Kaitrin McCoy has been a whisper in the local music coffee shop scene, but this year she looks to break out with self-promotion, bigger venues and new songs.
“I’ve always had a pretty decent turnout, but this year I’m looking to market myself more,” McCoy said. “People can come to my Donkey show and sit in the back corner making out the whole time, as long as they are aware of me existing. I want to reach as many people as I can.”
McCoy, a former stringer at The Post and fourth-year senior studying journalism and music composition, will perform her indie pop piano originals at Donkey Coffee and Espresso, 17 ½ W. Washington St., at 8 p.m. Friday.
From roots in open mic nights at Front Room and Donkey to now charging a cover for her own shows in the Donkey back room, McCoy said she has always received a lot of help from her mentor, Troy Gregorino, host of Donkey Musicians’ Open Stage.
“Kaitrin’s potential was instantly apparent the first time I saw her,” Gregorino said. “She’s one of those rare entertainer types and she has really found her voice, which comes across in her shows.”
Her style of music has been compared to that of Ingrid Michaelson, Regina Spektor and Ben Folds, who she aspires to be, McCoy said.
Yet what makes her stand out in the crowd is her ability to write poetic music with a deeper meaning, which is at times all too relatable to college-life drama.
Take, for example, the second song from her EP Second Romantic, “Whisper,” which she said was written about her first boyfriend in college and how they wouldn’t say “I love you” out loud.
“It’s like we were too afraid to be honest and open about how we really felt,” McCoy said. “Sometimes there are truths that are too hard to proclaim loudly, (so) you whisper them to yourself and a few people.”
To complement the poetic lyrics, McCoy also tries to make her piano parts complicated and rhythmic, rather than playing just straight chords.
“I really like complex piano,” she said. “I make a strong effort to craft each song and make it hard to play and fun to watch, with my fingers flying all over the board.”
McCoy was signed with Brick City Records at the end of Spring Quarter last year, but no projects have been started yet to record a new album.
wh092010@ohiou.edu
