Telstar guidance
counselor moonlights to music
Just out of college in the early 1990s, Kevin
O’Reilly of Bethel was trying to make a living as a
professional musician.
He played bass guitar with a band called “Love Cactus,” and they had a performance scheduled in Boston.
Driving south, he said, “My car broke down. I had to have my mother call me in sick to work the next day since we didn’t have time to fix the car.
“[At the performance] there were about 10 people in the audience. Then, on the way back, the engine in the car seized up. At that point I said, ‘I need a real life, a real job.”
So O’Reilly the guitarist became O’Reilly the guidance counselor. Today, he has a real job at Telstar High School.
But that doesn’t mean he abandoned his music. Far from it.
Anyone who watches WCSH-TV’s “207” has likely seen one of the five recent appearances by O’Reilly and his current band, The Dave Rowe Trio.
Tuba to bass
O’Reilly, who grew up in Cape Elizabeth, got his start in music as a young teen.
“I dabbled in the tuba,” he said, but tried the guitar after his parents worried he was too small to handle the larger instrument.
He soon moved on to bass guitar. “I got the bug and never stopped,” he said. “The bass was what I connected with.”
He played with various bands throughout high school and college. The music was also varied; punk rock, heavy metal, classic rock and roll and others.
“If it was there to be done, I wanted to try it,” he said.
O’Reilly attended St. Joseph’s, USM and eventually graduated from the University of Maine at Farmington with a social studies degree.
While he was in graduate school at the University of Maine, studying for a master’s in counseling, he wound up on his first CD.
The recording was a compilation of the university’s annual Bumstock Festival, in which he had participated.
From 1995 to 2005, O’Reilly served as a guidance counselor at Dirigo High School in Dixfield.
There he met his wife, Nancy Eaton, who now teaches physics at Gould Academy.
While he worked in education, O’Reilly continued to play bass guitar part-time.
At Dirigo, he found occasional opportunities to use his talents as a musician.
“I helped out with a music theory class, playing for the kids here and there. And I played with the pep band,” he said.
The pep band was one of 40 in which he has now played.
Born at Hoot Night
The Dave Rowe Trio got its start three years ago during Hoot Night at the Sudbury Inn in Bethel, where he met Dave Rowe.
“He said he was putting a band together and needed a bass guitarist,” said O’Reilly.
Rowe’s father, Tom, had recently passed away. The elder Rowe was the co-founder of the well-known Maine folk band Schooner Fare.
After his father’s death, Dave wanted to continue the musical legacy left by his father.
“When I got the offer, I didn’t feel it was something I could turn down,” said O’Reilly. “It was another level of professionalism to step up to.”
The band debuted on St. Patrick’s Day 2004 at the Blaine House, at the request of Gov. John Baldacci, and has been busy with CDs and performances ever since.
The three-man acoustical group plays throughout Maine and beyond, and to date has produced four CDs.
They describe themselves as “just a little bit folk, just a little bit bluegrass, just a little bit Celtic, just a little bit traditional.”
Their next CD, due out soon, will feature a live performance recorded last fall at the Chocolate Church in Bath. It includes “Finnegan’s Wake” and the sea shanty “The Mermaid Song,” O’Reilly said.
He said he enjoys the camaraderie of the trio and the opportunity to travel with the group.
And musically, “I like the music, particularly the up tempo numbers which drive like rock and roll songs,” he said. “The other thing I like is that I’m learning to be a better singer, which was never a strength of mine.”
The move to Telstar
In 2005 O’Reilly became a guidance counselor at Telstar.
He and the trio have played for SAD44 students as part of the Mahoosuc Arts Council’s performance program.
At Telstar, said O’Reilly, “They cheered. I got more compliments than I expected.”
He said that in some cases, music helps him connect with the students he advises.
And, he said, “My musical background and recent experiences with the Trio have given me some good insights to pass along to students interested in music for a career.”
Although he admits his ideal career would still be full-time musician, O’Reilly said the balance of musician and counselor is a good one.
“I feel being a musician (or doing any sort of public performance) is an inherently selfish thing, particularly when it comes to getting your music out to people.
“As a counselor, I can offset some of that selfishness by trying to help students accomplish all sorts of goals, like choosing a career, helping them deal with a difficult circumstance, or guiding them through the college application process.”
