This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:00] Matt Copley: Hey, I'm Matt Copley. Welcome to the Theatre Podcast with Alan Seales.

[0:17] Alan Seales: What happens when classical opera training collides head-on with aggressive post-hardcore rock? Well, you get our guest, Matt Copley, and a total theatrical reinvention that takes iconic Broadway standards and flips them completely on their head. Today on the podcast, we are diving into fun things, in my opinion, such as vocal mechanics, false chord screams, and what it really takes to bridge the gap between diehard theatre lovers and the punk rock community. We get into the wild journey of building a viral sensation, how moving back home during the pandemic unexpectedly paved the way for a brand new career path, and the hilarious reality of pitching a high-energy rock cover of Wicked to writing partners who have zero theatrical background.

That's his band, by the way. Plus, stick around for a 60-second summary of Mary Poppins that you're not going to find anywhere else. Gosh, follow me on social, tell your friends, share this, make sure that we can help the podcast grow, and everybody now enjoy this episode with Matt Copley.

[1:21] Matt Copley: Your mind's on a journey through this strange new world. Leave all thoughts of life you knew before. Let your soul take you where you long to be.

[1:45] Alan Seales: Today's guest is a Michigan-based recording artist, content creator, and theatrical producer. He has toured internationally as a member of the post-hardcore band Unwell, and the creator and producer of Broadway Does Punk, which transforms iconic scores from shows like Wicked, Hamilton, Six, Phantom of the Opera, Heathers, Grease, you know, those high-energy rock anthems, makes them into songs that I love watching online. The project makes its live New York City debut on October 2nd and 3rd at the Abrams Art Center Playhouse Theatre. Matt Copley, welcome to the Theatre Podcast.

[2:17] Matt Copley: Dude, thank you. Broadway Does Punk. Why did Matt start to do punk?

[2:24] Matt Copley: Um, as a whole, I mean, like, growing up, I was super into anything, like, any emo kind of music from, like, Warped Tour era to, uh, I don't know, any kind of post-hardcore music, like, All Time Low, Mayday Parade, and then my brother introduced me to, like, heavier bands, like, Bring Me the Horizon and Sleeping with Sirens and stuff like that, and that was just kind of the soundtrack to my life growing up. But at the same time, I was also involved in, like, the community theater, uh, at a young age, and, you know, did my high school theater, and then that kind of blossomed, too, so both things kind of existed at the same time for me, starting at a young age, and then, uh, I just kind of kept both alive as life went on.

[3:04] Alan Seales: So, I didn't recognize a single one of those bands.

[3:06] Matt Copley: Yeah.

[3:07] Alan Seales: And it could be an age thing, it could be a genre thing, but I've not been a punk fan, but I love, like, I gotta say, Broadway Does Punk, if, what's your, your, plug your Instagram, your TikTok and your socials real quick at the beginning, because I want people to go, like, pause right now and go listen to this.

[3:19] Matt Copley: Okay, it's @MattIsUnwell, Matt with two Ts.

[3:26] Alan Seales: Okay, Matt is unwell. Yes. All right, so now that you're back, now that you've listened to some of this stuff, you're taking these high-energy, uh, uh, just Broadway classics, I guess.

[3:38] Matt Copley: Yeah, yeah, well-known.

[3:39] Alan Seales: Well-known standards, we'll say. Modern Broadway standards.

[3:44] Matt Copley: Yeah.

[3:45] Alan Seales: And just punkifying them. Yeah. And, so, when, you said when you were a kid, you were doing broad, you were doing community theater, was that, like, singing and things? And so, was that, like, traditional sort of, like, legit singing?

[3:53] Matt Copley: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I grew up singing just, like, how any other, you know, theater student of the arts would sing, and I was in choir, and I took voice lessons, was trained classically for a lot of years. Then I went to college, and I was in a musical theater program, and then I also trained classically there, too, and it didn't really occur to me that, uh, until I joined a band after college, that I started singing, you know, a little more aggressively, a little, doing screams, harsher vocals, and then, when we were coming up with ways to promote our new album that we wrote, uh, we were like, well, something that's unique to me is, is that I have this Broadway kind of background, or this theater kind of background, and I'm in this punk band, or this rock band, and, uh, why don't we just, like, combine both worlds?

