Meet Kevin Melody of Tapped In in San Fernando Valley

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kevin Melody.

Kevin, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I’ve always loved two things, music and comedy. I don’t think I enjoy anything the way I enjoy those two things. With a last name like “Melody” you’d assume I must make music, or at the very least play an instrument, but I don’t. My father showed me George Carlin, Joan Rivers, Redd Foxx and Lenny Bruce at a very young age. He also worked with Ruthless Records as an audio engineer in the early 90’s and shared a ton of music with me. Since he was in sound studios all the time, I would end up in front of microphones often and I haven’t really stopped since.

In May of 2015, I started doing stand-up comedy myself, using my own set of observations given to me by my unique lens that’s in large part due to being born mixed-race, in a home that was mixed-sanity and being exposed to comedians so young. I’m constantly laughing because I think I was born with the blessing and the curse of finding levity in everything. The most applicable Carlin quote that defines my existence is, “Those who dance are considered insane by those who cannot hear the music.”

My mother being an incredibly strong Iranian immigrant and my father being a hilarious euro-mutt (German/Irish/Italian) from everyone’s favorite state, New Jersey, I have a good amount of anger, stories, and laughs to go around. It was while I was doing stand-up that I quickly realized the value of podcasting. When I couldn’t get stage time or I wanted to have an outlet to create, I could just do it, it was a convenience thing at first.

Eventually, after four years and various podcasts, a great friend of mine, Gabe Shaddow, came to me with a concept. He knew I podcasted and loved music and he’s a professional photographer and creative mind for various artists himself, he thought we could combine our skill sets and make something happen in the world of podcasting. Together, with our friend Mark, Tapped in was born.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The Tapped in road had some hilarious bumps along the way. We needed a studio to record in and we didn’t know where to start. We hardly had a budget over a year ago and we ended up renting a small space in a local barbershop (Rose Garden Barbershop) owned by my buddy Karlo. It’s the best barbershop on the planet, but it was bumpy to try and get guests to come to a barbershop after-hours.

Please tell us about Tapped in.
We wanted to create a platform for musicians to tell us their story. A space where you could sit down, unwind, have a laugh, and express yourself. That’s why I love doing the show. I’m a music fan and I think any chance to sit with a creative person makes me happy. Some of the stories I’ve learned just from 50 episodes have shocked me and left me inspired. We added one of my favorite people, Jullian Little (my co-host “Juju”) somewhere around episode 9 and the show has been just growing ever since. We’re most proud of the fact that we are the show that listens to artists.

What sets us apart is we really don’t force you to do anything, nothing is overly planned. The only thing we try and have every artist do is our signature “tapped in wheel” where you basically play a game show. It’s truly a fun and unique experience if you’re an artist. The show finds its content and stories by way of a conversation, or a hang, more than an interview.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Being surrounded by my family, both sides. My daycare was my Iranian grandma’s backyard where my cousins would be and my uncle lived there briefly. Probably watching Beavis and Butthead at an insanely young age with my uncle Aria. For sure some of the best memories.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.tappedinmusic.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unfunnykev/
  https://www.instagram.com/tappedin/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/unfunnykevin

Image Credit:
Jesse Sandoval (IG @jessesndvl)

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