Aaron Keenan The Keyman’s Biography

 

When Aaron Keenan The Keyman was a 5th Grader at Maplewood Elementary School in his hometown of Connersville, Indiana, he started taking piano lessons with Margaret Harrison. Margaret taught Aaron the basics of music theory and of being able to sight-read sheet music. He worked his up way through The John Thompson series of piano instruction books up to at least the fourth grade level book. The lessons in these books are somewhat of an introduction to classical piano training. Shortly after Aaron had 7 years of piano lessons with Margaret as his piano teacher, she retired from teaching. In his late teens Aaron had grown increasingly interested in synthesizers and making electronic music with MIDI. During these early years, Aaron also played keyboard in a family band. Aaron's brother, Vincent Keenan played the drums, their dad Clark Keenan played Guitar, and their mom Pat Keenan played bass. The Keenan Family Band played '50s to the '70s classic rock hits.

 

Then in the 1980s, music had gotten more electronic. The 1980s saw the emergence of pop, dance music and new wave. An increase in the use of digital recording, associated with the usage of synthesizers, with synthpop music and other electronic genres featuring non-traditional instruments was increasing in popularity. This was a very exciting time for keyboardists as now through the magic of MIDI, this allowed a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, computers and other related devices to connect and communicate with one another. So Aaron was exploring the possibilities of making music with MIDI while it was still a relatively new concept for music making.

 

Right after graduating from Connersville Senior High School in 1990, Aaron got together with Mike Templeton, Terry Belt, & Billy Doulen and formed the "Legal Tender" band. The band continued to be a local favorite for the next five years. After five years of performing together, the members of Legal Tender went different directions to explore where their musical journeys could take them.

 

For the next ten years from 1995 to 2005 Aaron played keyboard in a number of local bands around the Connersville/Richmond area. Some of these included: House Arrest, Next Level, Maxwell House & The Percolators (They played coffee shop gigs!), The Brenda Sturgis Band, Project X, Off The Hook, The Ammerman Sturgis Keenan Band a.k.a. A.S.K., The Brookville Recreation Entertainment Band a.k.a. B.R.E.B., Sweetwater, Leddfoot, Sinn Dogg, and Social Media. 

 

In 2005, Aaron & his brother Vincent Keenan teamed up and continued performing together playing gigs for the next four years as "The Keenan Brothers Two Man Band". They were a favorite featured entertainment especially at D & R's Hideaway in Richmond, Indiana. During this time they recorded a little 5 song CD that was just self-titled "The Keenan Bros Two Man Band". Most notably, it featured a couple of fun little songs that audiences really enjoyed. One was an original song called "Don't Kill The Squirrel" which is a parody of a Tim McGraw song "Don't Take The Girl". The other fun track on the CD was an upbeat happy little childrens song called "Hole In The Bottom Of The Sea".

 

As the years have passed, Aaron's taste in music has gotten more technical. Some of his inspirations include several Classic Progressive Rock Bands such as Rush, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Journey, Boston, Styx, Kansas, The Who, and The Beatles. New Progressive Rock bands like Dream Theater, Symphony X, Savatage, and Trans-Siberian Orchestra are also very inspiring to him. Along with these he is also inspired by New Age, Electronic, and Film & Soundtrack artists such as Enya, Ray Lynch, Danny Elfman, Chip Davis, and Mannheim Steamroller.

 

In 2015, Aaron Keenan The Keyman is the keyboardist of "Jr Davis & The Funkyard Dogs" a very popular Classic Rock/Blues/Funk/Party Band based in Hagerstown, Indiana. He's also been fortunate to have the opportunity to work some jobs on the side in helping out with lights and sound for several national acts that have been featured at The Firehouse BBQ & Blues in Richmond, Indiana. All the while, Aaron continually practices, studies music theory, and is really focused on being a better sight-reader, and is always looking for ways to improve his musical abilities.

 

In September of 2016, Aaron Keenan The Keyman participated in helping Richmond, Indiana to reach the goal of setting a new world record for continuous piano playing which also helped to bring world wide attention to Richmond's rich music history at "The Starr Piano Festival".