After his death, Daniel O’Neil’s music has reached national popularity with a little help from the World Wide Web.
Twenty-two years old from Lincoln, R.I., who had finished graduate work Lafayette College.O’Neil was a graduate student studying environmental engineering when he was killed in the engineering building at Virginia Tech. A passionate musician, O’Neil played the guitar and sang. He recorded songs, many of which he wrote, with a microphone he received free with his computer.
As people around the nation mourn the tragedy at Virginia Tech and read about the victims, it is quite easy to come across www.residenthippy.com, the link for O’Neil’s music page, or www.myspace.com/residenthippy. The music is especially significant in helping some grieve or remember those lost at Tech. The tracks on his Myspace alone have been played approximately 100,000 times.
“As I listened to this young man’s music, I was somehow comforted despite the tears that flowed freely down my face. I did not know Dan O’Neil, but this one moment alone with his music is something I will surely treasure,” Jay Jimenez said in a comment to The New York Times.
“It’s amazing. I can’t even believe it,” said Amanda Burbank to the Associated Press about the response to O’Neil’s music. “It just means a lot to us.”
Burbank can be heard in several duets with O’Neil on his Web site.
“He would make jokes about it, he was so down to earth. I think inside he would also be really happy,” said Steve Craveiro, a friend of O’Neil’s from high school, who told the Associated Press O’Neil knew what a mark his music had left.
Those who knew O’Neil remember him for his consistent presence and classic smile. They remember him enjoying life and enjoying his music.
“Senior year, Dan was always up in his room jammin’ out [on his guitar] covers to the cheesiest pop songs. It was rare to come into the apartment and not hear an acoustic collaboration of Backstreet Boys upstairs,” Jesslyn Roebuck said in The New York Times.
His close friends, including Burbank, said they would honor O’Neil with a memorial fund and a CD of his music.
Contributions can be sent to the Daniel O’Neil Memorial Fund, P.O. Box 111, Manville, R.I. 02838.
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