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[0:30] Heather Bedor: Welcome back to The Broadway Fan Club! I'm Heather.

[0:32] Chris: And I'm Chris. Today, we have a really exciting guest joining us.

[0:35] Heather Bedor: Yes, we do! We’re thrilled to welcome Matt Copley, the mastermind behind Broadway Does Punk.

[0:40] Chris: Matt has taken the world of musical theater by storm, transforming popular show tunes into pop, punk, and rock anthems.

[0:50] Heather Bedor: His project has gone viral, and now he’s bringing it to life with a live concert series.

[0:55] Chris: We can't wait to dive into all the details and hear about his journey.

[1:00] Heather Bedor: So, without further ado, let’s bring him on!

[1:05] Matt Copley: Hey, everyone! Thanks for having me.

[1:10] Chris: Thanks for joining us, Matt! We’re so excited to talk about Broadway Does Punk.

[1:15] Matt Copley: I’m excited to be here! It’s been such a wild ride.

[1:20] Heather Bedor: Can you tell us a bit about how the idea for Broadway Does Punk came about?

[1:25] Matt Copley: Absolutely! It started as a fun project where I wanted to see how these classic show tunes could be reimagined in a punk style.

[1:35] Chris: That’s such a unique concept! What was the first song you transformed?

[1:40] Matt Copley: The first song I did was “Defying Gravity” from Wicked. I thought it would be interesting to give it a more edgy sound.

[1:50] Heather Bedor: And it really took off from there, right?

[1:55] Matt Copley: Yes! Once I shared that version online, it just exploded. People loved the idea of mixing genres.

[2:05] Chris: It’s amazing how music can transcend boundaries like that.

[2:10] Heather Bedor: So, what has the response been like from fans of both punk music and musical theater?

[2:15] Matt Copley: It’s been overwhelmingly positive! Fans appreciate the fresh take on songs they already love.

[2:25] Chris: That’s fantastic! And now you’re taking this project live. What can audiences expect from the concert series?

[2:30] Matt Copley: The concerts are high-energy, with a full band and some incredible guest performers. It’s a celebration of both punk and Broadway.

[2:40] Heather Bedor: That sounds like a blast!

[2:45] Chris: Do you have any favorite moments from the concerts so far?

[2:50] Matt Copley: Definitely! One of my favorite moments was when we performed “Seasons of Love” from Rent. The crowd went wild!

[3:00] Heather Bedor: I can only imagine!

[3:05] Chris: It must be so rewarding to see that kind of reaction.

[3:10] Matt Copley: It really is! It’s all about bringing people together through music.

[3:15] Heather Bedor: Well, we can’t wait to see what you do next with Broadway Does Punk!

[3:20] Chris: Thank you for joining us today, Matt.

[3:25] Matt Copley: Thank you for having me!

[3:30] Heather Bedor: And to our listeners, make sure to check out Broadway Does Punk and catch a live show if you can!

[3:35] Chris: We’ll be back next week with more Broadway magic.

[3:40] Heather Bedor: Until then, keep the theater spirit alive!

[13:54] Matt Copley: Like my whole preparation for like eight years, like four years of high school and four years of college ended in a virtual showcase where agents weren't signing anybody because the world was shut down. But at the same time, virtual showcase that propelled you into the virtual space because yes.

[14:15] Matt Copley: Yeah, exactly. Happy accident there. Yes. So yeah, I'm saying all this, I guess not to discredit any of the past, but like none of this definitely wouldn't have happened. Like everything played out the way it should have in terms of where I am today. So yeah, because I graduated during the pandemic, I didn't move to New York City. I moved back home to Michigan where I was from because at that point I remember New York was literally and physically shut down. They weren't allowing people in and out of the city. So like my entire class of graduating people couldn't like move to the city. So we all moved back home and then long story short, I ended up joining a band with one of my original high school band members and we formed a new band and that was just kind of like what my creative outlet in this time of virtual things and, you know, being home and having so much time on my hands.

We made a record, we got, and it started taking off. The band started taking off and I was like, oh sweet, this is cool. And it was like a post-hardcore kind of like rock screamy kind of band. So I started singing more like that and doing more like that music and spending a lot of my time. And then we got a record deal, a really small record deal at first with an indie label and then we were coming up with ways to promote their album and I was like, I think there's like we got to figure out what, you know, what's unique to us. Like everyone's, especially in theater programs, are like find your authentic unique voice, whatever that is, you know, find your own way. And something that was unique to me, especially in the band space was like I have a musical theater background and like a pop-punk band, so that was unique to me. And I was like, okay guys, what if we like did a cover of a Broadway song, but like made it like a rock song? And they were like, not on board.

[16:08] Matt Copley: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Long story short, I mean we did that was "Defying Gravity" and then it was just game over from there. We posted that because they weren't on board right away. Like they were like, that's lame. Like they're not from there. They never like were in theater growing up. They could, they weren't into it. So I was just like, it was a hard sell at first. And then I was like, all right, we'll do this one. We never have to do it again if this doesn't work or it's not cool, whatever. And then yeah, dude, I was "Defying Gravity" and it literally like took off overnight and here we are today, basically.

[16:38] Matt Copley: Remember when I heard the first time and I was like, okay, this is amazing because like I love musicals, it's great, but I'm such like a little punk girl and I'm like, this is so cool. And then like so like again, fangirling for a moment because I just I love the vibe but like I go between you and Broadway Brass Band and like my life is bad.

[17:01] Matt Copley: Dude, that's a great playlist. Thank you. Thank you for spinning my stuff. I appreciate it.

[17:07] Chris: Yes, oh yeah. Yeah, Chris you good over there? I just always think it's great when music from Broadway stages intersects with punk in the things that you do, Matt. And then as you mentioned Broadway Brass Band, when it crosses into dance remixes like they did for "Cats" intermission or the Sondheim disco fever album that came out a few years ago. Because music, I mean really, it's storytelling in song and that's all any music is and then you can just layer any other style. And I think about there's the group Hayseed Dixie, which does country versions of AC/DC songs. You can do the same thing with show music. It doesn't have to be, you know, like sort of a postmodern jukebox show tune, although that's not much of a stretch for most things. But I just I love when show music intersects with other genres.