Because I didn't, there were, there were, like, very few, um, examples of this online before I really started going headfirst into it. Uh, so, I was like, let me just explore what this is going to sound like, and we were like, let's just do one cover, it was Defying Gravity, like, let's just send it for the big one and see what happens, and it just kind of took off from there.

[5:00] Alan Seales: But where did you, was it you and your band, the guys with Unwell that were, that put this all together? Did you all arrange it, or was that on you?

[5:08] Matt Copley: Yeah, it was, it was me and my writing partners, Drew and Chris, so they're, they're part of Unwell too, so we, Drew and Chris are, like, producers full-time.

[5:16] Alan Seales: You're all Unwell together.

[5:17] Matt Copley: Yes, exactly, exactly. But yeah, no, so, so they're my writing partners, and they're, like, the mixers and producers of, of, uh, of basically the whole project too, so.

[5:25] Alan Seales: That's really interesting. Okay, so then you're like, all right, going to them, what is their theater background? Because was this pitch hard? You're like, guys, guys, guys, guys, I got this great idea.

[5:32] Matt Copley: Yeah, I mean.

[5:36] Alan Seales: It's gonna be Defying Gravity, I'm gonna sing, you know, like, how was that sell?

[5:41] Matt Copley: Yeah, I think there was definitely some resistance, um, so one of them, Drew, has no theater background at all, really. Uh, Chris did, Chris and I actually went to high school together, and we, uh, Chris did, uh, theater in high school with me, so he was part of, like, our high school production of Les Mis, and our high school production of Tarzan, and, you know, so, like, yeah, yeah, so we, so he had a theater background, and was, like, familiar with all the tunes and everything, so, but there was some resistance, and, like, Matt, like, this is, like, we're trying to be, like, a serious band, like, a rock band, like, I don't know if this is, like, what we want to be doing with our time and efforts, you know, and, uh, luckily, I was able to convince him, and, you know, here we are today, a couple years later, so it's all good.

[6:24] Alan Seales: But when, I mean, if you're going to go off and take a chance like that, you've got to come in and do it well, right? Like, when you put it together, and, all right, so I'm going to pause right now. In the, in the edited version, I'm going to drop in a little clip of Defying Gravity. Boom.

[6:51] Alan Seales: Okay, now we're back. So, that, um, when did you know, like, that was something worth continuing? Because, like, people do, like, covers and random things all the time, and, like, in Broadway, there's one of the greatest things that happens every year in the community is miscast, where, like, you know miscast, where people sing songs they're technically not appropriate for, but they do it sometimes better. And arguably, your version of these songs is, like, so different and so unique that I would call it better in a very different way. Like, it's not the genre that's, that's on Broadway, but you're bridging that.

[7:37] Matt Copley: Yeah, yeah, I'm bridging that for a lot. There's, so I didn't know right away that this was, like, a hit. Like, when we were just, like, mixing it and, like, getting it back for the first time before posting it, I didn't know it was going to be hit at all. I was, like, I think it's really cool. I think it's sick. It, like, blends both of my voices. Like, let's just post and see what happens. And then I think that very first, you know, swing at the bat, like, it just hit a home run and it went viral online. And that was really the tell. I was, like, okay, so there's, like, millions of people that also really enjoy this and identify, I guess, with both sides of the coin here. So let's just keep doing it and let's just see what happens.

And yeah, we just kept going for it and just kept building and building and building over the past few years. So it's been really, really cool to see both communities kind of come together. And there's a lot more crossover with people in theater and in just, like, general, like, rock audiences that love both things that, like I said before this started, like, there was only a few examples of this online or that existed and no one ever really did, like, a full project based on this kind of concept. So it's been really, really fun. And I have a lot of fun doing it every day. It's my every day right now. So it's a lot of fun.

