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. After being chosen as a feature band in the government-sponsored, UK-Japan Year 2008, the group achieved mixed success on the Japanese music scene, after signing to Hemlock Music and twice winning the national music award, Gaijin Sounds. 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. After starting as an acoustic trio, the band later went electric and became known for its array of vocal and musical styles, before the band rebuilt its original sound in 2013 with new personnel in Tokyo: "Pon" (guitar); Shokei Konno on percussion, Mari Uga on sax, and Rob Moreau (mandolin). They developed a national following after touring in Japan, including Hard Rock Cafe, The Crocodile Club, and headlined events at the international music festival, Japan Music Week. The group have also played in England, Australia, Canada and America, and much of SE Asia. The group featured frequently in the Japanese media, including TV, radio and press, receiving strong reviews in Metropolis, Japanzine, and Time Out, whose editor, Jon Wilks, described the songs as demonstrating "lyrical genius". Their first release, Shipwrecked, in November 2008, was closely followed in May 2009 by I Should've Stopped There, with their troubled album, Antidote, finally released in October 2011. After an accident involving the lead singer, The Gravy Train cancelled most live shows and recordings in 2012 but made a comeback in early 2013 in Tokyo, aiming to restart recording for the two albums, The Veil Has Been Lifted, and Prisoner in Paradise. The band headlined events at Hard Rock Cafe's anniversary celebrations in Tokyo and an all-day music festival in July, Tokyo Woodstock, before a summer tour of the US in 2013. 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. Formation and early development 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. After returning to Tokyo