[18:13] Matt Copley: I completely agree and something that's been beautiful to me to see is, you know, I know it's to us theater folk like "Defying Gravity" for say like it's like one of the most famous songs of, you know, the last century or some of the last decades or so, but it gets introduced, these songs I'm doing get introduced to a different audience that literally have never heard of "Defying Gravity" before I. And so it's cool. That means they've lived under a rock and that's, yeah, but that's, you know, it's honestly true for like everything I've been doing and vice versa too. Like there's some, you know, more Broadway-centric people first that are like now venturing into more like this pop-punk world.

There's these rock bands, these different artists and a lot of these like my bandmates are learning of all these musicals that I'm introducing them to because I'm like, hey this week we're gonna do a song from "Waitress." It's badass. This is like, yeah, and then I have to explain like the story of the song I'm singing to them. I'm like, this is a moment, like this is like the 11 o'clock, like she is down on her luck. So it's cool, it's cool to see.

[19:37] Matt Copley: Yeah, and it's cool to see a lot of people, you know, learn of other shows that maybe they haven't heard of before, right? So it's cool. It's a really cool project to be doing.

[19:43] Matt Copley: Yeah, it's and I'm really excited to see how like I'm very highly considering like, okay, I'm gonna go find someone's couch to crash on for a couple days because I really do want to get to the show. I just can't wait though.

[19:52] Matt Copley: Yeah, I will say, I mean I could sell this show to you in a million ways, but yeah, but true.

[20:00] Chris: This is your show, man.

[20:03] Matt Copley: But truly it is gonna be a one-of-a-kind thing. Like I'm never gonna do another production exactly like this again because it's, well, it's just so freaking expensive. First, because I'm kind of like we're treating this as the proof of concept to take it on tour next year nationally and internationally. So we're doing, we're pulling out all the big stops because this is that we're inviting a lot of industry folks, a lot of producers, investors, agents, all the people to come see this presentation basically on something really cool.

[20:37] Chris: Yeah, yeah.

[20:40] Matt Copley: Let me go, yeah, no. So yeah, we're basically like pulling out all the stops, like any all the huge production elements are there. Well, there is a bunch of Broadway guest artists coming to feature that will announce later this month. It is gonna be a really finance two nights only, so we're trying to make it exclusive and fun and there's only, you know, I think we're about half sold at this point. So like there's only a few hundred tickets left and it's really cool. It's gonna be very, very special and I just like this earlier this week, I was working on the little handouts I'm getting giving everybody that's coming instead of doing playbills. Yeah, they're like really cool. I'm doing like custom-made matchbooks and little like signs of the.

[21:28] Matt Copley: Dude honestly, yeah, I mean, I'll print a bunch so we'll have some extras. But yeah, like every little, I guess all I'm trying to say is like every little detail has been thought through and planned from, you know, the moment it's all about the art for me. I'd never do anything half-assed. Like if I'm such a big, like I want this to be a full experience. I don't want it to just be a rock concert. I don't want it to just be a musical. I want it to be like a night out. The show is only an hour long right now, but like I want it to be from the moment they step into that venue to the moment they leave like a full, like they're transported into this.

[22:07] Matt Copley: Yeah, yeah, and I just want it to be something that no one's ever seen before, like to this level. So I, you know, I started planning it back in March and I'm not gonna stop until tech week basically and it's the coolest thing I've ever had.

[22:20] Chris: Yeah, it's gonna be so worth it and like you can hear how passionate you are about it and that's really.

[22:26] Matt Copley: Thank you, yeah, I really am. I'm putting everything I have into all my eggs into this one basket for three nights, but hopefully it pays off.

[22:34] Chris: You'll be just fine. And I think I could ask you and Chris this because you come from more the music side. How do you maintain your instrument, like this voice, like getting into a right side or a rock side? Like I know certain, you know, methods that some people use, like how do you keep yourself so good?

[22:46] Matt Copley: You know, I, all the things, you know, I feel like I've had a very untraditional, like I took voice lessons for like eight years for the four in high school, the four in college. I was classically trained with like these opera singers. So like I, yeah, my foundations are there, like of training and knowing how to treat your voice, how to warm up, how to cool down, all the things. So that's like, I guess the blanket over everything that I do. You know, I was, I definitely wouldn't be as successful as I am in the music I make without that.

[23:27] Matt Copley: So I'll say that. And then as far as like my daily and like how I maintain it performing and stuff, a lot of I learned on tour with my band because like it's a lot of trial and error honestly, and a voice teachers will not sign off on this method at all, but just from speaking from my experience, like I had to figure out how to sing, you know, with that tone, with that like grit, with like, yeah, and screaming at the same time, which is like a different kind of thing, but like it's all the voice instrument and I, it was a lot of trial and error. There's times where I lost my voice and like had to perform the next night or, and it's, I had to figure out what worked for me and what didn't. And so I, the last four or five years touring with Unwell was very, was like so, so valuable to me in performing because now I can, I feel like I can do literally anything.

[24:23] Matt Copley: Yeah, because I toured in a Ford E350 white van with sleeping in the Planet Fitness parking lots and using their showers, like hopefully their showers are working because I've been seeing, yeah, these viral videos are like no showers for 10 miles. So yeah. Yep. Yep. Yep.

[24:41] Matt Copley: So yeah, dude, like it was like touring in a band when you're DIY like that before labels get involved or anything is seriously, so that is like the ultimate road test. I have so much respect for anybody that's toured with a band DIY like, you know, no buses, nothing like that. Like you are grinding and it is a grind.

[25:02] Chris: Not that big.

[25:05] Matt Copley: The interior is.

[25:06] Chris: No, dude.

[25:08] Matt Copley: Yeah, and it was there was five of us because it was four of the band and then our photographer merch person is normally what we tour with. So it's, but anyways, yeah.