[8:48] Alan Seales: Yeah. I mean, what do they say? Like, if you do what you like, you never work a day in your life.

[8:53] Matt Copley: Exactly.

[8:54] Alan Seales: But yeah. What was this? You said a couple of years ago, you put this out. So that was, like, right when probably the hype for the first Wicked movie was coming out?

[9:02] Matt Copley: No, it was actually back in, like, 2021.

[9:05] Alan Seales: Oh, earlier.

[9:06] Matt Copley: Yeah, it was, like, five.

[9:08] Alan Seales: Five years ago now.

[9:09] Matt Copley: We old, bro.

[9:11] Alan Seales: Oh my gosh. Yeah, for real. We started five years ago and I put out, like, a couple streamable ones, like Defying Gravity, Greatest Showman, Phantom. And then basically, we did that first little record, I guess. And then I took a break while I focused on Unwell and our original music for, like, three years and we toured. And that's when I really got my brunt of, like, touring, being on the road with a band and getting more experience that way. And then just recently, this year, back in February, I kind of re-kickstarted the project again because I was, like, I kind of want to see what I can do now, having, like, four more years of experience behind my belt of songwriting. And we made three albums in that time.

So, like, I was, like, let me revisit this project. And, dude, like, it hit even harder the second time. Like, online, like, it went viral so much. It's just something that keeps piling on top of each other the more I release. And it's just so encouraging and, like, cool to see. And it makes me really fulfilled and happy. So, I just keep doing it.

[10:15] Alan Seales: Well, what I said earlier about, like, I didn't recognize any of the bands that were your influence. But part of why I knew about you, and actually, I was following you long before this pitch and this interview was set up.

[10:26] Matt Copley: Oh, wait, for real?

[10:27] Alan Seales: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[10:28] Matt Copley: Oh, that's cool. Thank you.

[10:29] Alan Seales: Yeah, no, because, like, you know, the algorithm and musical theory, like, I've been following you for years.

[10:34] Matt Copley: Oh, shoot.

[10:35] Alan Seales: And so, when, like, this opportunity came in, I was like, hell yeah, like, of course I gotta meet this guy. But for me, it was, as a musical theater person, I appreciate the, what's the word I'm looking at? The vocality? The skill behind how well the singing is. Regardless of the genre, regardless of the genre, I love the songs. They're great. But then the singing on top of that was, like, that was the icing on the cake that made me like, I'm going to follow this dude. Because I love everything, like, the stuff that you're putting out. There's other groups that I follow that do, like, all a cappella arrangements of things, you know, like...

[11:20] Matt Copley: Those are sick.

[11:21] Alan Seales: I, yeah, I just love to hear good voices singing the songs that I already like.

[11:26] Matt Copley: Oh, thank you, dude.

[11:27] Alan Seales: And so, like, hats off if I had a hat. I'd take it off.

[11:30] Matt Copley: Thank you very much. I'm flattered. I'm very flattered. Yeah, dude, I grew up classically trained. Like, I took voice lessons from, like, my ninth grade year up until I went off to college. And then I took four years in my undergrad of voice lessons, too. So I took, like, eight years or more of voice lessons. And it was all, like, with opera teachers, like, opera first kind of teachers. So I was given, like, the foundations and the fundamentals very early on. And I think that's something that I still...

[11:56] Alan Seales: Opera.

[11:56] Matt Copley: Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I haven't, like, legit sang in a long time. But I did, like, all the... In my... In Michigan, in the schools I went to, they called it solo and ensemble. I don't know.

[12:06] Alan Seales: Yeah.

[12:06] Matt Copley: And it's, like, these traditional, like, art pieces, like, arias that are, like, Italian and stuff. And so that's what I grew up doing. And I didn't really do... And then I did theater, too. So I kind of did both of those things. But, like, I never... Until I joined a band, I never sang like that. And then I joined a band because I love... I just loved the energy and I loved the feel of the music. And I... Over the past four or five years of Unwell, I kind of just adapted and, like, found this new vocal quality that I never knew I had. And there was a lot of trial and error, for sure, especially with, like, screaming and the more aggressive stuff. Like, there was times where, like, I knew I wasn't doing it right, where I'd lose my voice and I'd have to, you know, be on rest for a long time.

