Comedy in the Front, Synth Party in the Back: The Many Sides of Kenny Gray

A while back, I stumbled on a guy on Instagram doing a pretty uncanny impression of LCD Soundsystem. (No, it wasn’t electroclash revivalist The Dare, but good guess). The song was called “I Don’t Smoke,” a tongue-in-cheek confessional about all the things he only does when he’s drunk…smoking, eating meat, breaking his otherwise strict rules. It had everything: the dry wit, the anxious grooves, the unmistakable cadence of James Murphy airing out his existential laundry over a cowbell beat. It was funny, it was extremely catching, and it was also really, really good. The guy was Kenny Gray, and he was playing all the instruments himself, clearly having the time of his life. I dug deeper and quickly realized this guy had been keeping busy. Kenny has an ear for parody and song structure that borders on unnerving. His homages to bands like IDLES, Devo, Viagra Boys, and The B-52s are so pitch-perfect you almost forget they’re jokes.

But parody is just one corner of his world. Kenny is also an actor, a comedian, and the creator of Kenny Goes to Sleep, a one-man sketch show that plays like a mixtape from your subconscious. He scores short films (often with horror leanings), composes music for podcasts and commercials, and releases original music under the name Kendaux, a project that blends psych-pop, lo-fi funk, and analog synth textures with influences ranging from the aforementioned LCD Soundsystem and Kevin Parker (Tame Impala) to Beck and King Gizzard. It’s his outlet for more serious (but still playfully weird) songwriting. Everything he does has a kind of chaotic sincerity. Equal parts silly and sharp, a little bit brilliant and a little bit broken. In March of this year, he dropped a 32-song digital collection called Demolicious Derby compiling many of the musical parodies he’s shared on social media over the past few months, along with a handful of unreleased tracks. It’s just more proof of how prolific Kenny is, and how much fun he’s having while doing it.

Below is a conversation with a guy who’s not trying to fit into any particular box. He’s too busy turning the boxes into drum machines and ghost saxophones.

Comedy, Theater, and One‑Man Shows

You blend comedy, music, and theater into a singular style. What inspired you to take this multifaceted approach, and was there a defining moment that pushed you to create shows like Kenny Goes to Sleep?

I grew up loving comedy, doing lots of musical theater, and playing in a rock band, so I guess, eventually, they all had to blend together. I guess from my perspective it’s not so much that I chose to blend them as much as I chose to stop keeping them apart. For a long time I was like “music is serious” “comedy is silly”. It took effort to keep them in their own silos and was ultimately more stressful. Each thing felt like half of me. I recently did The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron and was like, fuck it, I’m just gonna honor what naturally comes to my head. My recent social media videos are a direct result of that.

Kenny Goes to Sleep was a similar approach. I just wanted to do a show that showcased what I liked and what I felt I was good at. Blur all the lines and just be me. I kept the connective tissue as barebones as possible to focus solely on the strength of each piece. In previous shows, my goal had been to make what I thought a one-person show “should” be. The goal for this one was just to be as funny and as true to what I liked as possible.

Your one‑man sketch show, Kenny Goes to Sleep, has been described as a high‑energy journey through surreal characters and dreamscapes. How do you develop your characters, and what personal experiences or influences shape the narratives in your show?”

I developed a lot of those characters in workshops, classes, and as part of comedy groups. So I came in with a rough idea, pitched it, got notes from friends, and did multiple drafts. I also performed each piece at open mics multiple times to test it out in front of an audience. Each one is a different journey. For example, my ghost sax one was based off the prompt “what’s a genre you like and a skill you have and ” and I wrote “paranormal saxophone,” and it made me laugh. I then thought of the phrase “GET OUT OF HERE GHOST” with a sax toot before and was off to the races.

As far as personal experiences, I really just tried to mine experiences with strong emotions and personal specificity. I really do believe there is universal truth in the specific (I forget who coined that, but thank you to whoever did). Presenting the very specific embarrassing and weird characters from my past that linger with me (as I remember them) seems to work. Like instead of doing a generic band conductor, I did my band conductor. You can be more real that way.

With a background in acting and theater, how do these experiences inform your comedic timing and stage presence? Is there a particular theatrical influence that continues to inspire your work?

I would say even more than acting, music is the core thing that has helped my comedy. Rhythm, timing, and using my voice as an instrument. I like words and phrases that “sound” funny. I never really considered myself much of an actor until I moved to LA, where people started telling me I was one and should do it more – so I guess I am!

Acting brings comedy to life. I had a teacher say “you can say anything as a character as long as you make me believe that THEY believe it” and that’s all acting. It’s something I’ve invested in more since moving to LA, and I think has really added an entire new dimension to explore in my comedy. The ability to believably commit to something silly really has been so helpful.

As far as influences go, Oh, Hello blew my mind when I was in college. I saw it off-broadway twice and then on broadway twice. Recently, Cole Escola’s “Oh Mary” and Zach Zucker’s “Jack Tucker’s Stand-Up Comedy Hour” have similarly blown my mind. That raw energy and full commitment is mega inspiring. But in my youth, it was Weird Al and Will Ferrell. Running With Scissors was the first CD I ever bought and I wouldn’t have explored Devo, Nirvana, NIN or so many artists if it wasn’t for Weird Al.

Music and the Kendaux Project

You manage to produce both serious music and comedic parodies. How do you decide which mood or genre to channel into your music, especially on your Kendaux project, and how does that duality affect your creative process?