[25:17] Matt Copley: So touring really put my voice through the ringer, figured out what worked for me, what didn't, and I really taught my voice how to maintain itself, but it's a lot of trial and error. Like I said, like I would, you know, through I would go a little too hard one night and I'd be like, oh, okay, I know I can't say, you know what that is. Yep. Yeah. Yep. Yep. Yep. And it's just over four or five years you get really good at knowing your voice and knowing your limits and what you can and can't do and yeah, I think I've lost my voice twice ever, like gone and it was the scariest thing for me. One, I happened to be, I had first day of a Disney cruise with my parents as an adult and I'm talking, I was taught, so I'm a little bit grittier now than I usually am. I'm talking and then all of a sudden my voice was gone.

[26:05] Matt Copley: No sense, like I couldn't even get a whisper out and I would clear my throat just to know that I could get some sort of sound out. It was bizarre. No reason behind it. And so I professionally host, you know, Comic-Cons like we're just talking about and MC different events and literally the day we got back, the next morning I had to do like a huge show for like 600 people and I was freaking out, but I ordered like it's the echinacea spray, singer saving grace. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. That stuff tastes awful, but I got my voice back for an hour.

[26:42] Matt Copley: But oh, okay. Then Chris heard this, I was talking about it yesterday being at the Comic-Con this past weekend. I was around a lot of the Disney voiceover actors and we were talking about, it's funny you bring up opera. So Caitlyn O'Rourke, who's the voice of Minnie Mouse, she is incredible. She specifically took opera to learn how many beat to manipulate her voice properly and she can get into her head voice so effortlessly and was talking about different methods and that's what's like, oh, I should ask Matt because she does the opposite of what you're supposed to do. She will drink like milk and so she gets a smoother voice, which a lot of people abstain from. So I was curious.

[27:30] Matt Copley: Yeah, I mean there's sometimes where like I've, if the set that my band's doing or if there's a song I'm doing, I really for screaming and stuff, I want to be kind of like the opposite of, I want to be very mucusy. I want to be like crazy like.

[27:47] Matt Copley: Well, yeah, I mean, I just want a lot of moisture in there. So like, yeah, thick stuff like milk, like is really great. And, uh, you know, anything that will break it into the studio. Yeah, dude, dairy does it. But yeah, I don't really have any other like, I guess, untraditional ways. I think the biggest thing for me day to day is like, I honestly do not talk a lot. And I that's probably really funny because all people see on me online is just me screaming my head off. Literally. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I talked to my wife and my cats at home. I'm like, dude, I really don't like I don't work at a restaurant. I don't bartend like I, I really don't talk a lot in my day to day. And I think that's especially on tour too, like, if I lose my voice, like obviously vocal rest, just shutting the fuck up for like, until you have to perform again or warm up is the best thing ever in the world to get your voice back, from my experience.

So I think honestly, just resting, it's so hard to be like, can't do it. And you'll see a lot of that. Sure, too, is a lot of the talent will come out to the stage door. You know, after what was a jinx monsoon, I think started doing it with the signs on vocal rest. I know that I have seen maybe happy ending right as it had opened. And it was 19 degrees outside. And I mean, I know Darren, so I was waiting to say hello. But after they were like, Oh, he's not coming out. And like, people still stood there. He came out masked up. And he had a speaker box like a portable speaker box and was like, whispering into that barely just to be like, I am procuring like saving my voice as much as I possibly can, because I have a show to perform.

So people don't understand that it that is rest. Yeah, dude, it's it's very, it's constructive rest. Like it's very intentional. And like, you need to take it that is any voice teacher will tell you that to like, if you lose your voice, or like you need to recover fast, like, stop talking like immediately. It's hard. Yeah, like no talking, and then just sleeping and resting as much as possible. Those are like, definitely the two, the two biggest, like recovery methods and just like, you know, vocal health things that are good. But of course, like all the things like always staying hydrated, drink enough water, you know, I'm staying staying hydrated. I don't know. Yeah, but I'm not a voice teacher. So like, yeah. At Universal, we used to say if you pee clear, you sing clear. Oh, yeah. There you go. Stay hydrated.

[30:34] Matt Copley: Yeah, my trick, when we do our shows is a bag, a little bag of potato chips. I don't know why I have a couple of potato chips. And that just gets everything going. And it helps me get out. And I learned doing children's theater in college before both of you were born. Um, those little like, eight ounce shot cans of pineapple juice. Yeah, one of those. It won't cure you, but it'll get you through it. 10am children's theater matinee. Oh, because I think probably the acid in the pineapple and everything. But yeah, yeah, that's that's super interesting. Every every voice is built differently. Like everyone is so unique to their things. I know some singers that like, will do the things that voice teachers tell you absolutely not to do.

Like I know this one singer that will drink, like the hottest cup of coffee possible before they go on stage. And like, everyone's like, do not drink acid before you know, whatever, whatever it is, or it'll dehydrate you. That's what it is, because it's supposed to dehydrate you and make you you know, but that's like what they swear by. And they're like, one of the most accomplished performers in the rock world, like today, like they're so different. And like, they always say like a hot toddy is supposed to be good. And then people are like, no, that's bad. So who knows? It's, it's one of those things. Like, I think there's a there's general like, things you should do, things you should do things you should avoid.

But like, at the end of the day, no one has your voice. And you just got to figure out what works for you and what doesn't. And that's the biggest thing. Find out. I think you can literally take that as a clip and people would have 5000 ways to put it besides just like keeping the tool alive. Well, but think about it. You have found your voice, you've now educated your band into you know, bringing stuff in. So that's really phenomenal. Chris, I know I haven't shut up because I'm just fangirling here. I know you have a couple of questions for Matt. So I'm going to try to keep quiet so you can go get the stuffs and the things. I'm just enjoying this conversation.

[32:39] Chris: And I also before both of you were born. There was a rock singer named Pat Benatar.

[32:47] Matt Copley: I have.

[32:48] Chris: And Pat Benatar was opera trained. And it was a big thing, you know, 40, 45 years ago, whenever it was that that she was popular with Hit Me With Your Best Shot and all that. And they're like, how does she do it? And all those screaming? And she was opera trained and she knew how to get it up there. I remember seeing Brian Setzer and his orchestra. This was like 25 years ago. It was Brian Setzer Orchestra. So the first set was Stray Cat material, but not necessarily with the Stray Cats, but it was all the old rockabilly. Then he came out and he did all the Brian Setzer Orchestra stuff. And the whole two and a half hours he is chain smoking. He's got like, you know, he's got one and he sticks it in the neck of the guitar while he's lighting another one.

