Kev Gray & The Gravy Train are an alternative pop rock band formed in Tokyo in November 2008, with members from America, Canada, England and Japan.

Based around the songwriting of lead singer, Kev Gray, their sound has drawn comparisons to melody driven artists such as Paul McCartney, The Smiths and Antony Hegarty.

The group featured frequently in the Japanese media, including TV, radio and press, receiving strong reviews in Metropolis,[4] Japanzine, and Time Out, whose editor, Jon Wilks, described the songs as demonstrating "lyrical genius".

A round-the-world tour of Japan, England, Canada and the US in the summer of 2015 was cut short after a car-crash in California, and the outfit is looking to record a new album in autumn 2016.

[9] The band started as a recording trio in 2006 as Akibakei, featuring Japanese TV star, Christy Strothers, female singer from the show, The Human Jukebox; and veteran New York saxophonist, Arnie Baruch, alongside Gray on vocals and guitar.

They were joined by Damien Cavanagh, former drummer with the British prog-indie group, Circulus, played the cajón in the trio due to the acoustic nature of the band.

Songs were written in a mix of genres such as country-inspired, Letters from Tijuana; the blues number, Swingin'; the Cuban-influenced, Voodoo Doll; and the 6/8 open chord waltz, Long Time Coming.

The diversity of the song content was to be matched by the lyrical themes which drew upon allegedly true stories, from suicidal friends to a swingers party in a Japanese hot spring.

However, again quality issues with the recordings meant the album was postponed and Gray returned to Tokyo to headline at Japan Music Week again in November.

The Gravy Train garnered some limited success in the US after their folk song, "Happy Children", was used in the short film, The Pin, featuring Hollywood actors, John Magaro and Emily Meade.

After shooting a video New York-based Positively Fourth Street Productions[12][failed verification] in the US in July 2011, the band released an accompanying single, "Hang On To The Sweet Song", with Record Union in December 2011.

[9] The band resurfaced in Tokyo in February 2013 playing a series of comeback shows in Azabu,[20] Akasaka,[21] and Roppongi, including Bauhaus and Hard Rock Cafe.

such as a Japanese guitarist from the band of 1970s folk-singer Masato Minami,[23] Pon, as well as a new multi-instrumentalist drummer, Shokei Konno, who met playing in Kichijōji's Inokashira Park,.

[3][22] The event featured an art exhibition by Nagoya-based painter and designer, Rob Moore, and an additional live set from the Japanese rock outfit, Sawas Phool.

This was followed by a performance at the Neptune Theatre [26] for Tokyo Arts Week, which featured Edinburgh Festival comedian Spring Day and a run of Lanford Wilson's Burn This starring New York actors Katherine Puma and Rob Skolits.

The show featured Jack Spann,[36] from the Broadway musical, War Horse,[37] on the Grand piano, and Mikiya Ito from Japan on cajon and percussion.

Gray stated that Timeout was one of his favourites places to play music anywhere due to its informal nature and inclusivity of styles and ages, saying he had often been in the middle of the night to finish writing a song or practice when needed.

In the interview, Gray mentioned his recent jam session with Japanese popstar, Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, from Japan's most famous celebrity group, SMAP, describing him as very modest and "a gentle soul".

[39][40] The band started round-the-world tour of Japan, England, Canada and the US in the summer of 2015 with dates in Tokyo, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Vancouver, Chicago, New York, London and Gray's hometown of Newcastle.

Gray was the featured artist at the Singer-Songwriter Sessions at the Greenwich Village rock club, The Bitter End,[42][43] and again at the Pittsburgh Songwriters Circle,[44] before heading to Nashville, appearing at the Bourbon Street Blues Bar in Printer's Alley, and shooting a video at Sun Studios, Memphis.

The eclectic nature of the music was shown in diverse lyrical and thematic choices of Gray during a Desert Island Discs radio show with InterFM DJ, Guy Perryman, in Roppongi in 2015.