But, like, throughout the years and touring and just being on the road of, like, no sleep and no, like, energy, you know, I've kind of... I found what works for me. And it's cool that I'm able to kind of, like, add that, I guess, flavor or that kind of, like, topping to the foundation that I've built.

[13:06] Alan Seales: Is it, like, physically the... What's the word? Physiology? I'm doing so well with words this morning.

[13:09] Matt Copley: Dude, that's great. No, you nailed it. The pedagogy. What is it? What is the study of the voice? I think pedagogy.

[13:17] Matt Copley: Pedagogy. I think that.

[13:19] Alan Seales: Is that what it is? Is it just a different gear in your voice box that you can switch into? Because when I sing like that, I can do it for like three minutes, and I'm out.

[13:31] Matt Copley: And then you can voice it. Yeah. I'm just like, I shouldn't be doing that. You know, but I can sing legit because that was like how I was trained. But like physically, if you're switching between the ensemble or the solo, as you put it, right? And then we're doing solo turbo with the screaming. Are these all different gears, or is it like a blend of things? Like how does the pedagogy, how does that work?

[13:55] Matt Copley: Dude, it is like, I just want to send a disclaimer out here. I am not like a vocal coach, and I'm not like a vocal wellness person. So I do not know the technical terms, and I am not like, do not take my advice as like, this is not advice, this is just my experience. This is you.

[14:11] Matt Copley: Yes, this is me. Describing you only. So just wanted to send that out there. But it is kind of more for me, it feels more of like a different gear. But I can blend the gears at the same time. So it's kind of both of what you're describing. So like, there's just screaming, and like low screams, high screams, with no like vocal tone to it. It's just like, I don't want to blow your mic up, but it's just that like tone, that like the growly like shit that like, there's no, there's no, the folds aren't making noise. It's literally like, my false cords.

[14:49] Matt Copley: Like that, yeah. Yeah, it's like, you're kind of like...

[14:52] Matt Copley: Like Skeletor.

[14:52] Matt Copley: Almost like that. Yeah, like you're...

[14:54] Matt Copley: That's my Skeletor voice.

[14:56] Matt Copley: Yes. I mean, so that's like, that's like one flavor you could add. There's like high screaming where it's like vocal frying, but you add a little more oomph to it. And that's kind of like more of the high scream stuff. So there's stuff like that, which is like a completely different gear than singing. It feels very different. But then there's singing with like, a kind of like a grit, like a, like a, like a kind of a, I don't know how to describe...

[15:18] Alan Seales: The nasally?

[15:19] Matt Copley: I'm so bad with like the placement experience. It's very nasally.

[15:22] Alan Seales: Nasally, yeah.

[15:22] Matt Copley: Yeah, it's all in this like, yeah, like kind of shit. And yeah, it's all up in my, like the mask, I think is what they say, all up here. And I, it's so hard for me to find the words, the right words right now to describe how it feels, but it's just, it's like, it's like a topping. I add it to this ice cream that is my voice. And I'm just like, okay, let's add like a little like grit to it. Or if I'm like sending this thing. And then I just kind of, like I said, over the past years, trial and error, figure out what works for me, what I can sustainably do on stage every night and what I can't. So there's like times where on some of my recordings that are posted, like there's some of that stuff in the recordings I can never do live.

[16:03] Alan Seales: Really?

[16:03] Matt Copley: Because, because, yeah, because it's like a studio recording so much different than like doing eight shows a week. You can try one, one shot and you're done. Yeah, yeah.

[16:11] Matt Copley: Yeah. But when I go to tour, like when I get it set up for the show in October, like I am figuring out like what's actually going to work for me sustainably that I can do. And so it might sound a little different, but it's still got that edge that people are liking, I guess. Because something I dove into, do you know, like the story behind how Alex Brightman found the voice for Beetlejuice?