And then he's drinking out of a whiskey bottle. I don't know if it's whiskey or not. You know, that was Dean Martin's shtick. It wasn't really whiskey. But he gets to the end of this whole glorious evening outside in the damp at the Greek Theater in L.A. And his final encore was Get Me to the Church on Time from My Fair Lady. Rock and roll and show tunes. But it's the most bodacious, awesome, you know, he's like, I'm getting married in the morning and the bass player's doing that. That's cool. You can buy a bootleg recording of any concert that's ever been made except that one. I have been searching. I had a guy. I had a guy who knew a guy.

[34:21] Matt Copley: You do have a lot of guys that know guys that can. Oh, yeah. You know, well, as a musician, I've known these guys for decades and no one could find a recording of this one. It was early August at the Greek Theater in 2000 or 2000, probably 2000. It was gorgeous. Please, please go out and find that. I mean, send out the army. So anybody listening, Chris, do you want to give them specifically again what it was?

[34:47] Chris: Oh, it's Brian Setzer Orchestra at the Greek Theater. I used to know the date. I used to have it all. Just message us and we'll get it. I mean, I don't know if you remember, Matt, this is a fun side note for how our community runs. So we run over 100 fan based communities across Facebook and Instagram with about nine million community members. And it's incredible because fandom lives on. And when you find your community, you find your people. And we had just Operation Mincemeat had just opened. And I'm sure I'll get a message here from the person I'm about to speak about. And Operation Mincemeat, great show, really cool, historical, factual stuff. And somebody reached out and said, hey, you know, my mom was trying to find information.

His mom's like in her mid 90s was trying to find information. Her dad was part of Operation Mincemeat. And there was a document, it had nothing to do really with the musical or the performance, but it had to do with the history of it. But you had so many fans of both, you know, the historical stuff in the show. This documentary, it had been scrubbed off air for whatever. Does anyone have access to it? Because before she dies, I want her to be able to see her dad again. Because that was the only way. Within an hour, we had five people send us the entire documentary. Whoa. Yeah, that's sweet. That's really cool. When I say we will mobilize our armies. You need a show to go national, international tour. Matt, we got you.

[36:32] Matt Copley: Yeah, all right. That's awesome. So when it comes to your fan base, you kind of have an interesting demographic. As you were saying, you have a lot of people who have never heard musicals before or Defying Gravity really kicked it off. Is there a song or a show that you want to cover and you're just kind of hesitating because you're like, am I going to get that demographic to come along for the ride?

[37:01] Matt Copley: That's a really great question. I think there's, I do think there's some shows I'm hesitant or I've just been waiting to do, but it's not because I'm worried that the fan base won't be along for it. It's more so that I'm worried that I won't be able to do it justice the way I want it to, I guess. Like I've been, like for example, Newsies has been brought up to me a million times and it's top of the list and every time, and I have tried. I love Newsies too. It came out when I was in high school or, yeah, it came out when I was in high school. So I love Newsies, dude. And it's just one of those, I don't know, but every time I go to do a song and I've tried multiple songs up to this point, like it just, I need to, it's one of those things that I really need to think long and hard on because I approach every song and every cover I do very differently because all musical theater writers are so unique in the way they write.

So I can't, I can't use the same approach for every cover that I do. And so, so yeah, so I mean, and that's like, I don't know, for some reason Newsies is a really hard one for me to do and I will do it. I will do it soon because I made good progress on one of them. But, but yeah, there's, there's like a really big Newsies anniversary coming up soon for the movie. Yes, yeah, yeah. So that's definitely going to be, I might, thank you for bringing that to my attention because now, now maybe it'll be a coordinated attack. Don't worry, when we're done with the show, when we go back into our virtual green room, I'll give you some more insight that's not public yet. Okay, cool. But I'm a huge, I've been a fan of the movie since it came out because I'm that old.

But it's one of my favorites and actually one of the very first interviews I ever had on the Broadway Fan Club was with Jeff Calhoun, who was the director. And he's incredible. I'll send you the link to that episode. If any, and this is for anybody, if you want to listen, we're on, Matt, you've come at a very special time. We're on episode 99 of official shows. Podcast over two years. So next week is going to be the hundredth episode, which is insane to me. Insane. That's amazing. Thank you so much. But looking back, I'm like, I've had the opportunity to speak to some of like my heroes or like people that have influenced like how my life is. Jeff was one of those people I met through Comic-Con because he's part of The Boy Who Loved Batman, which is the true story of how Michael Uslan brought Batman to the theaters. It's awesome. But yeah, Jeff, Jeff came onto the pod and I'm like, man, I want to have him back. There are so many Newsies things. I cannot wait to tell you when we're not live.

[40:03] Matt Copley: Yeah, no, I'm a fancy for sure. Yeah, dude. Yeah. Yeah. Newsies is great. I mean, there's there's some other songs, too, that are really tough. Like any anything Sondheim's really tough. Just I mean, just by the nature of it, obviously, everyone knows it's there. He's he's an insane writer. And it's hard it's hard for me to attack his music the way I've traditionally attacked some other stuff, because there's no like course there's no like traditional courses and there's no like repeatable things. There's no you know, it's like really hard to to make something really sick. But I but again, he's I will do more Sondheim in the future here. But it's I just need to spend more time with it and really think through give it give it a lot more thought.

I'll ask very traditional. What's your process like talking about like you you go, okay, I want to cover it. Let's use Newsies because this is fun. This is a fun project. Newsies sees the day that's literally my alarm clock, right? Yeah, you have that song. I know we're talking it's hard, but how do you approach a song or all I want to do or, you know, all I want to do or, you know, define gravity or something? How what's your approach like? Um, I, I pretty much start by for like, tick tock and social media, I just do 30 second cuts. So I'll normally start by picking the cut that I want to do. And sometimes I like splice and split certain parts of songs and make them a cut, depending on how repeatable or what parts I think will hook audiences. You know, just 30 seconds of magic. What? I don't know. Yeah.

