November 15, 2018

 

 

 

The Energetic Kevin Vars

By Mark Gorman

 

Longevity in the music business is a valued commodity. This week’s featured musician, vocalist Kevin Vars, has been singing for over 50 years and shows no signs of slowing down.

 

“I’m always trying to find new ways to improve. I love to perform and love to help other serious singers,” he said. “I turned 64 this year and have been singing since I was 10. Learning to sing correctly is the only reason I still have a voice.”

Vars grew up in Newport and started taking guitar lessons at age 9. The following year, he played his first gig. “At 10, I was in a garage band, playing Beatles tunes and we performed our first paying gig at the Middletown VFW. We made $5 each and got all the soda we could drink,” he said. After that gig, Vars discovered he could sing, and by age 13 he was singing with a professional band, playing Newport clubs and venues.

 

“I found a wonderful teacher named Walter Keith,” he said. “At my first lesson, Walter held a lit match in front of my mouth and asked me to sing. I did, and blew the match out. After many months of training and practice, I was able to control it so I could sing without blowing out the match.”

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Vars traveled around New England with the band In Time, and then he discovered a new love: big bands. “I was completely taken by the music and sound the big bands had,” Vars said.

He became the lead vocalist in The Night Life Orchestra and would also travel to Connecticut to sing in another big band, The Fred Nunes Orchestra. But a chance meeting with members of the well-traveled horn band Brass Attack changed his musical life forever.

 

“I auditioned with [Brass Attack] and got the gig,” he said. “I sang with them for 13 years and was blessed to work with some of the best musicians in New England. Singing with that level of musician really kept me on my toes. I was always practicing, and still do to this day.”

 

We asked Vars what it is about performing live that appeals to him most.

 

“For me, performing live allows me to get lost in the music and anything else that is going on in my life disappears,” he said. “I love the energy of the musicians I work with and the audience. The energy builds as the performance progresses, and you feed off that energy.”

 

Which vocalists does he admire? “I’ve enjoyed singers like Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, Johnny Mathis and Felix Cavaliere, “ he said. “I’ve never been compared to another singer, but I’ve been told I’m very soulful.”

 

As with many musicians, Vars balances a day job, working for a Massachusetts-based medical company. “Being married with children, I have always had a day gig and burned the candles at both ends, working during the day and performing nights and weekends,” he said.

 

I’ve had the pleasure of hearing Vars sing live and his smooth delivery and phrasing is something you want to catch, when you can. For more information, visit  https://kvars0.wixste.com/website

 

Mark Gorman is a retired high school guidance counselor and guitarist-vocalist who performs locally each week. The best singers are those who treat their voice as their instrument. They practice and develop good habits. And the really good singers seek out professional instruction.