Artist description Loch Ness Johnny decided that they wanted to take the music in a slightly different direction and go more rock. They wanted it to be louder, faster, more electric, and more intense. The band played at Smiths Olde Bar in Atlanta, Georgia and got a rave review in Southeastern Performer Magazine. Loch Ness Johnny debuted its new sound - to overwhelming enthusiasm - as the opening act for Seven Nations at Be Here Now in Asheville, NC. The band carried its success into the New Year with a packed house of riotous fans at Hannah Flannigan's in Asheville

Music Style Appalachian Stomp Rock

Musical Influences Mountains and Ireland

Artist History Loch Ness Johnny first started playing as a group of three musicians in the summer of 1997. The three original members were Mike Cappel, Phil Hurd, and Donald Merckle. Their first public performances were mainly acoustic instrumentals in the Celtic tradition and long forgotten covers such as Tainted Love by Soft Cell and Superfreak by Rick James at coffeehouses in Columbia, SC. Loch Ness Johnny then decided to become a little more serious and put a little more time and effort into "creating a style" and doing original pieces. They played Pizza Bistro, Sharkey's, The Village Idiot, Gilligan's, The Publick House, The Elbow Room, New Brookland Tavern, The Art Bar, and Jillian's. They played everywhere, including private parties, weddings, and celeidhs in Charleston, Sumter, and Camden to name a few. They kept playing locally and regionally at many of the same clubs, parties, and celeidhs as they as they had earlier, but adding more and more original material all the time.In the early spring of 1999, the four members decided to record a CD. The self titled CD was released in early summer of '99 at the Elbow Room. Shortly thereafter, Loch Ness Johnny played at the Iris Festival in Sumter again, but this time on their own stage. An entertainment coordinator for Celtic festivals was there and invited them to play at the Virginia Scottish Games in Alexandria, Virginia in July.The members of Loch Ness Johnny decided that they wanted to take the music in a slightly different direction and go more rock. They wanted it to be louder, faster, more electric, and more intense. The band played at Smiths Olde Bar in Atlanta, Georgia and got a rave review in Southeastern Performer Magazine. Loch Ness Johnny debuted its new sound - to overwhelming enthusiasm - as the opening act for Seven Nations at Be Here Now in Asheville, NC. The band carried its success into the New Year with a packed house of riotous fans at Hannah Flannigan's in AshevilleLoch Ness Johnny played as the main act at Jack of the Wood, Be Here Now, and Stella Blue. They were also the headlining act at the St. Patrick's Day Festival 2000 in Knoxville, Tennessee. By the end of March, the band was back in the studio recording a new CD, Sunflower Dragon. The CD was completed just in time to make record sales at the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games. These games are world renowned and attended by more than 70,000 people every Summer in the NC Blue Ridge Mountains. Celticgrove.com a web radio station, broadcast live from the games featuring Loch Ness Johnny and the many other great bands present during the three day festival. New and returing fans from the Alexandria Games were clamoring for the band to play venues in in Virginia Beach, Northern Virginia, Washington DC, and Baltimore.Loch Ness Johnny returned to Columbia for their hometown release of Sunflower Dragon at Delaney's in Five Points on July 29th, again making record sales. Delaney's Management said that in the history of the pub they had never seen so many people.For promotional CD's or booking, please email Donald Merckle or Eva Thompson at LNJohnny@aol.com or call 803-787-5843 for Donald, or 803-254-7389 for Eva.

Group Members Donald Merckle - guitars/vox, Brookes Peurifoy - guitars/backing vox, Kevin Petit - bass/backing vox, Phil Hurd - fiddle/vox, Drummer - TBA

