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Kevin Armstrong was born in British Columbia, Canada in 1975. He grew up in the richly artistic community of Nelson, where he was exposed to all types of music, visual art and theatre. The early exposure to the creative arts planted the seeds that would bloom into a diverse artistic career which is now starting to blossom.
At the age of 10, Kevin took up the guitar, and studied learning rock, classical and jazz. Consumed with music, Kevin would practice hours per day, in front of the TV, in bed, in the shower (while the water was off). He emerged from the woodshed to play in several rock and jazz groups, none particularly good, until finally deciding to dump the flaky musicians and go solo.
His classical guitar training came in handy, as he began composing music for solo guitar and voice with a rhythmic, fingerstyle technique that allowed him to be the guitarist, bassist and drummer, all on one instrument. His first release, Untitled 1 (1994) made a splash in the southern BC interior, selling more than 300 copies, and getting airtime on local and CBC radio. He played at every bar, coffeehouse and street corner that would have him, and eventually packed up his 79 Volkswagen Rabbit with 2 friends and setting out on a North American tour that would expose him to audiences in such places as Chicago, Milwaukee, Halifax, Toronto and Bangor. He warmed up the audience for the David Letterman show in New York (though David Letterman didn‘t know it, as Kevin was doing it outside the studio on the street), and made friends with all kind of junkies, winos and floozies. They are to this day his best friends.
Kevin moved to Montreal in 1996 to pursue music studies at McGill University, and break into the music scene as a singer-songwriter. Once he discovered there wasn‘t a music scene in Montreal, he set his sights on recording, and finished his second album, entitled Second Album (1997). This time he filled out the guitar and vocal sound with a full band, playing most of the instruments himself. He wrote a musical, Road Stories, based on his adventures across country, and got it performed at the McGill Drama Festival in 1998, and re-mounted it the following year at the Montreal Fringe Festival, this time producing and directing it himself.
In 2001, Kevin finished his studies at McGill, and set to building his home studio. It‘s there that he recorded Sound Castles, his first release on CD. He again played most of the instruments (with the help of Robb Surridge of The High Dials on drums), and his sound started to take a turn for the heavier. He performed again at the Montreal Fringe festival, and caught the attention of Bill Brownstien of the Gazette, who wrote an article about Kevin which took up a good part of page 4, and got Kevin some much-needed exposure. Many more people came out to see the “guitar-playing opera singer“, and his CD sold briskly, even if his official underwear didn‘t.
In summer, 2002, Kevin moved to Zürich, Switzerland, where he did a one-year apprenticeship at the Zürich opera house. There he had the opportunity to stand onstage next to some of the biggest names in the opera word, and his European opera career had begun. Kevin is currently living in Bremen Germany, where he sings full-time at the Bremer Theater, while performing as a guest in Zürich and various opera festivals around Germany. His latest musical, The Handheld Opera (in collaboration with Lucie Mayer), premiered in Switzerland to great reviews, and is in the process of becoming a radio opera-comedy.
With a keen interest in the visual medium of film, Kevin has directed a short film, Satan‘s Slaughter Six: A Film by G. Adrian Dumkopf, a horror parody about people who take themselves too seriously, as well as a music video for friend and former band mate Jerome Savoie‘s song Stress, which was the featured video of the day on CBC‘s web site.
With his home studio back up and running, Kevin has recorded Personal Artifacts (2005), his longest and most adventurous recording to date. Drawing on influences such as Todd Rundgren, Nick Drake, Laura Nyro and Megadeth, Kevin is creating a sound rich in layered guitars, complex vocal harmonies, and a musical diversity that puts songs ranging from acoustic rock, pop ballads, jazz, hard rock and country (!) all on one CD.
Kevin has also produced and engineered Colin Gilroy‘s latest EP Numbers or Not, and has recently completed directing and editing Jerome Savoie‘s latest video, Entre elle et moi, and is in preparation to shoot his next short film, Killer Clothes.
Kevin is a Taurus, loves Indian and Thai food, and his favourite colour is green.
