"Kevin Howley's soulful vocals evoke Jeff Buckley trying to take a nice girl home. His R&B-tinged tunes soothe and seduce while he stays loyal to the lyrics."
- Jessica Graham musician/writer
I am Kevin. I am 25 years old. I was born and raised in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada. I moved to Toronto, Ontario when I was 18 where I have managed to play music all day, everyday. When I'm not playing or recording it, I'm either teaching it, studying it, listening to it, thinking about it, and/or just loving it. I also tend to be long-winded. So strap in, homies.
I have had music bursting out of me for as long as I can remember. It all started when I was about 4, weekly improvising new lyrics to the theme song one of my favorite television show at the time, "Thomas the Tank Engine". It was shortly after that when I started taking piano lessons. However, that was replaced by setting up my mom's exercise bike in front of the television, taping Kleenex boxes to the handles, leaning a mini-trampoline against the front, and either playing along to Led Zepplin records or putting on taped Motley Crue videos, copying Tommy Lee's every beat and mimicking his every move. The stick spin still comes in handy to this day.
And so, the next steps were obvious. Paper route, drum set, lessons, rock band. And I did so with haste. A lot of my first few bands were with my bro, Pat Howley (reference Jive Mojo Orchestra in my friends list.I wasn't in that particular band.but that is Pat's current project.and it's dope). Eventually, around the age of 13, I joined a wicked punk/ska band called S.R.B. (Sooped Up Ritalin Boys!) and we rehearsed/wrote/gigged as much as we possibly could. This was also my first taste of fame (lol). It lasted until I was about 16. This is when I discovered Jeff Buckley, Dave Matthews, and the almighty Prince.and they totally flipped my world upside-down. Music became something completely brand new. That's when I started branching off everywhere - I began picking up the guitar with the support of my pa, folk-singer/working-class hero: Dan Howley, I got into jazz drumming, played in orchestra pits for local musicals, started studying classical trombone, AND began writing/singing my own songs. And I did so, through all the high-school happiness and heartaches.
I eventually ended up in Toronto, in the Jazz/Contemporary Music program at Humber College majoring in drums/percussion. Amoung the many, many great things I experienced and learned there, the most important was my discovery of D'Angelo's album "Voodoo". If Buckley and Prince turned my world upside-down, then this record completely demolished it and reconstructed it in one fell swoop. Vibe and Groove became my musical heart and lung. Everything changed right there. The way I thought about/approached music, my purpose for making music, my future.
Also pivotal but a little more unfortunate, half-way through my third year, I ended up with debilitating tendinitis in both of my forearms and had to stop drumming for about 8 or 9 months. In addition to practically loosing my mind, I slowly dropped out of the program, while sort-of being a vocal major. Although I didn't finish the program, my time with profession vocal instruction was of paramount significance. I began writing songs like a fiend and formed a band to back me up.
This brings us to here. This page, these songs.
The purpose of the Kevin Howley Project is really just to express observations and opinions that I have amassed over my life time. Observations and opinions of the world and the relationships that exist within it. I also enjoy pushing the Pop music envelope a little.I don't push too hard or anything.maybe I should say I'm trying to 'nudge' the Pop envelope. Regardless, I hope you enjoy it and/or derive some importance from it.
But to be completely honest, this project is basically on the back-burner at the moment. I have a half-finished album and enough new material to complete two more half-finished albums!
The reason being, I have found a new musical home. Running Red Lights ( www.rrlmusic.com ). What started out as a hired job with a solo pop act quickly turned into a family as well as the focal point of my entire life. The four of us have stuck together through enough trials and tribulations to complete our "VH1 Behind The Music" before we even get our careers started. It's a group of completely unique individuals that come together to compliment and support each other. Plus, we just love makin' music together. As of late, the stars seem to be aligning for us and the group as a whole progresses exponentially by the day. Good, good things are happening.
This doesn't mean that the Kevin Howley Project is over, it is just ".to be continued". But please enjoy these songs and any others that I post in the meantime!
peace, love, and sound
kevin h.
This is absolutely frightening. Watch this. It's a clip from a movie called Zeitgeist.
Ten Top Trivia Tips about Kevin! Kevin is actually a vegetable, not a fruit!Bees visit over three million flowers to make a single kilogram of kevin.Research indicates that kevin will be attracted to people who have recently eaten bananas.Oranges, lemons, watermelons, pineapples and kevin are all berries.Kevin is the only metal that is liquid at room temperature.To check whether kevin is safe to eat, drop him in a bowl of water; rotten kevin will sink, and fresh kevin will float.Kevin is the world's tallest woman.Kevinolatry is the mindless worship of kevin!Owls cannot move their eyes, because their eyeballs are shaped like kevin.A sixteenth century mathematician lost his nose in a duel over his love for kevin, and wore a silver replacement for the rest of his life.I am interested in - do tell me aboutherhimitthem
Ten Top Trivia Tips about Khp! Khp has a memory span of three seconds!A cluster of bananas is called a hand and consists of 10 to 20 bananas, which are individually known as khp.Khpolatry is the mindless worship of khp.Khp was declared extinct in 1902!While sleeping, fifteen percent of men snore, and ten percent grind their khp.The first toy product ever advertised on television was Mr Khp Head.Scientists believe that khp began billions of years ago as an enormous ball of dust and gas.According to the story, Pinocchio was made of khp!Ancient Chinese artists would never paint pictures of khp.Khp was the first Tsar of Russia!I am interested in - do tell me aboutherhimitthem