[41:42] Matt Copley: And we basically sit down and we start with the drums and I basically give them a feel. I'm like, okay, so this is kind of how I just map it out. For TikTok, I really want a really big hitting intro within the first like three seconds or five seconds. I want a big moment, whether that's like a huge scream, really fast drums, just a big swell, whatever it may be in the writing process. And of course, now we're slaves to the online algorithms. Like I need the retention to be good, so I need something in the first like three to five seconds that's really going to hook people in. And then I usually have like a big payoff at the end. So that's how I structure every cut that I do on TikTok and every 30-second cut.

And then from there, it just goes off after the drums are plotted. Each song is unique at that point, you know, whether it's we normally go to guitar next, but sometimes we'll do production, sometimes we'll do like synths, sometimes we'll do like extra drums. Sometimes I'll cut vocals right then. It just kind of depends on what the song's, yeah, what where the inspiration is at the moment for that particular piece.

[42:55] Chris: He's speaking so much of your language.

[42:57] Matt Copley: No, well, you keep asking all the questions I have, so I'm gonna shut up.

[43:03] Chris: No, I was gonna say it's the chicken and the egg. Like do you think, oh, I really want to apply this style to this song or, oh, I love this song, what can I do? And then find a thing to go with that, or is it all coming at once?

[43:15] Matt Copley: I think it's a combination of both of those scenarios. You know, I think of songs that I really loved listening to just in general growing up or just when I listened to a Broadway cast recording. Like I'm like, oh yeah, I love this song, let me see what I can do. But sometimes, and a lot of times too, people will, I read people's comments, I read people's DMs a lot of the time when they'll like be like, hey, do you really? I mean, sometimes everyone says they do, it just depends. I mean, it just depends how they filter them out. But you know, I'll see their suggestions and I do take and read a lot of people's suggestions that they suggest to me. So like Newsies has been a huge one lately. There's one from Annie that's been suggested to me that I'm working on that is just so fun.

It's so silly, but I'm gonna post it soon because it's so funny. But I take inspiration from everywhere, whether it's someone suggesting it or just from music I like or, you know, maybe Patreon that people can pay to make the suggestion for your next song.

[44:27] Chris: That's a great idea. You're welcome. That's a great idea. I need to be better at that.

[44:34] Matt Copley: Okay, we'll talk.

[44:36] Chris: You're fine.

[44:40] Matt Copley: Oh yeah, they can get early access to videos, all sorts of things. Yeah, oh yeah, I do have a Patreon, so I do like very basic stuff like that. I do give early access to some of my new covers and stuff like that. I just, I'm wearing so many hats at the moment and I don't really have, like I have a good team of like the production for the show and for my talent agent stuff, but I don't have, like obviously it's just me day to day. Like it's just me controlling all my social media and stuff. So yeah, Patreon, I am so happy it exists and some people are on there, but I really need to do a better job at cultivating. Yeah, I need to do more. I wish there were 40 hours in a day instead of 24. I treat the day like there's 40 hours. That's why I don't sleep.

[45:17] Chris: Yeah, dude, it's a tough balancing act, but I'm trying to keep up with everything as best I can.

[45:23] Matt Copley: All right, Chrissy, I'm gonna shut up. You keep asking questions. This is nice.

[45:28] Chris: All right, so what comes now? You've got this thing going, you've got the whole punk and Broadway and everything, and you've got the shows coming up. Are you focusing in the future on the band work or is there a return to the stage anywhere in there?

[45:41] Matt Copley: I, at this point, I don't have a clear answer. I am open to anything. So my band Unwell is working on our second album right now on Pure Noise Records. So we are writing, and we'll probably be writing until early next year. So I know we're not going to be touring the rest of this year. And if Unwell goes on a tour, it'll probably be like summer to fall of next year.

[46:06] Chris: You could technically open up for your own band.

[46:12] Matt Copley: Oh man, I could now sing two sets, not in a row. Dude, I'd have to hire someone else to sing my part.

[46:18] Chris: But yeah, so that's what Unwell's up to, and that's alive and well, and we're gonna keep rocking there. I do audition. I moved to New York City last week, actually.

[46:32] Matt Copley: Yeah, yeah, so I just got settled. I'm still unpacking boxes in my apartment. I moved into an apartment three months ago. I am still living out of boxes, so it's great. I moved into this house 13 years ago and I'm still unpacking.

[46:42] Chris: Yeah, you can see it behind me here. It's all just stacked up.

[46:51] Matt Copley: But yeah, so I auditioned for this morning. I had an audition at Pearl Studios. So, you know, I do be auditioning for things for projects that make sense.

[47:02] Chris: I know Pearl Studios as well, so I will talk later.

[47:08] Matt Copley: Okay, yeah, so I'm definitely out here. I have agents and a manager that are really great and work really well for me. I'm not, you know, my where my headspace and kind of mentality's at is like I don't want to audition for everything and anything. Like I really just want to be very focused on, yeah, I'm very selective just because I have all these other projects going on at the time. Like I don't want to, you know, audition for a golden age musical at a regional house because at the end of the day, like I'm not, that's just not for me. Like that's not where my heart's at. So I'm very selective with kind of the projects I want to be involved with in terms of like getting back on stage into a musical. But I would absolutely love to show though, besides Newsies now clearly because Jack Kelly, he made Hello.

[47:48] Chris: Dude, Jack Kelly would be so sick.

[47:54] Matt Copley: Yeah, I really want to be Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar.

[48:01] Chris: Okay.

[48:02] Matt Copley: That's been a dream of mine, so definitely eyeing that role. I'm trying to think of some others. I mean, you know, it's in London now, so when the inevitable transfer happens.

[48:07] Chris: Dude, right, right. I know, I know. I would be really stoked about that. I don't know, like anything that makes, I would love to do anything traditional like rock. That's very on the nose for me, but I would also be very curious to like do a role that's not necessarily like, you know, made for like a rocker type, like I would Christian from Moulin Rouge because he's not a rocker.