Instruments Guitars, Bass, Drums, Fiddle, Vocals

Albums Loch Ness Johnny; Sunflower Dragon

Press Reviews Southeastern Performer MagazineSmith's Olde BarAtlanta, GASeptember 13, 1999Roi TamkinMonday nights are not a big draw at Smiths Olde Bar, so for a while now they've been devoting those monday evenings to Fresh Faces nights, featuring three regional bands performing for the first time before an Atlanta audience, with each act hoping for an opportunity to play there again on a better night....Loch Ness Johnny took the stage next, after a quick announcement that they had changed their name to The Johnnies. This four piece from Columbia, SC featured acoustic guitar, bass, drums, and fiddle. Fiddle? There has to be a fiddle to play Irish and Celtic music, and The Johnnies Phil Hurd filled that slot perfectly. Aside from him, the band consisted of Donald Meckle on acoustic guitar, Brookes Peurifoy on bass, and their new drummer, Jason. They looked like three good old southern boys, playing with one authentic Irish transplant.No one need wonder how these three rednecks met an Irish fiddler - once they started playing, all doubts were put aside. The appearance that The Johnnies are actually two bands extends into their sound. Merckle sings pop acoustic ballads, but as soon as Hurd draws his bow across his fiddle, everything sounds like it came from the Emerald Isle.Their blend of American pop and Irish tradition works. It's a sound that makes it hard to sit still - it demands dancing. Even the original tunes such as "Going Down" or "Radio Control Heart" scream for Riverdance dancers to jump up and down on stage with the foursome, and songs like "Wall of Death" call out for the audience to sing along. Free TimesDelaney's - CD Release PartyColumbia, SCJuly 29, 2000Kevin OliverColumbia's Loch Ness Johnny say they are looking for ways to stand out from the pack of regional rock groups. Immediately in their favor is their prominent inclusion of a fiddle player, Phil Hurd."The fiddle is what sets us apart from a lot of other rock bands," says lead singer and guitarist Donald Merckle. "I think it sounds great for the fast paced stuff we do. All that Celtic and Appalachian music had lots of fiddle, we take that and fit it into a rock format."The group started from a chance meeting at a local open mike night, Merckle says. "I met Phil at open mike night at Gilligan's, doing Irish stuff as part of a duo. Soon after, I began to sing with them, and we decided to make it a serious band as it grew from there and went more in a rock direction.When Merckle calls his band a 'rock' band, he is taking advantage of a broader definition than many would attribute to the form. The tunes of Loch Ness Johnny range from the prog-rock instrumental "Intro 69" which opens the bands new CD, Sunflower Dragon, to the upbeat country twang of "You Can't Make Johnny Sing" and a medley of original and traditional reels. Merckle's songwriting provides the more commercial pop moments in their repertoire, though the subjects aren't exactly typical, light Top 40 fare. "Miracle Boy" Merckel reveals, "is about my unhappiness with people trying to push their style of religion on you. I have a real problem with organized religion - I was raised Catholic." The song itself seems to offer more hopeful terms, as the narrarator grapples with his own faith, "Son, you're not so spiritual you have barely just begun / Cast your stones in the wake below and reach up to the sky."Their musical adaptability has garnered them a variety of gigs, from the usual college bars to a recent set at Grandfather Mountain, where they played with Seven Nations, another group that combines rock with Celtic music.That combination of influences is important for Loch Ness Johnny to maintain, Merckle says. "It is important to keep the Appalachian element and flavor, but we are not quite Celtic enough for the Celtic rock lovers, and not quite different enough from the regular rock bands for the traditional crowd."The diverse sounds and textures on Sunflower Dragon should fill in those cracks, Merckle says. "We made a real effort to keep it varied, because we are still searching for our audience. Also, I like to hear different things from the bands I listen to. Someone once told me that the Ramones were the greatest band in the world, for 30 minutes. We don't want to fall into that category. It gets boring for us on stage if we don't mix it up a bit, and the fans love the fact we change up things like that." The State NewspaperDelaney's - CD Release PartyColumbia, SCJuly 29, 2000Foot Stomping FunLoch Ness Johnny is getting around. The Columbia based quintet has been spreading its gospel of country rock and Celtic zeal throughout the Carolinas, Georgia, and Virginia. Now the band has a brand new CD to entice even more fans. The eight song Sunflower Dragon veers from the edgy rock of "Powerful Child" to the exuberance of "Radio Control Heart" and the wacky funk of "Velvet Pesos." Loch Ness Johnny is Phil Hurd on fiddle and vocals, Donald Merckle on acoustic guitar and lead vocals, Brookes Peurifoy on electric guitar and vocals, Andrew Hoose on drums, and Kevin Pettit on bass. They'll be celebrating the release of Sunflower Dragon Saturday night at Delaney's Pub on Saluda Avenue in Five Points. The show starts around 9pm. The State NewspaperLoch Ness Johnny's fiddle driven pop finds an audienceColumbia, SCChristina Lee KnaussYou might think a fiddle doesn't belong in a rock band. If so, you haven't heard the Celtic-rock group Loch Ness Johnny.The Columbia-based five piece will hold a release party Saturday for it's new CD, Sunflower Dragon. The band was founded in 1998 by singer/guitarist Donald Merckle and well known area fiddle player Phil Hurd.They first got together to play some acoustic gigs at venues around the Midlands. Merckle said he never really had listened to Irish music before meeting Hurd.The two gathered other musicians and eventually formed a band. Merckle remembers one of their first public appearances was for a local-access TV show in Newberry."We gave ourselves some kind of crazy name like Carol's Fondue and ended up in this little studio where we were all sweating and there stood Phil, looking noble and just playing away," Merckle said.The band's unusual but memorable name is one of two the members considered. What was the other? "Monster Truck Girls," Merckle said with a laugh. Thankfully, that one didn't win.Other members of Loch Ness Johnny are guitarist Brookes Peurifoy, bassist Kevin Pettit, and drummer Adam Hoose. Hoose joined recently after the departure of original drummer Scott Duchesnau, who plays on the CD.The band has gained a good following in Asheville, NC, where there's an intense interest in Celtic and folk music. Loch Ness Johnny recently performed at the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games, easily one of the largest such gatherings in the country, and at the Virginia Scottish Games.The Celtic element in Loch Ness Johnny's music is most definately Irish, and the band's subtle combination of this influence with straight ahead pop and rock melodies is reminiscient of acts such as The Waterboys and Hothouse Flowers. The members of Loch Ness Johnny like to refer to their music as "Appalachian Stomp Rock."The CD features an interesting variety, ranging from the straight ahead rock song "Radio Control Heart" to the introspective acoustic based title track.Hurd's strong fiddle playing especially evident on the instrumental medley "Shelby's Reel/ Whiskey Before Breakfast/Loch Laven Castle." The first tune was written by Hurd, and the others are traditional Irish tunes. Hurd also has a knack for writing tunes, including the lively "You Can't Make Johnny Sing."Then theres the wacky twang rock raveup "Velvet Pesos," which tells of a wayward traveler who meets up with someone who might or might not be Elvis.

Location Columbia, SC - USA

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