The Town Pants

One would think that naming a band would have its challenges. Whether the name is cute, outrageous, or it has no meaning at all, it still supposed to describe the band in some way.

It wasn’t any of those ways for The Town Pants.

Yes that is the name of the band — The Town Pants.

Duane Keogh, guitarist and vocalist, the name was chosen because he and his brother were in Ireland, placing bets on horses, and The Town Pants was one of the horses that the brothers on which the bet was placed.

And his Irish ancestry is what led Duane to the rhythms and melodies of Celtic music. It would seem he has Celtic music in his blood since he was a wee lad. Growing up in Ottawa, Canada and coming from a large family of Irish and Acadian ancestry — music was an integral part of the Keogh. And it’s where both Duane and his brother Dave, as youngsters first heard traditional music played late into the nights at kitchen parties at home by cousins, grandfathers, uncles, aunts, but especially their father.

“Our grandfather introduced us to Irish music,” Duane said. “We often had large kitchen parties, and old Irish folk tunes were always a big part of the music. We grew up watching The Irish Rovers on CBC in Canada, and loved it.”

The Vancouver, Canada-based band combines aspects of Irish traditional, folk rock and roots Americana, fusing their signature dual lead vocals to create their own unique brand of high energy “West Coast Celtic.”

Duane’s father, Lorne Keogh had a big influence on Duane, his musical tastes as well. “He was always the life of every party with his great voice and guitar. We wanted to be like him. We also listened to The Dubliners, Clancy Brothers, Tommy Makem, and The Pogues,” Duane said.

When songwriting, most bands have a routine on how new material is presented to the band. The Town Pants has its own team effort routine as well. “Every song is different. Sometimes you write a song that you think is 95 percent completed, and the rest of the band members add so much to it that what gets recorded is quite different that the initial demo. Other times we only have lyrics, or a music idea, and we kind of collaborate until it’s a solid piece that we’re all happy with. It’s a team effort, and we all bring our own unique perspectives to the table,” Duane added.

Duane is comfortable in all genres of music, but if he wasn’t playing Celtic, he would be performing folk music.

“I love songs that move me in some way,” he said.

The Town Pants will be performing at the Jamestown Regional Celtic Festival Friday in Mayville.