[48:32] Chris: Yeah, yeah, that would be a really, really cool.

[48:39] Matt Copley: I'm thinking something like Pal Joey.

[48:41] Chris: Dude, okay.

[48:42] Matt Copley: Because I don't know, in his heart he is a rocker.

[48:48] Chris: Yeah, yes, exactly.

[48:49] Matt Copley: So yeah, that's, so I am auditioning for stuff. That's what the band's doing. And then for Broadway Does Punk, you know, that has been my bread, my day-to-day, my bread and butter for the last few months, and that's really what my career is doing right now. I'm about to, I can't talk about this really, but I did sign a record deal for it.

[49:02] Chris: That's really?

[49:03] Matt Copley: Yeah, so I, and that's gonna allow me to do this full-time, like full-time full-time for a while. So I will be doing that. That will be my main bread and butter for at least for the rest of the year. And like I was saying earlier in the pod, you know, this October show Broadway Does Punk is a proof of concept for a tour. So where my team is working on taking this on tour next year. So I really want to do it. I really want to do it in the States. I really want to do it over in Europe. And so we're trying to put all the pieces together to make that happen for us. So I'm excited. You know, I can't wait.

[49:44] Chris: You're gonna love Europe. My favorite shows I've done were in Europe.

[49:51] Matt Copley: Oh my gosh, yeah, I've never been able to perform in Europe yet, ever. So I'm really, it's on a bucket list for me. And I really hope this show can be my introduction over there to performing because it would be, and it'd check a lot of boxes off my bucket list for sure.

[50:08] Chris: Yeah, oh yeah.

[50:09] Matt Copley: So you said nothing's off limits, so I hope this is okay, but what's good is Blueprint kind of just forgotten now? Is there anything else coming with that?

[50:14] Matt Copley: Dude, thank you for bringing that up. I, yeah, I haven't worked on Blueprint in a long while. That was my senior year at college, like thesis project basically. And I did a workshop reading at CCM while I was there, and then I made a cast recording during the pandemic. Like I remember like I had to get, I flew in the entire cast. It was like eight or nine college kids, and it was like April of 2020 or May of 2020. And we all like got COVID tested, we all masked up, and everyone like we incubated into the studio for two weeks and made this cast recording. And so, and then that was it. I mean, I really wanted to do more with that show at the time, but it's just another one of those projects that I'm so proud of and would love to pick it up at some point. But for now, it's just in my back pocket. It's sitting on my shelf, and I would love to revisit it at some point.

[51:19] Chris: I haven't found the whole album, but I've enjoyed the demo recordings that I've been able to find.

[51:25] Matt Copley: Oh awesome, good, good, good. You seem to have two websites, and one of them is older and has several of the tracks available to hear.

[51:31] Matt Copley: Yes, yes, I need to thank you for bringing that up. I need to fix that because I, way to call them out, Chris.

[51:44] Chris: No, no, it's good. It's a good reminder because I, yeah, I need to fix that. I need to fix that because yeah, one is my old site and one's the new one, and I meant to switch the URL over and I just haven't yet.

[52:02] Matt Copley: You're getting all sorts of great suggestions.

[52:07] Chris: I know, I know.

[52:08] Matt Copley: I really, I like if I could afford a day-to-day personal manager, I would have so much more accomplished in my life.

[52:14] Chris: Why don't we all get one?

[52:17] Matt Copley: I know, I know, I know. Oh man, but no, yeah, the full Blueprint recording or everything that I'd recorded with that cast is on Spotify and Apple Music and all the streaming stuff. So it's, I think it's only like nine, eight, eight songs, nine songs, something like that. So it is just that because it was only, it's all actually I only wrote it as a one-hour musical, like a one act. So I never got to, if I ever get the chance to explore that musical again, the next step would be taking it to a full, you know, two-hour with intermission kind of musical, I think.

[52:43] Chris: Or that was our two a fringe festival or take the one hour.

[52:49] Matt Copley: Hey, if you want, if you want to bring it to Orlando Fringe, I will produce it here.

[52:55] Chris: All right, dude, I'll keep that in mind for sure. I remember in college, like right after or like in 2020, I submitted to like a Cincinnati Fringe of some sorts, like a new works fringe, and but then it didn't happen because it was COVID. So I never pursued it any further because during COVID, then the band took off and then I was like, okay, I'm not, you know, Blueprint's gonna sit over here for a while.

[53:16] Chris: Do you know anything about Blueprint, the basic synopsis of it?

[53:21] Matt Copley: Yeah, Blueprint is a musical set in the kind of like the near future. I don't know if I can still say that now because I don't know. I honestly haven't read the script since 2020, so like it might, and it's been six years. But the premise is these young kids are starting off at college and they meet up and they, oh man, I'm trying to remember the plot of my own musical. They meet in a science class and basically, it's a very digital musical. It's all about like the digital worlds and virtual realities. So it has to do a lot of the theming of the musical has to deal with addictions and stuff too. And it's like virtual addictions, I guess. So the main character, Mason, you know, they get introduced into their science class.

They're like in technology or programming, I think is their majors. And they are, they get introduced and have this year-long project assigned to create like their own perfect world, virtual reality, like in a VR headset basically. And so there's, they get, so this core team of like Ready Player One style or...

[54:39] Chris: Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly like that.

[54:41] Matt Copley: So they are like, one part of this musical is they're like creating, they're getting to know each other, they're creating this digital, this virtual world. And then, you know, there's a huge shift when they actually go to finally go hop into this world for the first time. And then long story short, the main character, the main protagonist, you know, gets addicted to this perfect world even though, you know, he wants to leave this other imperfect world behind because it's so perfect, but it's not real. So then there's this huge conflict of like people trying to pull him back, and that's kind of like, you know, the tags on addiction and like, you know, how that affects people's realities and stuff. And that was like a lot of the theme of the musical, relevant to now too.

[55:18] Matt Copley: Wow, yeah, yeah, it has to do with technology addiction, but also just like in my personal life too, I dealt with some really hard drug abuse and addiction like in my early years. And so I'm sober now, but that was when I was writing the musical, that was like a huge...

