid was a Boba Fett action figure. And later my granddad bought me an AT-AT. I'm still obsessed with Star Wars! I collect a lot of Star Wars stuff that I keep partly at my house and some at my parents' house."
- He is an avid U2 fan. In recounting an encounter with Bono, he says, "I waited outside the Europa Hotel all day when I was 16 to get my cassette copy of Zooropa signed by Bono, which he very kindly did. To be on a level that’s not the same, but close to your heroes is a very bizarre experience."