It’s not a very intentional process. I suppose it’s often influenced by what I’m listening to, I’m a bit of a parrot in that way. I usually just noodle around with an instrument or a sample and stumble upon something. Or I’ll craft a little lyrical hook or melodic phrase and build from there. As I mentioned before, the duality of serious vs. comedic used to stress me out. I thought I had to choose a lane. But now I try not to think about it. Sometimes I’m silly, sometimes I’m serious, sometimes it’s in between. It’s all me.

In regards to Kendaux, who would you say are your biggest musical influences?

Kendaux is for sure inspired by all the solo producer dudes – Kevin Parker, James Murphy, Mac Demarco. I was also really into King Gizzard and Beck at the time (still am). The XoXo EP was specifically made after I watched the documentary Dig!, so I guess The Brian Jonestown Massacre and Dandy Warhols as well.

You’re known for your uncanny ability to mimic artists like LCD Soundsystem, IDLES, Devo, Viagra Boys, B‑52s, and Daft Punk. You have great taste! What draws you to these artists, and do you credit formal training or is it simply an exceptional ear for musical structure?

They’re all artists I all love that share an energy. They make exciting music that gets you moving. I love songs that make you tap your foot, bang your head, and groove. I also spent the past few months listening to the entire discography of artists I hadn’t fully listened to or wanted to revisit. That took me back to B-52s, Talking Heads, Devo, Dylan, Led Zeppelin, Bowie, The Beatles, The Beastie Boys, and more. So for the parody of those artists, I had recently listened to their entire body of work and had a good sense of what made them “them”.

As to “how”, I think my mimicry partly stems from my background in music (a technical understanding of how they achieve tones/write songs/chord structures/write lyrics etc etc) but it’s also heavily connected to the comedy part of my brain that notices and analyzes funny things. The same way I notice funny behavior in a person and turn it into a character, I’ll notice a funny tick a musician has or a pattern of musical behavior and be able to exemplify it in a song. I find I’m much better at “showing” than “telling”.

Any future parodies on the horizon? Are there any artists/bands that are just begging to be parodied?

I’ve been listening to Elliott Smith, Kraftwerk, Paul McCartney’s solo work, MF Doom, and Radiohead – so we’ll see what happens! I don’t know if I could sing like them, but Linkin Park or 100 Gecs would be so much fun. Passion Pit is another one that comes to mind.

Do you know if any of the bands/artists you’ve parodied have heard your interpretations?

I know Viagra Boys saw my post, which was awesome! They have a good sense of humor and seemed to like it. Someone told me the bass player of IDLES saw my parody of them? And lots of people involved in the DFA world have seen my “I Don’t Smoke” video which has been so rewarding and exciting.

I noticed in some of your videos you’re working with a Juno 106 synth, a personal favorite of mine. What is it about that synth (or any drum machine you favor) that enhances your sound, and do you have any go‑to gear for your live shows and recordings?

I love it cause it’s so simple to use. And also cheap (or was when I bought it). I love polysynths. Live, I love vox amps, electroharmonix pedals, and an MS-20 (soulwax style). The Arp Odyssey also fucking shreds. Honestly these days though, I’ve been using a ton of Arturia plug-ins and put the Vulfcompressor on the master of almost every single track I make. And all of this in Ableton.

Scoring, Collaborations, etc

You’ve scored short films (with a nod to horror), commercials for British Airways, and even music for podcasts. How does scoring differ from writing your comedy or Kendaux tracks, and what challenges (or rewards) come from working in these varied formats?

It’s much more of a “job”. You are being paid to help execute someone else’s vision, lending your skills to help lift up the piece. The reward is being part of a larger project and seeing the final result. It pushes me to try stuff/genres I never would’ve done before.

Given your experience across theater, music, and film, have you found that collaborating with other creatives has influenced your work? Are there any dream collaborations on your horizon?”

I love working with people who are passionate about whatever they’re into. Their own personal obsessions end up influencing me. It’s always cool to see how other people work and pick up new tricks. Artistic cross pollination.

But the collaborations that have worked best were when we arrived as equals and put aside our own egos to see what happened when we blended our combined perspectives. It’s hard to find chemistry that works, but when it’s right it truly is magic. The Killjay Christmas album is a great example of that.

As far as dream collab, I’d love to work with any of the people I’ve parodied. I would truly lose my mind if Soulwax remixed something of mine.

I’m assuming you’re originally from New Hampshire, as hinted by your 603 area code. If so, where in NH did you grow up? I was born in New Bedford, MA and grew up mostly in South Sutton, NH, now living in Long Beach. You’re now based in Los Angeles, correct? What brought you out here? How have the different cultural or musical landscapes influenced your artistic evolution?

That is correct! My wife and I live in the valley of LA and moved here from Boston – where we lived for a long time. I grew up in NH, went to school in Boston, and stayed after. I lost my job in the pandemic and decided to move to LA after spending a summer in NYC working on comedy stuff.

LA is great cause everyone in the scene is so supportive of the pursuit of art. It’s all so normalized and has a full infrastructure. The clown scene out here really opened my eyes to embracing failure and imbuing everything with energy. I do miss the people and places of the East Coast, but LA has been a very inspiring place to be as an artist. There’s so many people working at the top of their game and you get to witness it first hand.

What’s next for you? Are there any upcoming projects, new musical experiments, or live performances you’re particularly excited about?

I just got cast on a sketch team that performs monthly at UCB here in LA and am working on some cool musical collabs that I can’t talk about yet. But they’re pretty cool if I do say so myself! Eventually I wanna find a way to do the musical stuff I’ve been doing on socials live in concert.

Anything else you’d like to share?

Thanks for reaching out!

Check out Kenny on Instagram and explore even more of his world here.