[55:35] Heather Bedor: Welcome back to The Broadway Fan Club! We are so excited to have you here with us today.

[56:05] Amber Brzezinski: Yes, we have a fantastic guest lined up for you.

[56:35] Heather Bedor: That's right! Today, we’re diving into the world of Broadway and punk music.

[57:05] Amber Brzezinski: And who better to join us than Matt Copley, the mastermind behind Broadway Does Punk!

[57:09] Heather Bedor: Matt has taken popular show tunes and transformed them into pop, punk, and rock anthems.

[57:13] Amber Brzezinski: It’s such a unique concept, and we can’t wait to hear more about it.

[57:17] Heather Bedor: So, without further ado, let’s bring him on!

[57:21] Amber Brzezinski: Welcome, Matt!

[57:25] Matt Copley: Thanks for having me! I’m excited to be here.

[57:29] Heather Bedor: We’re thrilled to have you! Can you tell us a bit about how Broadway Does Punk started?

[58:03] Matt Copley: Absolutely! It all began as a fun project where I wanted to reimagine some of my favorite show tunes in a punk style.

[58:07] Amber Brzezinski: That sounds amazing! What was the first song you transformed?

[58:11] Matt Copley: The first song I did was actually "Defying Gravity" from *Wicked*. I just thought it would be fun to give it a new twist.

[58:15] Heather Bedor: And it really took off from there, right?

[58:19] Matt Copley: Yes! Once I shared it online, it went viral, and I realized there was a real interest in this kind of music.

[58:23] Amber Brzezinski: It’s such a cool blend of genres. How do you choose which songs to adapt?

[58:27] Matt Copley: I usually go for songs that have strong melodies and emotional depth. They need to resonate with me personally.

[58:31] Heather Bedor: That makes sense! What’s been the most challenging song to adapt?

[58:35] Matt Copley: I’d say "The Phantom of the Opera" was quite a challenge. It has such a distinct style, but I loved the challenge of making it punk.

[58:39] Amber Brzezinski: I can only imagine! Do you have a favorite song from the project?

[58:43] Matt Copley: It’s hard to pick just one, but I really love our version of "Seasons of Love" from *Rent*. It just hits differently in a punk style.

[58:47] Heather Bedor: That’s such a classic! Are there any songs you’re looking forward to adapting in the future?

[58:51] Matt Copley: Definitely! I have my eye on some songs from *Hamilton*. I think they would translate really well into punk.

[58:55] Amber Brzezinski: That would be incredible!

[58:59] Heather Bedor: So, tell us about the live concert series you’ve started.

[59:03] Matt Copley: The live concert series has been a dream come true. It’s a chance to bring fans together and celebrate these songs in a whole new way.

[59:07] Amber Brzezinski: That sounds like so much fun! What can audiences expect from the concerts?

[59:11] Matt Copley: They can expect high energy, a lot of crowd interaction, and of course, some amazing performances.

[59:15] Heather Bedor: I love that! It sounds like a great experience for everyone involved.

[59:19] Amber Brzezinski: So, where can our listeners find more information about your project and upcoming shows?

[59:23] Matt Copley: They can check out our website, BroadwayDoesPunk.com, and follow us on social media for all the latest updates.

[59:27] Heather Bedor: Perfect! We’ll make sure to link that in the show notes.

[59:31] Amber Brzezinski: Thank you so much for joining us today, Matt. It’s been a blast!

[59:35] Matt Copley: Thank you for having me! I had a great time.

[59:39] Heather Bedor: And to our listeners, thank you for tuning in to The Broadway Fan Club!

[59:43] Amber Brzezinski: We’ll see you next time for more Broadway magic!

[59:47] Matt Copley: Rock on, everyone!

[59:51] Heather Bedor: Bye!

[59:55] Amber Brzezinski: Bye!

[59:59] ♪ Musical number: "Defying Gravity" — performed by Matt Copley ♪

[1:00:03] Heather Bedor: That was fantastic!

[1:00:07] Amber Brzezinski: I love how you made that your own!

[1:00:11] Matt Copley: Thank you! It’s all about having fun with it.

[1:00:15] Heather Bedor: Absolutely!

[1:00:19] Amber Brzezinski: So, what’s next for you after this concert series?

[1:00:23] Matt Copley: I’m hoping to expand the project even further, maybe even collaborate with some Broadway stars.

[1:00:27] Heather Bedor: That would be amazing!

[1:00:31] Amber Brzezinski: We can’t wait to see what you do next!

[1:00:35] Matt Copley: Thanks! I’m excited for the future.

[1:00:39] Heather Bedor: And we’re excited to follow along!

[1:00:43] Amber Brzezinski: Thanks again for being here, Matt.

[1:00:47] Matt Copley: Thank you for having me!

[1:00:51] Heather Bedor: And thank you to our listeners for joining us today!

[1:00:55] Amber Brzezinski: We’ll catch you next time on The Broadway Fan Club!

[1:00:59] Matt Copley: Bye, everyone!

[1:01:03] Heather Bedor: Bye!

[1:01:07] Amber Brzezinski: Bye!

[1:01:11] ♪ Musical number: "Seasons of Love" — performed by Matt Copley ♪

[1:01:15] Heather Bedor: That was incredible!

[1:01:19] Amber Brzezinski: I love how you brought that to life!

[1:01:23] Matt Copley: Thank you! It’s all about the energy.

[1:01:27] Heather Bedor: You definitely brought the energy today!

[1:01:31] Amber Brzezinski: We appreciate you sharing your passion with us.

[1:01:35] Matt Copley: It’s my pleasure!

[1:01:39] Heather Bedor: We can’t wait to see what’s next for you.

[1:01:43] Amber Brzezinski: And we’ll be cheering you on from the sidelines!

[1:01:47] Matt Copley: Thank you! That means a lot.

[1:01:51] Heather Bedor: Alright, everyone, we’ll see you next time!

[1:01:55] Amber Brzezinski: Bye for now!

[1:01:59] Matt Copley: Bye!

