Review Fix Exclusive: Fake Shark’s Kevin Maher Talks New Album And More

Review Fix chats with Fake Shark’s Kevin Maher, who discusses the band’s new album, “Faux Real” origin and sounds. Detailing their creative process as well, Maher let’s us know they’re a band hungry for more ears.

Review Fix: How’d you guys get together?

Kevin Maher: The band was born out of the ashes of our old band, Fake Shark Real Zombie, which was a heavy band. I find it more of a challenge to make music that’s accessible, and that’s why I wanted to start over with a new name, new line up and new sound.

Review Fix: What makes this band different?

Maher: Our influences are vast and we write in strange ways. I actually started over 70 songs for this album that’s coming out in May, because I write every day. To me, the best songs on this record came from ones where we’d recorded drums first, then it’s like the songs kinda wrote themselves over top, in a way. We’re also funny live and it’s important to us that the whole show be entertaining.

Review Fix: How was this album born?

Maher: I started writing it when I was living with my friend Kat in Hollywood. She let me turn her guest house into a little studio and I’d start every day writing music, and then we’d watch Exorcism movies.

Review Fix: What was the creation of this album like?

Maher: It was everything I think great albums feel like to create, equal highs and lows. There were moments where we or I felt the best I’ve ever felt, and the worst I’ve ever felt. I read this thing where Trent Reznor said “out of the creation of any impactful albums, you will lose friendships” and that definitely happened during this one. Some of the songs are about that, actually.

Review Fix: Any fun stories or wild moments?

Maher: Working with Kool Keith was a big one for me, because he’s a legend and an influence. When I bumped into him in Vancouver, I couldn’t believe he was open to it. We went back and forth with song titles before we made the song, and that’s still how I write, ever since.

Review Fix: Why is this album a special one for you guys?

Maher: Because we’re on top of our game, life and writing-wise like we’ve never been. The live band is also cohesive and thoughtful, and I love being with those guys.

Review Fix: How does this album disrupt the musical landscape?

Maher: By not participating in the obvious, I think. The lyrics are also honest in a way that makes me uncomfortable, which should be the goal, sometimes.

Review Fix: Who will enjoy this album the most?

Maher: People who listen to it front to back and pay attention, people who play it in the back ground, and people who see us live and pick it up.

Review Fix: What are your goals for the album?

Maher: To get it into as many ears as possible.

Review Fix: What song is the standout on this album? Why?

Maher: It changes for me all the time, but I currently love Push My Luck. I love how dark and emotional it is, and how sarcastic the lyrics are.

Review Fix: What’s next?

Maher: Tour. See you soon, Canada and the UK.

Review Fix: Anything else you’d like to add?

Maher: It’s better to add than subtract, and I’ll leave it at that.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13819 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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