[16:28] Alan Seales: No, I actually don't.

[16:30] Matt Copley: Like he, he, it was one of those things where I don't know, like he was just trying experimenting with how, in different muscle movements in his voice box. And he, and he ended up finding like the, you know, the kind of the Michael Keaton kind of voice, right? And so he posted this online. It, it was, he was scoped and they were watching his voice box while he was doing it to make sure he wasn't going to damage himself. And he just found some way to control some extra fold in his voice box that, that now he just talks like this and it's like no big deal, right? And so it doesn't hurt him at all. And that, because to sustain the eight show a week as a lead, that's one of, you know, that's one of these things.

[17:10] Alan Seales: And then, so like, look that up. That's, that's an incredible thing that he's posted about and talked about and, you know, it doesn't hurt him at all. It's, that's the question he got all the time is like, does it hurt? It sounds like it's so painful. It's like, no. But then I think of people like Tony Vincent from American Idiot and Lena Hall, you know, like, I interviewed Lena, I've interviewed both of them on this podcast, but Lena especially stuck out to me as like, she was trying to sing legit. And then all of a sudden, like, the easier thing for her was just to go like, you know, in that nasal and kind of go rock. And that's what she sort of, sort of fell into. And so like, there was like a freedom to it.

Like there's a sense of, at least for me, like growing up classically trained, I was always told like that would damage your voice. There's all those like things, right? So part of it was like, I was whenever I got up to that higher point in my voice where I was like, wanted to kind of turn and like, get a little gritty. I always like tried not to and there was some kind of like tension behind that, right? And so I think like, allowing that tension to be free and just kind of do what the voice naturally wants to do was a part of finding that for myself. So that makes sense with like Lena's story like that I can see how that worked out for her.

[18:11] Alan Seales: Yeah, I think you should try to get them a guest star. If you're doing guest stars for your show.

[18:16] Matt Copley: Dude, I am. Are you? I am. Maybe I should send a message for sure. Lena, Lena. Yeah, I'll get you in touch with them.

[18:26] Matt Copley: Okay, cool. God, I love the two of, like Tony and Lena to get, oh man, just these Broadway voices. Tony, I've never met Tony, but dude, he, I mean, American Idiot, the show was just like, when that came out, I was, I think in eighth grade or seventh grade or something. I was young. And that was like the penultimate, like influence of this whole project, honestly, because that's that that was the first taste of both worlds for me that I saw. I saw it before Rent. I saw it before all these other, you know, kind of rock ish musicals. And it was and I loved Green Day. Green Day was one of those bands I loved growing up to. So American Idiot and Tony Vincent with his voice and playing St. Jimmy, dude, it was like, yeah, all to say Tony Vincent's the man. American Idiot, obviously, that was a big influence for you. But I, well, I guess, in theater, did you originally think that that's what you wanted to do? You wanted to do musical theater?

[19:22] Matt Copley: Oh, musical theater. Is that what I wanted? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So like, that is the lane that I was living in that I was like, yeah, this is, this is where I'm going to be headed. And that was like in high school. So I went to like a musical theater program in college. And I thought that's, you know, the Broadway audition grind was like what I wanted out of my life, period. And then I was part of that class that graduated in 2020 from college. So you know, our showcase was virtual. There was like, no real agent signings because no one was working. And so I moved back to Michigan instead of New York City. Yeah, where I'm from. And that's when I joined my band Unwell. And so and then the story just kind of wrote itself from there.

And that's why I mean, I'm so grateful that happened the way it did. You know, I think everything happens for a reason. So I think, you know, if I never, if COVID never happened, and I never moved back home and joined a band, I don't think I would be doing this project right now. For sure.

