The Pittsburgh-based artist sits down with The Satellite to talk about his most important influences and his upcoming show at Bottlerocket Social Hall.
Touring artist and recurring house musician at Bottlerocket, Benji, will be headlining between the wood paneling for the first time on Friday, December 22nd.
The Pittsburgh Hip-Hop/R&B musician brings a relatable mixed-bag discography and an energy that any audience would find immersive and entertaining.
Being a versatile artist is in Benji’s blood. Surrounded by musicians in his house, he said he “caught the bug early” and always knew he wanted to play music. He has maintained influence from many genres, from a childhood engulfed with diverse musical inspiration- from Anita Baker to the Foo Fighters.
Home has always had an essential impact on the Pittsburgh musician, both thematically and literally- with songs like “Josephine” being named after a predominant place in the city to him.
“It’s something that is very important to me,” Benji said in an interview with The Satellite. “Josephine, it started off about when I used to live on Josephine Street in the South Side, that song is largely about home for me.”
Benji added that feelings of home and comfortability are all themes he tries to convey in his music, and he wants to make the audience feel at home themselves.
“One of my missions as an artist is to make everybody comfortable,” Benji said. “As long as that is reflected in what I do, because I want to be comfortable, it’s a sense of what Pittsburgh means to me. It’s a large part of how Love Gun 1 came together.”
At the time of this interview, Benji had just concluded his stay in New Orleans working on the much anticipated “Love Gun 2,” the second installment of the EP series.
“I couldn’t imagine doing it any other way,” He said. “I have to create from a place of comfort, and New Orleans reminds me of creating at home. I’ve largely been able to acomplish the things i’ve acomplished because of what I was able to do at home.”
Benji is a house band member for Bottlerockets open mic series called “That Was Dope,” an open invitation platform for artists of all calibers to test out material with other musicians.
“Bottlerocket is an interesting place, it’s the most Pittsburgh place possible,” Benji said. “It’s a place that packs a punch because of the people there. It reminds me a lot of when we were jamming in basements in Oakland,” he added. “It reminds me of home, all you need is all you need, and that’s what Bottlerocket is.”
Most of all, Benji expressed how excited he was to play for a dedicated crowd and to expose them to new art in a city as welcoming as The Steel City.
“It’s the people inside that fill up the space that make it the experience that it ultimatelty can be,” Benji said. “I’m looking forward to that because it would be me and my band, some great artists, and beautiful people that are going to be there and make it an atmosphere that is worth every dollar spent. That’s what Pittsburgh can really do,” He added. “When everyone is together, just wanting and willing to hear some good music and to hear some artists they might have not known before or been unfamiliar with, it gives you that chance to discover something.”
Benji will be joined at his show by genre-adjacent artists Cam Chambers (R&B) and Will Juergens (Experimental Pop), and you can get your tickets to the event HERE!
