A hug for granny, then on stage with Whitesnake
Mullingar bass player Tanya O’Callaghan makes her own piece of rock music history this evening when she takes to the stage with Whitesnake in the 3Arena in Dublin.
The show kicks off Whitesnake’s farewell world tour, and will also be their first gig since Tanya became the group’s first female member late last year.
Speaking to the Westmeath Examiner at the weekend, Ballinderry native Tanya joked that “it was about time” that the group, who formed in 1978, welcomed a female musician into their ranks. The announcement in December that Tanya had joined the group caused quite a stir in the rock world.
Led by former Deep Purple singer David Coverdale, Whitesnake was one of the biggest hard rock bands of late ’70s and 1980s, selling millions of records across the world, with hits such as Here I Go Again and Is This Love.
Based in California for the last seven years, where she has established herself as one of the most in demand session musicians (“hired guns”) on the scene playing with big names such Maynard James Keenan (Tool/APC), Dee Snider (Twisted Sister) Steven Adler (Guns N’ Roses) and Nuno Bettencourt (Extreme), Tanya says that playing her first gig with one of the biggest rock bands in history in front of family and friends makes the occasion even more special.
“I can’t wait. After all the bands and all the years I’ve been doing this, I very rarely get to play in Ireland any more. To be coming home after two and half years of not being able to because of the travel bans and then to be coming home for this reason is just pure class. It’s a baptism by fire at home. No pressure! (laughs).”
Tanya, who is the daughter of Brian and Dolores O’Callaghan, has spent the last few weeks rehearsing with her new band and she is looking forward to performing the hits of Whitesnake and Deep Purple in a front of a live audience.
Despite her busy schedule, she also managed to get home for a few hours on Saturday, her first visit to Mullingar since the start of the pandemic.
She says that she has been deeply touched by the messages she has received in advance of this evening’s gig, which will be the biggest in her career to date.
“I’ve been getting a lot of messages on social media. There are a lot of people coming up from town and just Ireland in general.
“I was in so many bands over the years so I have loads of old friends in the music industry. People are coming home from all over the world.
“It’s been really sweet. Everyone’s delighted about the fact that there is a Mullingar woman on bass.”
Tanya cut her musical teeth in Mullingar, before making a name for herself as a session musician in Dublin. She was a member of the houseband at the Late Late Show for a period and, among other things, toured the world with Riverdance, before deciding to move to California. When asked why Mullingar punches above its weight when it comes to musical exports, she said: “There’s something in the water in Mullingar; no one knows exactly why such an extraordinary amount of artists come out of our little town – maybe we all feed off one another and it drives us more.”
Looking ahead to tonight’s show, Tanya, who is also a committed activist for animal, human and environmental issues, says she couldn’t have picked a better place to start the latest chapter in what has already been a stellar career.
“To be starting off at home is pretty special. To be able to give my 94-year-old granny (Phyllis O’Callaghan) a hug and then go to the 3Arena to play with Whitesnake is a pretty good week.”