Matt Copley
"Coffee in the Morning"
- When did you first discover theater/what was your first experience?
My first experience with theater was in the 4th grade - My mom was directing Aladdin Jr. for our k-8 school district, and she forced me to audition for the show. I was interested in theater but had no idea what I was doing. She ended up casting me as Iago in that production, and every year after that I was in the next "MTI Jr." show that was being put up by my mom.
- When/how did you become a writer? Is there a writer, show, or text that particularly inspired you?
I started writing music when I was 14. What really kickstarted my passion was being in a Pop/Rock band called Cross The Line in high school. I was the songwriter for the band, and we released an E.P. and played a lot of shows locally for about 3 years. That kept me writing all through out high school. Most of the music I write for the stage now is very heavily Pop/Rock influenced with a full rock band, etc. So when I saw American Idiot for the first time, I was completely blown away. It was the only show I knew at the time that meshed both of my opposite interests - Pop/Punk band music and musical theatre. That tour definitely ignited a flame in me.
- How do you describe your style/work?
My work is very heavily influenced by early 2010's Pop/Rock/Punk. I love simplicity. I love how easy "Coffee in the Morning" is to hear and play, and I think there's a lot of beauty in keeping music stripped down. A lot of that early Pop/Rock is pretty standard, 4 chord melodies with a reoccurring chorus that builds each time it repeats. It's not very complex, but I really like to follow that structure whenever I start writing. I think what sets me apart from others is that I really just like to sit in the basics of songwriting. I like to tell the most story with the least amount of moving parts.
- What is most rewarding to you about writing music?
Whats most rewarding to me is making people feel something with music. I love to think of songs as short stories. Stories impact people in many different ways and make people feel emotions they maybe forgot about. That's really my only goal when writing music, is to make the listener feel something they aren't already. It's incredibly rewarding to me when a song of mine helps bring those forgotten feelings to light.