In Drapers Town, Northern Ireland, a school principal and his wife had five children. Although there was a piano in the house, only the first four were afforded lessons, none of whom became musicians. However, child number five was set to change all that.
Kevin Kelly, born on a brisk County Derry morn, fell in love at first sight with the bodhran. The bodhran is the single-handed, frame drum used in traditional Irish music. “I saw it and heard it everywhere I went. I thought the sound was amazing, this deep magical beat that drove the music. For me, I always felt it got the party started.”
The bodhran has shown Kevin the world. “Gee, I’ve done gigs in Glastonbury, UK, Scotland, Woodford, Australia, run workshops in New York and San Francisco. One of the most amazing experiences was a gig I did with Tourism Ireland; it was pure joy seeing some 200 people dancing and drumming,” he regaled.
“I organised for the first bodhran in space with the NASA JAXA launch. I created a DVD for Tourism Ireland visiting 32 villages playing the bodhran along the way. Oh, and did I mention I hold a Guinness World Records title for the largest drumming ensemble with 980 players?” That’s a lot of drums.
Kevin started a band, aptly named Kelly’s Heroes (a great movie). The band has been together 16 years. What’s the secret to your longevity? “Well, we are allowed to fight, but only for five minutes. People contact us for parties, weddings and events as we are a traditional, fun, upbeat Irish folk dancing band,” he muses.
Kevin also teaches the bodhran both one-on-one in his studio in Alexandria and in groups. “Everyone’s got a heartbeat. Everyone’s got their own natural rhythm. I discovered the key to help people unlock their natural rhythm. Playing the bodhran is a way to de-stress. Drumming in a circle with people on the same wavelength is a form of meditation.”
Really? “Yes, it changes your biorhythms, changes your brain rhythms. You can use it to relax or as a mood elevator. But don’t take my word for it, check out what the scientists say,” he laughs.
Apart from teaching, Kevin finds the bodhran has drawn him into the corporate world. “I have been brought into companies, financial institutions, marketing companies and whatnot to create team-building days, sometimes fifty to a hundred drums. But also conferences, to break up the death by PowerPoint scenario and re-energise the room.”
To say Kevin is busy might be the same as saying the Irish enjoy a tipple now and then.
He’s just launched his first semi-biographical novel titled Diary of a Galway Girl. It’s essentially a love story, steeped in Irish magic, music and mystery. Kevin has also written a track for a nightclub scene in the HBO series Confess. Plus, he has a new meditation track coming out that runs exactly 11 minutes, 11 seconds. ” Why 11/11,” I inquired? “Because it’s a magical number and the perfect length for a meditation track,” he quips.
“Christmas is grand,” he sighs lyrically. “I have this new line of drums coming out for beginners plus a special meditation drum. But everything is on the website www.bodhranworld.com.”
Did you just give yourself a plug during an interview? “Well, someone’s gotta do it,” he laughs.
Make no doubt, the bodhran is and always will be a passion for this Irishman. In his own words, it’s been the torch that has lit the path of his quite remarkable journey.
