Musician Owen Beverly has 'Demo-itis' and an affinity for infomercials

Local singer-songwriter Owen Beverly juggles his time between his solo work and as a member of two Lowcountry bands, Tent Revival and In-Laws.

As a solo artist, Beverly has released his alternative country tunes on an EP, "The Drunk Lover EP," and a full-length album, "Shooting the Bull," in addition to releasing an album of demos, aptly named "Demo-itis." He has also released a self-titled EP with Tent Revival, the band that also features members of pop/rock band I Nine, and is preparing to release a full length record in August with In Laws, his collaboration with The Working Title's Joel Hamilton.

A native of Jackson, Miss., Beverly moved to the Lowcountry to study music composition and theory at the College of Charleston in 2000. He headed back to Jackson for a brief hiatus, only to move back to the Holy City one year ago.

Preview chatted with the singer-songwriter and discovered his charmingly sarcastic sense of humor.

Q: How did you get your start in music?

A: I started playing the piano when I was 5. After two years of being the worst student in the class, the teacher suggested to my parents that being a pianist may not be in the cards for me. I had a fascination with the guitar, so my parents got me guitar lessons. After that I started to show some musical ability.

Q: Why are you involved in so many different projects?

A: I have what's called 'life-direction ADD.' I like playing good music and when I get an opportunity to do it, I just take it. I pick up random gigs all the time. Sometimes I play with Cary-Ann Hearst, sometimes I play with Lindsay Holler. I've played with Working Title and with Steve Fiore's band. I also did a Southeast tour with Jay Clifford this past fall.

Q: How do you come up with your sound?

A: I stay up really late at night and watch infomercials (or televangelists if I'm working on In-Laws) and play the guitar and just kind of zone out. I make up stories about the people on the infomercials. I've found that it's a system that has worked for me quite well. The only problem is that now I have a bunch of cheap, unusable kitchenware and I've written off half of my royalties to the Billy Graham family. Sometimes I do co-writing with Joel, which is more like explaining quantum physics to your rural distant relatives than writing, but it builds good people skills. Nah, I'm just kidding."

Q: Any thoughts on the state of the economy?

A: Especially for music right now, things are really tough. They aren't getting any easier. But for a lot of people who have had a difficult time, perhaps it's been an opportunity for them to equalize themselves, to focus on the things that they feel driven to do. Personally, I've had to be more productive to keep my head above the water, but it's forced me to be involved in other things. I think that struggling can produce a lot of creativity, which is good if you're a musician.