[20:16] Alan Seales: That's crazy. Yeah. I mean, I've, we're far enough beyond the pandemic now that we can sort of see a little bit of the silver lining that's come out of a lot of that. And I and there were a lot of things that people got introspective, people stayed at home, people took chances and made choices that they wouldn't have otherwise ever done. And so if that hadn't happened, if you hadn't moved back home, if you hadn't joined the band, maybe you wouldn't have found this voice. Maybe you wouldn't have found this success. Maybe you, you know, like the stuff that has happened downstream of this seemingly relatively insignificant choice to move back to Michigan instead of New York. Like, look how that's laid out the rest of your career path right now.

[20:58] Matt Copley: Yeah, dude. Yeah, 100%. And a lot of times I felt like the wrong choice because all my friends still moved to New York City and like my whole class pretty much moved to New York. And I was seeing them, you know, be successful. And now I was incredibly happy for them. But part of me was like, man, like, I wish, like, maybe what if I moved to New York at the same time they did? Like, where would I be in that world? But I never look back like that anymore. And it's just, it's just so hard to like, I, I think it's always, yeah, yeah.

[21:25] Alan Seales: I think I would want to see you as Will Shakespeare in Aunt Juliet.

[21:31] Matt Copley: Dude, that'd be fun. That'd be really fun.

[21:33] Alan Seales: I think you'd crush that.

[21:34] Matt Copley: I gotta see, I, dude, thank you. I gotta see that.

[21:39] Alan Seales: Yeah. Oh, yeah. No, it's, I mean, it's all Max Martin pop songs.

[21:42] Matt Copley: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[21:43] Alan Seales: So like, oh, it's so much fun.

[21:45] Matt Copley: Yeah, yeah. I'm familiar with the soundtrack. I'm, I have, I have not seen the show yet. So maybe that's something I'll do as a new New Yorker is, that'll be the first thing I see.

[21:55] Alan Seales: Don't go anywhere. We'll be right back after this break.

[22:00] Alan Seales: Welcome back to the episode. So then, okay, so then you just moved to New York, you were telling me before we started recording because now you're getting ready to do Broadway Goes Punk, you know, October 2nd and 3rd here in New York City. Like, where did the idea to even put this up as a standalone show begin?

[22:17] Matt Copley: It began because of two reasons. First one is I love touring and I loved touring with my band. It was more smaller scale things, but we did a lot of national and international things. And I loved touring. I loved being on the road. So that was the first thing. Second thing was everyone online on all these videos is like, when can I see this live? Like, when are you doing this? Come to this city, come to this, come to Mexico, you know, come to Brazil.

[22:39] Alan Seales: Yeah.

[22:39] Matt Copley: So like, I kept seeing all these.

[22:42] Alan Seales: Wow, this is like international.

[22:43] Matt Copley: Dude, it's everywhere. It is international. So there's a lot of plans going on behind the scenes for that. But there's, so I just all these, all these messages and all these comments, I read all of them for the most part. And I was like, I really want to give it a shot here. But I want to do it my way. And I want to do it all out to the fullest. I never do anything like half ass.

[23:04] Alan Seales: Do my way in punk.

[23:06] Matt Copley: Okay, yes.

[23:06] Alan Seales: Oh, I would love to hear that.

[23:09] Matt Copley: Do my way.

[23:10] Alan Seales: Yeah.

[23:10] Matt Copley: I do it my way!

[23:11] Alan Seales: Exactly.

[23:12] Matt Copley: Yeah. So, but yeah, so I, that's where the idea stemmed from to do this live and, and just kind of built from there. And I don't do anything half ass. I want to do it to the fullest extent. So it's, it is like a full, I keep calling it the perfect fusion of a Broadway musical and a rock concert. And it's not like anything that's kind of been done before. It's, it's in a seated proscenium theater. But it's like a rock concert with like the full light show. It's got video LED panels that like have different visual effects going on. The band is killer. And I have Broadway special guests coming to join me to sing on certain songs too, which are announcing later at a later date. And dude, it's just, it is just the most fun night out. And it's quick. It's only an hour long. I'm only doing an hour because I'm kind of using this as like the proof of concept for the national international tour.