Thank You
At the age of 10, Kevin took up the guitar, and studied learning rock, classical and jazz. Consumed with music, Kevin would practice hours per day, in front of the TV, in bed, in the shower (while the water was off). He emerged from the woodshed to play in several rock and jazz groups, none particularly good, until finally deciding to dump the flaky musicians and go solo.
His classical guitar training came in handy, as he began composing music for solo guitar and voice with a rhythmic, fingerstyle technique that allowed him to be the guitarist, bassist and drummer, all on one instrument. His first release, Untitled 1 (1994) made a splash in the southern BC interior, selling more than 300 copies, and getting airtime on local and CBC radio. He played at every bar, coffeehouse and street corner that would have him, and eventually packed up his 79 Volkswagen Rabbit with 2 friends and setting out on a North American tour that would expose him to audiences in such places as Chicago, Milwaukee, Halifax, Toronto and Bangor. He warmed up the audience for the David Letterman show in New York (though David Letterman didn‘t know it, as Kevin was doing it outside the studio on the street), and made friends with all kind of junkies, winos and floozies. They are to this day his best friends.
Kevin moved to Montreal in 1996 to pursue music studies at McGill University, and break into the music scene as a singer-songwriter. Once he discovered there wasn‘t a music scene in Montreal, he set his sights on recording, and finished his second album, entitled Second Album (1997). This time he filled out the guitar and vocal sound with a full band, playing most of the instruments himself. He wrote a musical, Road Stories, based on his adventures across country, and got it performed at the McGill Drama Festival in 1998, and re-mounted it the following year at the Montreal Fringe Festival, this time producing and directing it himself.
In 2001, Kevin finished his studies at McGill, and set to building his home studio. It‘s there that he recorded Sound Castles, his first release on CD. He again played most of the instruments (with the help of Robb Surridge of The High Dials on drums), and his sound started to take a turn for the heavier. He performed again at the Montreal Fringe festival, and caught the attention of Bill Brownstien of the Gazette, who wrote an article about Kevin which took up a good part of page 4, and got Kevin some much-needed exposure. Many more people came out to see the “guitar-playing opera singer“, and his CD sold briskly, even if his official underwear didn‘t.
In summer, 2002, Kevin moved to Zürich, Switzerland, where he did a one-year apprenticeship at the Zürich opera house. There he had the opportunity to stand onstage next to some of the biggest names in the opera word, and his European opera career had begun. Kevin is currently living in Bremen Germany, where he sings full-time at the Bremer Theater, while performing as a guest in Zürich and various opera festivals around Germany. His latest musical, The Handheld Opera (in collaboration with Lucie Mayer), premiered in Switzerland to great reviews, and is in the process of becoming a radio opera-comedy.
With a keen interest in the visual medium of film, Kevin has directed a short film, Satan‘s Slaughter Six: A Film by G. Adrian Dumkopf, a horror parody about people who take themselves too seriously, as well as a music video for friend and former band mate Jerome Savoie‘s song Stress, which was the featured video of the day on CBC‘s web site.
With his home studio back up and running, Kevin has recorded Personal Artifacts (2005), his longest and most adventurous recording to date. Drawing on influences such as Todd Rundgren, Nick Drake, Laura Nyro and Megadeth, Kevin is creating a sound rich in layered guitars, complex vocal harmonies, and a musical diversity that puts songs ranging from acoustic rock, pop ballads, jazz, hard rock and country (!) all on one CD.
Kevin has also produced and engineered Colin Gilroy‘s latest EP Numbers or Not, and has recently completed directing and editing Jerome Savoie‘s latest video, Entre elle et moi, and is in preparation to shoot his next short film, Killer Clothes.
Kevin is a Taurus, loves Indian and Thai food, and his favourite colour is green.
Thank You
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Music
| Title | Genre | Released | Plays |
| Your Boyfriend | Rock | Oct 3, 2005 | 442 |
| Clear Cut | Rock | Oct 3, 2005 | 370 |
| Heartwall (demo) | Rock | Oct 3, 2005 | 356 |
| Untitled 2 | Jazz | Oct 3, 2005 | 343 |
| Entre elle et moi | Music Videos | Jan 5, 2006 | 811 |
| Open the Box and See if the Cat is Dead | Rock | Jun 9, 2008 | 210 |
