John Keppel

John Keppel is a singer and bodhran player from Dundrum in Dublin where he has lived all his life. He is the eldest of two sons born to John and Bernie Keppel who originate from Cork and Meath respespectivly. He has a younger brother, Mark..

John was educated in a number of schools, first in St Mary's School for The Blind and subequently in Child Vision Ireland, formerly St Joseph's School for the Visually Impaired. It was while attwending St Joseph's that he was introduced to traditional Irish music by the renowned flute player Catherine McEvoy who gave him his first intoduction to the bodhran. This was to have a lasting influence on John's subsequent career.

I had never had any introducution to Irish music before I went to St Joseph's," says John. I grew up mainly listening to 1990s boy bands and pop music, so Traditional music was very new to me. I later discovered that my eldest cousin Liam Guiney, from Meelin in the heart of Sliabh Luachra, now living in Limerick, was also a fine musician and Irish Step dancerMany's the time was spent in the kitchen of my aunt's house horsing out tunes, with out laye grandfather Jack Keppel dancing along in time to the music.

As far as singing goes, John's singing style is that of an Irish nalladeer, particicularly suited to the slow, forlorn Irish songs of love and loss.

"My voice is perhaps in it's comfort zone singing songs like The Town I Loved so Well, Grace or Song for Ireland, to name but a few. I am capable of a broad range of material, but the classic hits are what I really love most at heart, to be honest, I'm an old Irish romantic who wears his heart on his sleeve most of the time, and I say that with no shame or embarassment.

As far as my influences in traditional music go, I have been heavlly influenced by Sligo Roscommon flute music, thanks to Catherine Mcoy. I also love the sound of De Dannan, Mary Bergin, The Chieftains and Stocktons Wing, not to mention Danu and Dervish. My style of bodhran playing is traditional, mirroring the likes of Johnny "Ringo" Mc Donagh and Kevin Conneff rather than the more modern style of John Joe Kelly. I particularly like acompanying the flute, fiddle and banjo.

In 2005 John began to attend Friday night bodhran classes with mmaestoro bodhran teacher Helen Mc Loughlan. "Those classes were brilliant fun," recalls John. "At the start I found them to be challenging, as they were at an advanced stage but I felt that the