[23:58] Alan Seales: This is interesting. So producer on the, on the, I've produced on Broadway and I guess I am a producer on Broadway, not have, I am. And so for you, I believe I read that you're producing this all yourself, right? Is that correct? Or do you-

[24:13] Matt Copley: For the most part, I definitely, I have a producer and general manager with Martian Entertainment and Carl White. Their team is helping me out with logistics and getting things in New York because I am not from here. They're helping me organize and get things together, which I'm, shout out them. They are very helpful and also in this building actually.

[24:32] Alan Seales: Really?

[24:33] Matt Copley: Yeah, yeah, yeah. So they're helping me with all the like nuts and bolts of logistics and things. But yeah, for the most part, like creative is, this has all been on me and my, the people I've been hiring and collaborating with.

[24:45] Alan Seales: And, and I mean, like, so the normally you're familiar with this, right? You, you, when you're workshopping something, you do presentations for potential investors and potential producers to come and help bring this, this thing a little bit. And that's sort of how I see this right now. And I, and normally it doesn't even get the kind of press that this is already getting because we got like, you know, like this thing on your, your show on, uh, in October, got a full press release. It's got press agents. You're here doing promotion. Like normally this phase of a project doesn't even get talked about. It's just like quietly behind the scenes happening. So that's cool.

[25:17] Matt Copley: Yeah. So is this like, was that conscious or is that like, uh, uh, like you said, you don't have to ask anything. Are you just like build in public, you know, balls out?

[25:26] Matt Copley: Yeah. I want to be. Yeah. Yeah. It's, it's, it's all, it's, it's all on purpose mostly because, uh, the, the meetings I was taking, cause I'm going to take this on tour and that's like the biggest goal for me next year. And so, and I needed to make the show the best it could be. So like part of this plan was very calculated. Like I need a publicist. I need all these different players on my arsenal to help me get this project to where I want it to be by the end of next year. Um, and so, yeah, there's, we're, we're kind of going all, but none of this would ever be possible without the fans and the people online that have supported this project and made it go viral week after week. Like I, I, none of this would have the, the, uh, gas behind it if it wasn't for the online community that's been supporting me.

So that's where it all stems from. And I'm just, you know, adding some fuel to the fire right now and just trying to make this show October 2nd and 3rd, the coolest, most fun experience that could be. There's like little instead of a playbill, I'm doing like really cool. The theme is kind of like dark, uh, vaudeville, like Broadway. There's like, kind of like a theme, like the ambience and like the whole vibe. And so like the play, instead of a playbill, they're getting like these like see-through envelopes with like.

[27:08] Alan Seales: Let's talk. All right. There's just so much, so many great performers that I want to hear experiment outside of their own comfort zone. And they would probably just love this stuff because it's so different from what they're usually used to being hired to do or talking about or whatever the case is. That's part of why I wanted to meet you in person as well, is just because you are doing things so differently. And I love disruptors. I love people who are just taking the status quo and be like, I'm not going to copy and paste this. I want to rebuild it better.

[27:50] Matt Copley: Yeah. A hundred percent. And I think that's part of, in my musical theatre program in college and in high school too, the thing, like one of the messages that was always thrown out to me in any masterclass, in any workshop was like, you have to find your own unique, authentic voice as a performer. And I think that's one of the big things that should be on a plaque for every performer, right? And this project is that for me. And when I found this, I was like, oh yeah, this is it. I don't know where I was going with that, but I guess I just wanted to say that. Be your own you.

[28:24] Alan Seales: Yeah. And that's what I was going to say. That's where I was taking this, was that the advice now that I... It took me 20 years to let this set in, was don't try to sing like Tony Vincent. Don't try to sing like Lena Hall. Just sing like me and find where it's comfortable. And then somebody else is eventually going to feel like, oh, okay, that's inspiring me to find my own voice or whatever the case is. So yeah, be the best you you can be. Don't be the next Idina Menzel. Don't be the next Norbert Leo. Yeah, they already exist. They're already doing their thing. Be the next Matt Copley, right? And now you are. And what if a whole musical, someone comes and sees Broadway Goes Punk and they're like, oh, I can sing like that. I didn't know that could be a thing. And they write a whole musical about it.

