Kevin K's early years were spent outside of Buffalo
in Upstate New York growing up listening to Alice Cooper, the Rolling Stones,
New York Dolls, Jimi Hendrix and The Beatles. Though no single artist compelled
him to become a musician, he does attribute his childhood music interests,
the CBGBs artists (like the Ramones, Johnny Thunders, and Dead Boys) along
with other artists like Paul Westerberg for heavily influencing his musical
direction. Kevin first learned to play guitar, though he drummed and sang
in bands with his brother Alan (Grimm Reaper, Aunt Helen and The Toys [later
New Toys]), because they couldn't find a drummer that had the style they sought.
The Toys were one of Buffalo's leaders of the late 70s punk movement. Garnishing
much adulation, not only from their fans, but from critics, they, "played
every piss and beer stained bar covering Upstate New York and Southern Canada,"
states Kevin. Reaching their pinnacle in late 1980/early 1981, having opened
up for bands like The Ramones, The Babys, Pat Benatar, The Romantics, Eddie
Money, Squeeze, the Dead Boys, and The Tourists (later The Eurythmics), they
were no longer satisfied being a big fish in a little pond. As the punk scene
died and many of the era's bands along with it, the band reinvented itself
and their musical stylings. The out-of-control antics and sounds of Kevin
Rat, Rocky Starr, Meat Cleaver and Mick Tyler matured and adapted to the oncoming
of the power-pop era. Having changed their name, now New Toys, their sound,
their management (now managing themselves) and a bass player, they set out
to conquer the larger cities of Chicago, Detroit and the Big Apple. In December
of 1982 the band relocated to the New York Borough Of Staten Island, became
friends with artists like Dirty Looks and Johnny Thunders, and were playing
regularly at clubs like CBGBs and Gildersleeve's. By 1983 the guitarist (Doug
Tyler) quit. But again out of the ashes rises the Phoenix in the form of a
trio known as Lone Cowboys, who would go onto having even more success, charting
number 20 on Sweden's independent music chart with a remake of the Debbie
Boone classic, "You Light Up My Life," which in turn got them signed to Caroline
Records. By late 1989 the two K brothers would reinvent themselves again as
the Road Vultures, this time with Kevin playing guitar alongside his brother
Alan. It wasn't long after the new formation that that former New York Doll
Sylvain Sylvain and ex-Heartbreaker Jerry Nolan and asked them to open a show
at the Continental Divide (NYC). This was the first public performance by
the Road Vultures. One show turned into 15 straight weekends. More shows followed
with friends like Dee Dee Ramone, The Waldos, and Cheetah Chrome. Road Vultures
quickly attained a large underground Rock 'n' Roll following not only in New
York City, but up and down the mid-atlantic coast and the LA/Hollywood scene.
After two albums on Circumstantial Records, Kevin decided on a solo career,
releasing his debut album Nightlife on the Circumstantial label under the
name Kevin K Band. Signing to 13th Street Entertainment in 1996, Mr. K released
Never Enough (a live cassette only), a combination of live shows and rehearsal
sessions. Many more releases have followed, not only on the 13th Street label,
but AOK Recordings, Australia's Vicious Kitten Records, Incognito (Germany)
and the independent French label Sucksex. The Kevin K Band has gone through
various personnel changes, including members of Sour Jazz, Ballbusters, Trash
Brats, Freddy Lynxx & the Corner Gang. His new band is called the Real
Kool Kats (France). Constantly touring Spain, France, Italy, Germany and Japan,
Kevin has found great success outside of the US. He will be touring Europe
again on October and November 2003.
DISCOGRAPHY
Kevin K Band : Better Class Of Slut (Incognito Records/Germany)
- Single
Kevin K Band : Sealed Works (2002) - CD
Kevin K : From The Delta To The Bowery (2002) - CD
Kevin K : Story of My Life (2002) - CD
Kevin K Band : 13th Street (2001) - CD
Kevin K and Sour Jazz : Arbeit Macht Frei (2001) - Live
CD
Kevin K : Magic Touch (2000) - CD
Kevin K Band : Oriental Nights (2000) - Live CD
The Golden Arms : Oriental Junk Sick (2000) - Single
Freddy Lynxx & the Corner Gang : Bloodied Up (1999)
- CD
Kevin K Band : Tokyo Rocks (1998) - Single
Kevin K Band :: Rule The Heart (1998) - CD
Kevin K Band : Party Down (1997) - CD
Kevin K Band : Indecent Exposure (1996) - CD/Cassette
Kevin K Band : Never Enough (1996) - Cassette Only
Lone Cowboys : Streets Of Poison (1985) - Cassette
Lone Cowboys : You Light Up My Life (1985) - Single
The Toys : Say It (1981) - LP
PRESS
Allow me to introduce to you the best kept secret in
the world of rock & roll anywhere today. This guy ROCKS ! It's a series
of consistently strong melodic punk tunes each with its own poetic, lyrical
edge. 18 bitching rock n roll classics with no hints of a filler anywhere.
This album is the complete rock & roll package consisting of vital, memorable
tunes. Kevin K rock my world and I strongly recommend you discover his world.
Essential. I never could keep a secret - Vicious Kitten Zine
Good for those of us who enjoy rockin' guitars and scratchy
vocals, singing about seeing it all and surviving - Ink Nineteen
It's hard to understand how you couldn't like this stuff
if you're a Stones or Thunders fan - I-94 Zine
Mr Kevin K can play guitar as well as Mr Thunders and
the band rocks. Good punky 12 bar stuff with some almost Replacements-ish
pop stuff thrown in that works well - Maximum Rock n' Roll
This is a great fucking record ! There aren't too many
records I get that I listen no more than once. Mr Kevin K has put together
a group of songs to breathe new life into a dying art-form, Rock 'n' Roll
- Lipstick & Cigarettes
Very solid melodic mid-tempo tuneage, hot guitar and
good vox. Impressive - Sonic Iguana
Kevin rocks and roll again across the whole span of
past musical eras. Once again his songs mirror the dusty Rock and rocll feeling
of New York City streets. Greta ballads are just as strongly represented as
the cool punk rockin' tunes. There is only one rating : full points -
3rd Generation Nation
This is down 'n' dirty Bowery-style rock 'n' roll crunch
with a colorfully descriptive lyrical content about drugs, heartbreak, boredom,
decadence, and barely surviving the sleazy seduction of the dog-eat-dog mean
streets of NYC. Kevin K and his deviant duo of musical sidekicks sound as
if they just crawled out of a garbage dumpster in a rat-infested back-alley
on the Lower East Side after a long night of substance abuse, drunken debauchery,
and high-voltage sonic sinfulness at Max's Kansas City. Damn shootin', it's
the swaggerin' gritty sound of hookers, heroin addiction, cheap tattoos, and
booze-fuelled inner-city vagrancy (snotty nasal-whine vocals, ball-bustin'
Johnny Thunders-style guitar riffage, and a clattering out-of-control subway
train rhythm section). Man, this psychotically wild butt-blisterin' disc makes
me wanna relocate to the vile seedy underbelly of New York City and plunge
a needle deep into my arm - Razorcake
Booking :
Europe :
Tontons Flingueurs, 8 rue Cardinal de Cabrières, 30000 Nimes, France
tontons.contact@free.fr
