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Using music to build
bridges
September 24, 2002
When Brian O'Connell left New York to go to Pakistan, he thought it would only
be for a few months. He has now been there for 10 years.
O'Connell is a member of Junoon, a Pakistan-based rock band with a global
reputation. Junoon, meaning "obsession" in Urdu (the official language of
Pakistan), is composed of songwriter Salman Ahmad on guitar, O'Connell on bass,
Ali Azmat on vocals, Jay Dittamo on drums and Ashiq Ali on South Asian hand
drums.
Though Junoon's popularity is primarily in South Asia, the band garners
significant attention from the Western world as well. American media has
recently spotlighted Junoon with articles in the New York Times, the Boston
Globe and a VH1 special.
The group, created by Ahmad in 1990, soon after released its first, self-titled
album and established itself as a success in Pakistan.
The true "Junoonies" are the Pakistani fans, O'Connell says. But Junoon hopes to
spread its music to America, which is a reason for the current U.S. tour. The
tour kicks off this Saturday in Lawrence, Kan.
Though Junoon's songs are written in Urdu and Punjabi, the latest song, "No
More," is in English. O'Connell says it was inspired by the events of Sept. 11.
The band has written songs in English before, but this is the first tailored to
an American audience.
O'Connell says when performing in America he sees the non-South Asian-American
crowd growing.
"I always knew it [Junoon's music] would work over here," he says.
Junoon's music is an eclectic mix of rock, Pakistani folk music and Sufi poetry
influences. As O'Connell says, it is "a sincere blend of the best of the East
and West."
Junoon's music promotes tolerance and cultural exchange. O'Connell points to the
fact that within Junoon there is diversity, as O'Connell is a Christian and
Ahmad and Azmat are Muslims.
The music of Junoon parts with the fluffy love songs of traditional rock and
establishes itself as a band that is lyrically reflective and introspective,
O'Connell says.
Western influences include Carlos Santana, Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix, while
Eastern influences include Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (a world-renowned Pakistani
qawwali singer), O'Connell says.
It was in 1992 that O'Connell, who says he is the "foreigner of the band"
because he is not of Pakistani descent like the other two core members, joined
the group.
O'Connell attended junior high and high school with Ahmad. Both were in a band
together. After high school the band broke up as Ahmad moved back to Pakistan to
study medicine and O'Connell moved to western New York to study music education
and special education.
But contact continued between the two with a visit from Ahmad almost every
summer. One summer he came with an invitation for O'Connell. He asked him to
produce the next Junoon album in Pakistan.
"So I went over there and I never came back," he says. O'Connell says he fell in
love with the country and the culture.
"I call it home," he says.
O'Connell is currently married to a Pakistani woman.
Because of Junoon's popularity in the country, O'Connell is well known and says
the people embrace him.
"I must be the most popular American over there," O'Connell says, laughing.
When in Pakistan, O'Connell calls Karachi home and when in America he calls
Tappan, N.Y., home.
Before joining Junoon, O'Connell was involved in helping disabled adults. He
says the spirit of helping has continued with his participation in Junoon.
Through its music, Junoon has helped raise a lot of money for numerous causes.
O'Connell says helping is an "unspoken responsibility" of the band.
Junoon's involvement in the political world has sometimes caused controversy,
albeit not always intentionally, O'Connell says.
When performing in India in 1998 during India and Pakistan's nuclear testing,
Junoon continued to voice its message for peace, which was taken as criticism by
some authorities in Pakistan. Junoon was banned from performing in Pakistan and
its music was banned from the radio.
That did not slow the band down and they continue to spread the message of
peace.
Just last year, Junoon was invited to play at the UN General Assembly for UN Day
in New York City -- the first time a rock band was invited to perform at this
event. And since Sept. 11, the band has continued promoting peace through
various interviews and performances.
"Art does build bridges, not walls," O'Connell says.
When asked about the future of Junoon, O'Connell says he does not know.
"We have no intention of stopping this," O'Connell says, "but where it goes only
God knows."
Zahra Cheema
The Gateway
University of Nebraska in Omaha
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