(Note: This Saturday the trio will play at Keely’s Banquet Center on Warren Ave. in Portland, as a benefit for the Irish American Heritage Center.)
He played bass guitar with a band called “Love Cactus,” and they had a performance scheduled in Boston.
Driving south, he said, “My car broke down. I had to have my mother call me in sick to work the next day since we didn’t have time to fix the car.
“[At the performance] there were about 10 people in the audience. Then, on the way back, the engine in the car seized up. At that point I said, ‘I need a real life, a real job.”
So O’Reilly the guitarist became O’Reilly the guidance counselor. Today, he has a real job at Telstar High School.
But that doesn’t mean he abandoned his music. Far from it.
Anyone who watches WCSH-TV’s “207” has likely seen one of the five recent appearances by O’Reilly and his current band, The Dave Rowe Trio.
Tuba to bass
O’Reilly, who grew up in Cape Elizabeth, got his start in music as a young teen.
“I dabbled in the tuba,” he said, but tried the guitar after his parents worried he was too small to handle the larger instrument.
He soon moved on to bass guitar. “I got the bug and never stopped,” he said. “The bass was what I connected with.”
He played with various bands throughout high school and college. The music was also varied; punk rock, heavy metal, classic rock and roll and others.
“If it was there to be done, I wanted to try it,” he said.
O’Reilly attended St. Joseph’s, USM and eventually graduated from the University of Maine at Farmington with a social studies degree.
While he was in graduate school at the University of Maine, studying for a master’s in counseling, he wound up on his first CD.
The recording was a compilation of the university’s annual Bumstock Festival, in which he had participated.
From 1995 to 2005, O’Reilly served as a guidance counselor at Dirigo High School in Dixfield.
There he met his wife, Nancy Eaton, who now teaches physics at Gould Academy.
While he worked in education, O’Reilly continued to play bass guitar part-time.
At Dirigo, he found occasional opportunities to use his talents as a musician.
“I helped out with a music theory class, playing for the kids here and there. And I played with the pep band,” he said.
The pep band was one of 40 in which he has now played.
Born at Hoot Night
The Dave Rowe Trio got its start three years ago during Hoot Night at the Sudbury Inn in Bethel, where he met Dave Rowe.
“He said he was putting a band together and needed a bass guitarist,” said O’Reilly.
Rowe’s father, Tom, had recently passed away. The elder Rowe was the co-founder of the well-known Maine folk band Schooner Fare.
After his father’s death, Dave wanted to continue the musical legacy left by his father.
“When I got the offer, I didn’t feel it was something I could turn down,” said O’Reilly. “It was another level of professionalism to step up to.”
The band debuted on St. Patrick’s Day 2004 at the Blaine House, at the request of Gov. John Baldacci, and has been busy with CDs and performances ever since.
The three-man acoustical group plays throughout Maine and beyond, and to date has produced four CDs.
They describe themselves as “just a little bit folk, just a little bit bluegrass, just a little bit Celtic, just a little bit traditional.”
Their next CD, due out soon, will feature a live performance recorded last fall at the Chocolate Church in Bath. It includes “Finnegan’s Wake” and the sea shanty “The Mermaid Song,” O’Reilly said.
He said he enjoys the camaraderie of the trio and the opportunity to travel with the group.
And musically, “I like the music, particularly the up tempo numbers which drive like rock and roll songs,” he said. “The other thing I like is that I’m learning to be a better singer, which was never a strength of mine.”
The move to Telstar
In 2005 O’Reilly became a guidance counselor at Telstar.
He and the trio have played for SAD44 students as part of the Mahoosuc Arts Council’s performance program.
At Telstar, said O’Reilly, “They cheered. I got more compliments than I expected.”
He said that in some cases, music helps him connect with the students he advises.
And, he said, “My musical background and recent experiences with the Trio have given me some good insights to pass along to students interested in music for a career.”
Although he admits his ideal career would still be full-time musician, O’Reilly said the balance of musician and counselor is a good one.
“I feel being a musician (or doing any sort of public performance) is an inherently selfish thing, particularly when it comes to getting your music out to people.
“As a counselor, I can offset some of that selfishness by trying to help students accomplish all sorts of goals, like choosing a career, helping them deal with a difficult circumstance, or guiding them through the college application process.”
(Note: This Saturday the trio will play at Keely’s Banquet Center on Warren Ave. in Portland, as a benefit for the Irish American Heritage Center.)
