Multi instrumentalist Ben McCoy is Benz.Birdz., and he’s playing Tin Roof with Mike Brown, Bishop, K. Rich and Romeo Walcott Aug. 26. His sound has been called funhouse rock — “I kind of dig that,” he said. “Someone also said ‘Ben Folds but shoegaze. And I dig that, too.”
McCoy has been under the moniker Benz.Birdz. for about three years, but he’s been making music for himself and with other projects much longer — like producing and engineering for socially conscious experimental hip-hop act Bishop, who will share the stage with him on Thursday.
McCoy plays every instrument on the home studio releases he’s put out so far. And he engineers vocals and makes beats for other artists. “It’s an easy set up for a good studio in someone’s living room for a day,” he said. “But for more elaborate stuff, I have a more spacious set up at home.”
He will have a full band backing him for the show, which will be the first time he will play material from his EP Little Human Billboard and subsequent singles. Then the Benz.Birdz. performers will switch things up and back Romeo Wilcott, with McCoy on drums.
McCoy grew up in a musical family, with his dad, a DJ, spinning his favorite records like AC/DC, Sly and the Family Stone and Hank Williams. When he received positive feedback at an open mic one night for an original song called “She,” he realized his goal of being a musician wasn’t just a pipe dream.
“I want to help people in any way, shape or form, whether it’s other artists or me creating songs to help people get through the day a little easier. Any way I can contribute to a better world and people bettering themselves, I want to do that.”
The 8 p.m. show at Tin Roof in West Ashley is $10 at the door.
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