Copeland (band)

Copeland
Vocalist Aaron Marsh, 2007
Background information
Origin	Lakeland, Florida, United States
Genres	Alternative rock, emo, indie rock, indie pop
Years active	2001–2010, 2014–present
Labels	Tooth & Nail, Columbia, The Militia Group, Theory 8, Academy Fight Song
Associated acts	Anchor & Braille, States, The Lulls In Traffic
Website	www.thecopelandsite.com
Members	Aaron Marsh Bryan Laurenson Jonathan Bucklew Stephen Laurenson
Past members	Rusty Fuller Thomas Blair James Likeness

Copeland is an American indie rock band formed in 2001 by singer Aaron Marsh (who also plays the guitar, and piano) with his friend, bassist and backing vocalist James Likeness, in Lakeland, Florida.

History

Inception

Aaron Marsh and Bryan Laurenson signed a record deal with independent label The Militia Group in 2002 and released their debut album, Beneath Medicine Tree, a year later. In 2004, 2005, and 2006 they performed at the annual Cornerstone Florida Festival in Orlando, Florida. In Motion, Copeland's second full-length album, was released on March 22, 2005—it was produced by Matt Goldman and Aaron Marsh, and mixed by Ken Andrews. The early copies of In Motion included a four-song acoustic EP (a compilation of lo-fi versions of songs from In Motion itself), as well as "Beneath Medicine Tree".

2006 to 2008

Beneath Medicine Tree features a heavy medical theme. Aaron Marsh admits that the lyrics in this album were inspired by the hospitalization of his girlfriend and the death of his grandmother. The album booklet includes photographs by then-bassist James Likeness of hospital scenes.^[1] Marsh cites that, "With Beneath Medicine Tree, I wanted to make a record that moves people," while "With In Motion, I wanted to make a record that makes people move."^[2]

Lead singer Aaron Marsh has also been featured with other bands such as The Morning Of on their album The Way I Fell In, Underoath on their album They're Only Chasing Safety, Anberlin on their album Cities and Lydia on their album Illuminate.

Columbia Records announced their signing of Copeland in a press release dated November 14, 2006.^[3] The band announced that they had officially split ways with the label on September 6, 2007.

On July 18, 2007 James made public his decision to no longer be a part of Copeland. He cited pursuing a career as a graphic designer (a field in which he has a college degree) as a chief reason in his decision to leave the band.^[4]

About a year after Eat, Sleep, Repeat they released Dressed Up & In Line on November 20, 2007 and is composed of B-sides, remixes, and rarities.

A year afterwards, in 2008, Copeland released their final album, You Are My Sunshine under Tooth & Nail Records. The band then decided to part ways, holding the Farewell Tour before they split up.

2014 reunion

On April 1, 2014, Copeland announced they were making a fifth studio album called Ixora, to be released in October 2014,^[5] after going six years without a new record. Though each member has been pursuing new ventures, inside and outside of the music industry both collectively as well as individually, Aaron Marsh, Bryan Laurenson, Stephen Laurenson, and Jonathan Bucklew have reunited to record and self-release their fifth full-length album, Ixora. The record was recorded and produced by Aaron Marsh at his Lakeland, Florida studio, The Vanguard Room, and released in November 2014.

Christian band

Although stated by some to be a Christian band, Aaron Marsh has said that they are not. Marsh says. "It's not our nature to have religious connotations. We are not a ministry band. We have some people in the band that are Christians, but that is not a focus of our band."^[6] "We have no agenda in our band other than art."^[7]

Band members

Current

• Aaron Marsh – lead vocals, guitar, bass, piano (2001–2010, 2014–present)
• Bryan Laurenson – lead guitar (2001–2010, 2014–present)
• Stephen Laurenson – rhythm guitar (2008–2010, 2014–present)
• Jonathan Bucklew – drums, percussion (2005–2010, 2014–present)

Former

• James Likeness – bass (2001–2007)
• Rusty Fuller – drums (2002-2004)
• Thomas Blair – guitar (2001)

Other projects

• Copeland was involved in To Write Love on Her Arms.
• Aaron Marsh was involved with the band Anchor & Braille along with Anberlin's Stephen Christian, producing the band's debut album Felt, which was released on August 4, 2009. Marsh is currently involved with a new project called The Lulls In Traffic.
• Bryan Laurenson's first band was Last Kid Picked, out of Annapolis, MD
• Bryan and Stephen Laurenson have recently formed a band, States, with Mindy White (previously of Lydia).

Discography

Studio albums

• Beneath Medicine Tree (2003)
• In Motion (2005) No. 115 US^[8]
• Eat, Sleep, Repeat (2006) No. 90 US^[8]
• You Are My Sunshine (2008) No. 48 US^[8]
• Ixora (2014) No. 93 US^[8]

Compilations

• Dressed Up & in Line (2007)

EPs

• Know Nothing Stays the Same (2004)
• Sony Connect Sessions (2005) - A bonus disc with the initial copies of In Motion
• Best Buy Exclusive Bonus Disc (2006) - Included with the initial copies of Eat, Sleep, Repeat that were sold at Best Buy
• The Grey Man EP (February 24, 2009)

Splits

• Copeland & Pacifico (2001)
• The Pale/Copeland (2003)

Instant live

Copeland teamed up with Instant Live to create a series of 21 limited edition CDs of many of the band's shows during their tour with Daphne Loves Derby, The Spill Canvas, and Melee, between October 13 and November 7, 2005.

Compilation appearances

• From Brooklyn with Love (2001)
• Stepping Stone Volume 1 (2002)
• Take Action Volume 3 (2003)
• Hello. We Are the Militia Group (2004)
• Maybe This Christmas Tree (2005)
• Happy Christmas Vol. 4 (2005)
• ¡Policia!: A Tribute to the Police (2005)
• Punk Goes 90's (2006)
• The Mother of Invention (2009)
• Happy Christmas Vol. 5 (2010)

Covers

Punk Goes 90s:

• "Black Hole Sun" by Soundgarden

Policia! A Tribute to the Police:

• "Every Breath You Take" by The Police

Know Nothing Stays the Same (EP):

• "Another Day in Paradise" by Phil Collins
• "Coming Around Again" by Carly Simon
• "She's Always a Woman" by Billy Joel
• "Take My Breath Away" by Berlin
• "Part-Time Lover" by Stevie Wonder

You Are My Sunshine (Deluxe Edition):

• "You Are My Sunshine"

Friends of P - Tribute to the Rentals:

• "Getting By" by The Rentals

The Mother of Invention:

• "The Tears of a Child" by Vincent Dooly

Happy Christmas Vol. 4:

• "Do You Hear What I Hear?"

Happy Christmas Vol. 5:

• "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"

Singles

• Beneath Medicine Tree
  • "Walking Downtown"
• In Motion
  • "Pin Your Wings"
• Eat, Sleep, Repeat
  • "Control Freak"
• You Are My Sunshine
  • "The Grey Man"
• Ixora (2014)
  • "Erase"

External links

• Official website

References

Copeland Aaron Marsh Bryan Laurenson Stephen Laurenson Jonathan Bucklew James Likeness Rusty Fuller Thomas Blair Studio albums Beneath Medicine Tree (2003) In Motion (2005) Eat, Sleep, Repeat (2006) You Are My Sunshine (2008) Ixora (2014) Compilation albums Dressed Up & in Line (2007)