Kevin J Thornton

In a way, Kevin J Thornton is a throwback to the golden age of entertainers on the vaudeville circuit-- he sings, he tells jokes, he truly entertains his audiences in clubs and on the underground Fringe Festival circuit. However, Thornton's show is anything but old fashioned. His stories and songs comment on sexuality, religion and American life in a new century.

His one-person odyssey’s are a fusion of stand-up comedy, Sedaris-like storytelling and original music akin to Ryan Adams and John Hiatt. His lastest work includes original music from his 2011 release "January Dreams." Says Thornton, "I was going through an intense break up in Los Angeles. I moved out of our West Hollywood apartment and came to Indiana to hibernate for the winter and clear my head. Instead, I ended up drinking a lot and writing folk/country songs. I decided to take all this heartbreak and music and smash it together with my stand up." This unique hybrid of styles is displayed in his live show.

Thornton spent the early 2000s building a reputation as a professional musician in Nashville, TN. His first effort entitled Had A Sword won the Nashville Scene Music Award for Best Experimental Rock. During that time he worked as an actor, ironically, to pay the bills. He appeared in several professional theatre productions, playing John in John and Jen at the historic Tibbit's Opera House in Coldwater, MI. and in a sketch comedy group aboard a luxury ship in South America.

During that time he began writing a series of short stories that described his hilariously heartbreaking coming out story. These vignettes eventually became his one- man debut “Sex, Dreams & Self-Control” which he took on the road in 2009. The show received unanimous praise, including a nod from the Los Angeles Times and NPR’s “All Things Considered”.

In a daring move, that same year Kevin bared all for the men’s nudie magazine Unzipped.

Since 2009 he has released six albums, including the soundtrack to “Sex, Dreams & Self Control” as well as an illustrated book version of the show. His new wave rock project Waves on Waves has appeared numerous times on the MTV Network LOGO’s PopLab, and the network uses one of the videos as its High Def Tivo commercial.

Thornton is a "New Faces Winner" at the World Famous Comedy Store on the Sunset Strip. He's also a YouTube Partner, with several channels and characters and streams his shows live along with other special events on Ustream.tv.

©2010 TheKevinThornton.com