The Kev “One audience member said that within the space of just six songs, I had sung about every single taboo subject, and had him in tears of laughter. This is some of the best feedback I’ve ever had.”

Comical creative and Mandarin tutor Kevin McGeary – known to the open mic scene as The Kev – returns this year with a full-length album of original songs.

The quirky and alternative set-up and stories of You Can’t Say Anything These Days meander from topic to topic, offering catchy hooks and acoustic backdrops, whilst promising humorous to provocative statements that naturally capture attention.

We caught up with The Kev to find out more about the making of this project and how things have been going since we spoke last year. Here’s the conversation in full.

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Hi Kev – great to catch up, congrats for the new album. You Can’t Say Anything These Days is a familiar sentiment reflected in much of the anti-mainstream. What’s the main inspiration or connecting concept for this latest collection of songs?

Good question. I don’t think there is a coherent theme connecting the songs of this album. In the previous three albums, I wrote about all the obvious subjects from multiple angles. When it came to writing this, there was no low-hanging fruit, so I really had to forage for ideas.

I knew I wanted to write a song about ancestors, and another about the crisis of masculinity, so I filled many pages of my notebook brainstorming ideas about where to go with these concepts. Both songs (‘You’re Amazing’ and ‘What a Piece of Work Is Man?’) start with deeply serious premises, then veer into the absurd step-by-step, which seems to be my signature style.

Other songs, like ‘The FVSDA’ and ‘We’re all Just Sinners’ came to me when the subject of creativity was furthest from my mind.

Why does Talking About the Kev open things up, and why this production and vocal dynamic between two leads?

I have had some great gigs over the years, but in all my material there was no strikingly brilliant way of opening a set. To rectify this, I decided to write a song that was a spoof of ‘Shaft’ by Isaac Hayes. It also owes a lot to ‘Feel Like Winking’ by British musical comedian Ivor Biggun, which in my opinion is the perfect way of opening a set of bawdy ballads.

For the vocals, I got a female singer who I found on Fiverr. It is the perfect place to find affordable, competent session musicians.

This style of voice continues to guide, noting a difference overall to your previous releases. What’s changed for you since we last spoke, and what’s your biggest hope for this album?

I have a better understanding of my strengths and weaknesses, what works and what doesn’t. The punchline of a good joke is like the end of a good story, in that it feels both unexpected and inevitable. The songs on this album are another attempt to give audiences what they want in the forms of laughs and singalongs, but in fresh and unexpected ways.

As for what I ‘hope’ will happen, I always maintain maximum ambition when it comes to creativity and quality, and minimum ambition when it comes to fame and fortune. I have already booked a small venue for the launch night, and my main ambition is to make it a magical gig. 

The FVSDA seems to suddenly inject a more melancholic and serious vibe, why did you choose to counter the humour of the opener in this way?

The more I write comedy the more I realise that it is best to start with a premise that is both recognisable and universally considered to be a serious issue. It starts with someone acknowledging how lucky they are to be able to work as a musician, and wanting to give back to society.

Then because of a miscommunication, a highly incongruous situation unfolds. It uses a technique I read about called the ‘triple punchline’. That is, set up one absurd situation, reverse it, then reverse it again.

The title-track includes a few personal stories. Is there any value to empathy, to adjusting mindset or conversations for building strong connections, or do you think we should just say whatever we think and never edit our interactions?

None of the stories are actually true, and of course I think we should edit our interactions, in the form of an inner-monologue.

“Whether free speech is under attack is an issue I have covered in many songs, and I perform them in public. It satirises both sides of the issue, and is ultimately an upbeat singalong.”

What was the writing process like for 1000 Years?

It is a follow-on from ‘Romance Tonight’ in the previous album. Performing that song was probably my greatest ever on-stage moment and is very much a signature piece. ‘1000 Years’ is cut from a similar cloth but I like to think it takes the idea even further.  

Love songs talk about staying together for all time, but the song asks the question, what would it really be like celebrating your nine-hundred-and-ninety-ninth wedding anniversary, what songs would you dance to? Who would you invite? Wouldn’t the favourite dishes from your childhood be from animals that went extinct?  

This is your fourth album to date – What’s been the main lesson you’ve learned that has helped shape the way you’ve approached this album?

“As soon as you think you have the keys to comedy, you realise that some bugger has changed the lock.”

There is really no universally right way of writing comedy, but now I have more experience, I generally make better judgments about what works.

Last time we spoke you said you wanted to play more comedy nights. How’s the performance life been treating you, and how important is the live side of your work to making sure that the comedic aspect hits well?

I still spend a lot more time in the music scene than in the comedy scene, but unlike before I am now happy to label myself as a comedy act.

The live side of my act is everything, it is the main source of validation and the biggest challenge. Still, I seldom play at comedy venues or specialised comedy nights, because it is hard to find any that are the right fit, and the comedy industry is a snake pit.

What’s the reaction to these songs been like so far, and which song from the album would be the first you’d perform to a new listener; and why?

The reactions have been universally positive. Which song I would share first depends on who the listener is, but it would probably be ‘The FVSDA’, as it is the most consistent with my overall style.

For catchiness and a singalong quality, I would probably go with ‘You Can’t Say Anything These Days’ or ‘Talking about The Kev’.

What’s been the most negative response you’ve had so far to one of your songs, and what did that feedback reveal to you?

One of my Chinese songs, ‘Lao Hong’ 《老红》is a satire about the behaviour of Chinese tourists. In China, when I have performed or shared the song, the reaction is generally positive. But writing satire in the world’s largest authoritarian state comes with risk, so some have criticised it harshly for ‘smearing’ the Chinese character and his native Henan Province.

Way back in 2012, I wrote an English-language breakup song called ‘She Said’, but I don’t perform it anymore and did not include it on any of my albums because the humour no longer holds up. 

You close things down with We’re All Just Sinners – perhaps the catchiest song of the whole project, lyrically confronting in its comical hook. Will there be a video, or a full band interpretation of this one?

I am kind of reclusive, and not very thick-skinned when it comes to asking things of people. I love watching music videos but don’t think I have the assertiveness to get a project like that over the line.

What else do you we need to know about this album?

There’s an open mic night here in Manchester at a venue called The Old Monkey. One audience member said that within the space of just two of my sets (that is six songs), I had sung about every single taboo subject, from holocaust denial to blaspheme to child abuse, and had him in tears of laughter every time. I think this is some of the best feedback I have ever had.

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Find The Kev on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok & his Website.