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Born and raised North of Toronto by 30 minutes, Kevin Wong was first exposed to music at the age of 3 when his mother dragged him kicking and screaming down a Montessori hallway to his first violin lesson. His first major exposure to music that he loved without reserve was when he sat, wide-eyed, at the age of 6 in a packed Pantages Theatre in the second year of the Phantom of the Opera’s 10 year run in Toronto. Watching the divine soprano Rebecca Caine scale notes effortlessly, he was hooked.
He then proceeded to spend his childhood years practicing violin, irritating all those around him to no end by never shutting up, and fiddling around on the piano. Post-puberty-voice-break, his first performance was a rendition of Elton John’s “Candle in the Wind” (the Diana version), at a middle school recital. It was not good. He wrote his first song at 13, also not great. But as time progressed, his range of musical influences broadened and his music began to make its way toward a cohesive and unique sound. This took about twenty years.
Kevin attended the University of Western Ontario where he was heavily involved in theatre and music from 2002-2006, then obtained a law degree at the University of Windsor in 2009. Throughout, he has experimented with music in pop, classical, theatre, jazz, contemporary urban, and classic soul. His sound is reflective of that eclectic blend, sometimes calling up a hint of reference to Billy Joel, Elton John, Jamie Cullum, or Donny Hathaway, but never quite falling into any of those categories.
In 2006, Kevin released his debut LP Every Day is Beautifully Flawed which he wrote and completed with the help of Jason Chapman at Boreal Forest Music at the end of his time in London, Ontario. The CD was purchased by nearly 15 whole people, and still somehow managed to be bootlegged in the Bay Area. His lead single “The Best Thing That Never Happened” received positive reviews and the CD received airplay on Humber Radio, iRadio LA, the Upper Room with Joe Kelley, and other independent radio.
During his time in university, Kevin’s music began to reflect his own experiences, both as an Asian-Canadian in a fairly diverse community, then as a young man coming out following the advent of marriage equality reform in Canada. His later work also reflects his personal experiences with dating, love, loss, and sarcasm.
The Pink in the Grey, Kevin's second LP, was released on May 15, 2010. It received positive reviews and won him the Pride in the Arts award for 2010 Favourite Male/Gay Artist.
Kevin has a B.Sc. in Biology/Philosophy from the University of Western Ontario and an LL.B. from the University of Windsor. He has, in the past, been President of the University of Windsor Out on Campus group, a co-founder of the Windsor Law OUTLaws, a volunteer at Windsor’s community legal clinic, a coordinator of the TheatreWestern student theatre program at the University of Western Ontario, and an advocate for human rights and law reform. He is terrible at team sports. Just terrible.
Kevin's new single Books & Drinks, from the forthcoming LP "Books & Drinks & Boys & Things", is slated for official release in February of 2011, with the LP to follow in the summer.
So what if it's raining?
Just means that we've got all day to
hole up in the blanket
And if it should thunder
I know that I'm safe here with you
Babe we can just drown it out
I'll fry some eggs and bacon
The Sound of Music playing
Stay in our underwear all day
Let's grab some books & drinks and
stay in all year
We won't need anything past
what we have here
So what if it's cloudy?
The coffee is bottomless so
pour one more cup and drink it down
Procrastination
has never felt better, let go
Today is for wasting, waste it loud
With comics, books, and gaming
and Julie Andrews playing
Let all your cares just float away
Let's grab some books & drinks and
stay in all year
We won't need anything past
what we have here
So for those future days
when we may struggle to find a moment's peace
Sleep in a little late
Tomorrow we can go back to chasing dreams
Let's grab some books & drinks and
stay in all year
We won't need anything past
what we have here
Written by Kevin Wong (c) WovenKing 2011 (SOCAN/ASCAP)
Produced, arranged, and performed by Kevin Wong
Engineered, mixed, and mastered at A Post Office Studio
"Books & Drinks" is from the forthcoming LP "Books & Drinks & Boys & Things", slated for release in the summer of 2011.