New York -
Kevin Aviance has been called many things: "the hardest working performer in New York clubland" (Spectrum Magazine), "an artist who commands attention" (Miamiago Magazine), "an entity" (Genre Magazine), "a crowd pleaser…energetic and glamorous" (Buzz Magazine). One thing is for sure, as reported in Time Out New York, "Kevin Aviance isn't your ordinary, average, everyday (performance artist)."
For starters, Kevin Aviance has five top ten Billboard hits under his belt including last summer's post millennial club anthem "Alive", the pulsating, hypnotic dance classic which climbed all the way to #1. He has spent the year touring the world, spreading the song's celebratory and life-affirming message to people living in crisis and civil unrest including war-torn Israel.
"People all around the world deal with death everyday," says Kevin. "But after 9/11, that's when I really understood the song. It changed my outlook on life. 'Alive' is about showing love to one another, it's uplifting, and with everything going on around the world today, we need that."
In 2003, a new Kevin Aviance has emerged, a more mature, reflective Kevin whose sense of spirituality resonates throughout his highly anticipated second album Entity, scheduled for release this summer. No longer merely a performance artist, Kevin is now a true vocal artist with his unique sound of crazy, enlightening drama-enhanced dance music. "The new album is about life's experiences - as citizens of the global society. I couldn't avoid addressing the current state of the world but I also wanted to remain positive and creative and offer my fans an escape from what is for some, a hard reality."
The album mixes vintage Kevin (dark, subliminal with heavy beats and that deep brassy voice) with what some might call the new Anthem Kevin - songs like "Alive" that have taken the dance world by storm. "I'm ready to tear up the dance scene again," says Kevin. "My last song gave me a whole new fan base and I'm happy so many people are now embracing my music. I can't wait for them to hear my new circuit-charged song, "Give It Up". They will gag."
One song on the album, "Fire", is even considered by many to have pop-radio potential, a very long way from the underground after-hour enclaves where Kevin first gained musical notoriety with his decidedly non-PC hit "Cunty". The song, which was banned in London, turned one of the most offensive words in the English language into a mantra for many a downtown club rat.
"For a year, Cunty was the staple at Tunnel," explains Kevin. "Kids were coming to the club just to hear the record. They'd sit and wait. Soon as it played, you'd see all the queens coming out of the darkness, doing runway."
He was soon offered a record deal with Wave Music where he released his debut album, Box of Chocolates. "Din Da Da" from that CD went to #1 on Billboard and was really big in Europe, and "Rhythm is My Bitch" went to #2. In 2001, Kevin signed a deal for a second album with Emerge Records, a division of Centaur Entertainment.
"My roots are and will always be with the House of Aviance," Kevin proudly declares, referring to the legendary Vogue house started in Washington DC which was similar to New York City's House of Xtravaganzas who held court at Junior Vasquez's Sound Factory in the early nineties. It was through the House of Aviance that Kevin gained entrance into the club scene, first as a promoter and then a performer. It is also from the House of Aviance where Kevin took his name. His real name is Eric Snead. "But like any performer," continues Kevin, "I must allow myself to grow. To evolve. That is what I believe I have done with Entity - I've evolved."
For starters, Kevin Aviance has five top ten Billboard hits under his belt including last summer's post millennial club anthem "Alive", the pulsating, hypnotic dance classic which climbed all the way to #1. He has spent the year touring the world, spreading the song's celebratory and life-affirming message to people living in crisis and civil unrest including war-torn Israel.
"People all around the world deal with death everyday," says Kevin. "But after 9/11, that's when I really understood the song. It changed my outlook on life. 'Alive' is about showing love to one another, it's uplifting, and with everything going on around the world today, we need that."
In 2003, a new Kevin Aviance has emerged, a more mature, reflective Kevin whose sense of spirituality resonates throughout his highly anticipated second album Entity, scheduled for release this summer. No longer merely a performance artist, Kevin is now a true vocal artist with his unique sound of crazy, enlightening drama-enhanced dance music. "The new album is about life's experiences - as citizens of the global society. I couldn't avoid addressing the current state of the world but I also wanted to remain positive and creative and offer my fans an escape from what is for some, a hard reality."
The album mixes vintage Kevin (dark, subliminal with heavy beats and that deep brassy voice) with what some might call the new Anthem Kevin - songs like "Alive" that have taken the dance world by storm. "I'm ready to tear up the dance scene again," says Kevin. "My last song gave me a whole new fan base and I'm happy so many people are now embracing my music. I can't wait for them to hear my new circuit-charged song, "Give It Up". They will gag."
One song on the album, "Fire", is even considered by many to have pop-radio potential, a very long way from the underground after-hour enclaves where Kevin first gained musical notoriety with his decidedly non-PC hit "Cunty". The song, which was banned in London, turned one of the most offensive words in the English language into a mantra for many a downtown club rat.
"For a year, Cunty was the staple at Tunnel," explains Kevin. "Kids were coming to the club just to hear the record. They'd sit and wait. Soon as it played, you'd see all the queens coming out of the darkness, doing runway."
He was soon offered a record deal with Wave Music where he released his debut album, Box of Chocolates. "Din Da Da" from that CD went to #1 on Billboard and was really big in Europe, and "Rhythm is My Bitch" went to #2. In 2001, Kevin signed a deal for a second album with Emerge Records, a division of Centaur Entertainment.
"My roots are and will always be with the House of Aviance," Kevin proudly declares, referring to the legendary Vogue house started in Washington DC which was similar to New York City's House of Xtravaganzas who held court at Junior Vasquez's Sound Factory in the early nineties. It was through the House of Aviance that Kevin gained entrance into the club scene, first as a promoter and then a performer. It is also from the House of Aviance where Kevin took his name. His real name is Eric Snead. "But like any performer," continues Kevin, "I must allow myself to grow. To evolve. That is what I believe I have done with Entity - I've evolved."