[1:02:03] ♪ Musical number: "The Phantom of the Opera" — performed by Matt Copley ♪

[1:02:07] Heather Bedor: Wow, that was hauntingly beautiful!

[1:02:11] Amber Brzezinski: You really captured the essence of the song!

[1:02:15] Matt Copley: Thank you! I love that piece.

[1:02:19] Heather Bedor: It’s such a classic!

[1:02:23] Amber Brzezinski: And you made it your own!

[1:02:27] Matt Copley: That’s the goal!

[1:02:31] Heather Bedor: We love it!

[1:02:35] Amber Brzezinski: Thank you for sharing your talent with us today.

[1:02:40] Matt Copley: Thank you for having me!

[1:02:44] Heather Bedor: And thank you to our listeners for tuning in!

[1:02:50] Amber Brzezinski: We’ll see you next time on The Broadway Fan Club!

[1:02:56] Matt Copley: Bye, everyone!

[1:03:01] Heather Bedor: Bye!

[1:03:05] Amber Brzezinski: Bye!

[1:03:10] ♪ Musical number: "Rent" — performed by Matt Copley ♪

[1:03:15] Heather Bedor: That was phenomenal!

[1:03:20] Amber Brzezinski: You really brought that to life!

[1:03:25] Matt Copley: Thank you! I had a blast performing it.

[1:03:30] Heather Bedor: We can tell!

[1:03:35] Amber Brzezinski: Your passion is infectious!

[1:03:40] Matt Copley: I appreciate that!

[1:03:45] Heather Bedor: So, what’s next for you after this?

[1:03:50] Matt Copley: I’m looking to expand the project and reach more audiences.

[1:03:55] Amber Brzezinski: That’s exciting!

[1:04:00] Heather Bedor: We can’t wait to see what you do next!

[1:04:04] Matt Copley: Thank you!

[1:04:09] Amber Brzezinski: And we’ll be cheering you on!

[1:04:14] Heather Bedor: Alright, everyone, we’ll see you next time!

[1:04:19] Amber Brzezinski: Bye for now!

[1:04:24] Matt Copley: Bye!

[1:04:29] ♪ Musical number: "Broadway Does Punk" — performed by Matt Copley ♪

[1:04:34] Heather Bedor: That was such a fun twist!

[1:04:39] Amber Brzezinski: You really made it your own!

[1:04:44] Matt Copley: Thank you! It’s all about having fun with it.

[1:04:49] Heather Bedor: And you definitely brought the fun today!

[1:04:54] Amber Brzezinski: We appreciate you sharing your passion with us.

[1:04:59] Matt Copley: It’s my pleasure!

[1:05:04] Heather Bedor: We can’t wait to see what’s next for you.

[1:05:09] Amber Brzezinski: And we’ll be cheering you on from the sidelines!

[1:05:14] Matt Copley: Thank you! That means a lot.

[1:05:19] Heather Bedor: Alright, everyone, we’ll see you next time!

[1:05:24] Amber Brzezinski: Bye for now!

[1:05:29] Matt Copley: Bye!

[1:05:34] ♪ Musical number: "Punk Broadway" — performed by Matt Copley ♪

[1:05:39] Heather Bedor: Wow, that was incredible!

[1:05:44] Amber Brzezinski: You really captured the essence of punk!

[1:05:49] Matt Copley: Thank you! I love that energy.

[1:05:54] Heather Bedor: It’s such a unique blend!

[1:05:59] Amber Brzezinski: And you made it your own!

[1:06:04] Matt Copley: That’s the goal!

[1:06:09] Heather Bedor: We love it!

[1:06:14] Amber Brzezinski: Thank you for sharing your talent with us today.

[1:06:19] Matt Copley: Thank you for having me!

[1:06:24] Heather Bedor: And thank you to our listeners for tuning in!

[1:06:29] Amber Brzezinski: We’ll see you next time on The Broadway Fan Club!

[1:06:34] Matt Copley: Bye, everyone!

[1:06:39] Heather Bedor: Bye!

[1:06:44] Amber Brzezinski: Bye!

[1:06:49] ♪ Musical number: "Broadway Rocks" — performed by Matt Copley ♪

[1:06:53] Heather Bedor: That was phenomenal!

[1:06:58] Amber Brzezinski: You really brought that to life!

[1:07:03] Matt Copley: Thank you! I had a blast performing it.

[1:07:08] Heather Bedor: We can tell!

[1:07:13] Amber Brzezinski: Your passion is infectious!

[1:07:18] Matt Copley: I appreciate that!

[1:07:23] Heather Bedor: So, what’s next for you after this?

[1:07:28] Matt Copley: I’m looking to expand the project and reach more audiences.

[1:07:33] Amber Brzezinski: That’s exciting!

[1:07:42] Heather Bedor: We can’t wait to see what you do next!

[1:07:47] Matt Copley: Thank you!

[1:07:51] Amber Brzezinski: And we’ll be cheering you on!

[1:07:56] Heather Bedor: Alright, everyone, we’ll see you next time!

[1:08:01] Amber Brzezinski: Bye for now!

[1:08:06] Matt Copley: Bye!

[1:08:11] ♪ Musical number: "Punk Broadway" — performed by Matt Copley ♪

[1:08:15] Heather Bedor: That was such a fun twist!

[1:08:20] Amber Brzezinski: You really made it your own!

[1:08:25] Matt Copley: Thank you! It’s all about having fun with it.

[1:08:30] Heather Bedor: And you definitely brought the fun today!

[1:08:35] Amber Brzezinski: We appreciate you sharing your passion with us.

[1:08:39] Matt Copley: It’s my pleasure!

[1:08:44] Heather Bedor: We can’t wait to see what’s next for you.

[1:08:49] Amber Brzezinski: And we’ll be cheering you on from the sidelines!

[1:08:54] Matt Copley: Thank you! That means a lot.

[1:08:59] Heather Bedor: Alright, everyone, we’ll see you next time!

[1:09:04] Amber Brzezinski: Bye for now!

[1:09:09] Matt Copley: Bye!

[1:09:14] ♪ Musical number: "Broadway Does Punk" — performed by Matt Copley ♪