Cork singer Kevin Walsh has released his cover of Meat Loaf’s Not a Dry Eye in the House. We asked him the BIG questions . . .
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Growing up, Kevin was a non-verbal autistic child with an eating disorder and intense social anxiety. His solace for that anxiety was the theatrical videos, dramatic performances, and the larger-than-life persona of Meat Loaf.
Meat cute! Meat Loaf and Kevin
The two would eventually meet virtually at GalaxyCon 2020 and struck up a rapport. Meat’s encouragement and friendship drove Kevin to overcome his anxieties as an artist imposed by autism and the Covid pandemic.
Kevin is planning gigs later this year and will release his debut EP in 2024.
Tell us three things about yourself . . .
My name is Kevin Walsh. I am from Cork, Ireland (the real capital!). I am autistic and music has been my lifeline and my rock through the triumphs and the tribulations. I have a First-Class Honours BMus and MA degree from MTU Cork School of Music where I trained classically as a tenor and specialised in popular song writing and performance. I’m also an actor with experience in local musical theatre productions, short film and television.
Last year I released my debut single, a supergroup called Embrace the World. I teamed up with a whole host of other artists including Emma Langford and Caroline Kay, it was released as an Autism Awareness piece. It reached No 1 on the Irish iTunes Singles Charts and got into the Irish Homegrown at #19 – not bad for a debut. And I performed it as a solo at AsIAm’s Same Chance World Autism Conference 2022.
This upcoming release, a cover version of Meat Loaf’s Not a Dry Eye in the House, is my first one as a solo artist. I’ve been a lifelong fan and I really want to honour his memory with this version. The music video is already doing really well, winning awards around the world and it made its Irish premiere at Dublin International Short Film and Music Festival recently.
Apart from my hobbies of singing and song-writing, I love retro video games and am an avid watcher of Fair City. My favourite character is Zak Dillon, played by Stephen O’Leary… from CORK – us Cork people must support our own. I always look forward to seeing what trouble he gets himself into.
How would you describe your music?
Rock with a theatrical edge. I studied classical music and musical theatre in college so I’m all about melody, piano and storytelling. I see songs as mini movies; the lyrics and arrangements are informed by the dramatic situations the characters experience.
Who are your musical inspirations?
I am inspired by anyone who is able to create stories through music. I especially love musical theatre writers like Andrew Lloyd Webber, Alan Menken, Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim. In the more contemporary pop sphere, people like Bob Dylan, Jim Steinman, Bruce Springsteen and Diane Warren. Even Eminem with songs like Stan.
What was the first gig you ever went to?
Meat Loaf at the Point Theatre (now 3Arena) in 2003. It was his first concert back after collapsing in Wembley a few weeks beforehand when he had to have heart surgery. The opening of the show was a whole spoof on the situation; him coming out on a stretcher with his two female background vocalists playing the nurses. Because that was meant to be the “Last World Tour” and I had no idea what that meant in showbiz terms (how many “last tours” did Elton John do?) plus add a literal autistic mind to the equation – hormonal young me cried into toasted cheese sandwiches at the hotel the next day. I blame those nurses’ outfits(!) Luckily it turns out I had 10 more years and seven more Meat Loaf concerts to follow. No more nurse outfits though, for better or worse.
What was the first record you ever bought?
The soundtrack for Disney’s Hercules. The main song from that, Go the Distance, really resonated deeply with me even as a child. Just something about that drive, wanting to belong and find your place in the world, no matter what life throws at you or whatever obstacles you have to face to do so, “I will find my way / If I can be strong / I know every mile will be worth my while…”
What’s your favourite song right now?
I would have to say Shallow by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper. Powerful vocals and I love the dramatic nature of the composition.
Favourite lyric of all time?
“Careful the things you say/ children will listen/careful the things you do/children will see and learn” from Into the Woods (Stephen Sondheim). Children are a lot smarter than we give them credit for. They mightn’t have the words to explain what goes on around them but they can surely sense it. They sense everything!
If you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Again, it would be Meat Loaf I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That). The song is just pure theatrical bliss and it runs the gamut of emotions: from sad to pining to desperation to determination to peace. All the peaks and crescendos and tempo changes are like life itself. That theme in the intro was the first thing I ever learned to play on piano. It is romantic from top to bottom, even with the music video which had a Beauty and the Beast theme. The opening chorus in that video is just so haunting; Meat Loaf hiding inside the tomb while reflecting on his deformed features. Because that’s what life feels like without love and without passion, you just feel dead. It’s something that connects with me to the bottom of my soul – the sensibility of the outsider who wants nothing more than to connect, love and be loved and do anything for it, to literally run right into hell and back.
Where can people find your music/more information?
You can find me on social media, Facebook (Kevin Walsh Music) and Instagram (@kevinwalsh.music). Musically, I’m on Spotify, iTunes and all the other standard places where you can find music digitally online. My first single Embrace the World is also available through Bandcamp. With events, I’m singing in a couple of concerts in Cork before Christmas My Not a Dry Eye in the House video has several more screenings including the Waterford International Film Festival and at The Pavilion in Cork in November. For the rest, you’ll have to follow my pages and find out.
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