[29:11] Matt Copley: Dude, exactly. It's all inspiration. And that would be so cool to see happen. And yeah, I hope it inspires a lot of other people to kind of think outside the box and do their own things within the Broadway world or rock world too. I hope this project lives on for a very long time.

[29:21] Alan Seales: I think it will. And you are coming from, you're reaping the benefit of technology and a society that didn't exist even six years ago, like pre-pandemic. And because now you have your fan base built in before you start touring. And that is so unique now and something that a lot of people are still striving for because my kids are like, I'm gonna be a YouTube star so I can get a Lamborghini. And like, that's not how life works.

[29:54] Matt Copley: Dude, sometimes, yeah. I mean, yeah, like with touring specifically, just the agent landscape with booking agents, like that landscape has changed dramatically over the six years. Because yeah, like they're not signing acts anymore that are just unknowns. You gotta have a following. So like, yeah. You've got, going back to Ann Juliet, Charlie, what's her name? I'm blanking on her name.

[30:21] Alan Seales: Charlie D'Amelio.

[30:21] Matt Copley: She was one of the very first people to ever start doing just the TikTok dances to create those. And now she's got a huge following. And so like her dream was always to be on Broadway. And so because of her following and not discounting her immense talent, because she's very talented. And part of the decision, I believe, to cast her in that obviously was like, she's bringing in a whole generation of people who just know her from TikTok dancing. But now she's in this Broadway show and people can like, come see the Broadway show. But then, like legitimately, I think you have a good shot of getting onto Broadway with the voice you've got, with the following you've got. And anyway, the point is that it's a new world that didn't exist.

And I want to encourage you as a producer to keep doing what you're doing because it's different enough to take notice, for people to take notice. And it's really going to change the status quo. And you look back and you kind of like, talking about shows too, be the best you you can be. Look at the shows that changed the landscape of Broadway. Like you go back as far as Oklahoma, like that was a game changer at the time. And Rent brought in rock and Hamilton brought in R&B. And you can go back and find milestones that American Idiot was another one that was like, okay, we can do this kind of show and it works on Broadway and there's an audience for it. And so I think you're tapping into something that I think is going to really like circle back here with a younger generation and bring some new life to the industry because we desperately need it.

[31:57] Matt Copley: Thank you. Thank you for those really, really kind words. I hope so. I do be auditioning. So, you know, I'm out here. That's part of the reason I moved to New York too. I just want to be around more creative people for opportunities like this and to just meet more people and be around more creative people that and create new things. And that's just I'm really happy to be in the city. I'm really happy to be doing this show. And I would love to, you know, take if it's not Broadway Does Punk, my project, I would love to take, you know, the my art and stuff onto a Broadway stage sometime soon. That would be that'd be really fun in whatever show or whatever capacity I could do that in. It would be it would be a dream come true for sure.

[32:36] Alan Seales: What is do you have a dream role? It's a stupid cliche question. But do you do you have a dream role that you would want to come in and pop into right now?

[32:44] Matt Copley: Yeah. Like you moved here. Broadway Goes Punk totally just explodes on October 2nd and 3rd here in New York City. And then a producer calls you the next day and like, I want you in my show. What show? What show are they producing?

[32:58] Matt Copley: Oh, shoot. Besides Anjulia.

[33:01] Alan Seales: Besides Anjulia.

[33:03] Matt Copley: I keep so many people have messaged me about I think the roles. I think his name is David in Lost Boys. It's like the vampire. Oh, it's like the the Ollie Louie boy. Yes, it's that role. It's that role.

[33:20] Alan Seales: You would. Yeah, that would be great. Yeah, David. Charismatic glam rock vampire leader.

[33:25] Matt Copley: Um, that'd be cool. But I don't know. I would also love to play like a traditionally like not rocker role at the same time. And I don't know. I'm so sorry. I'm not.

[33:38] Alan Seales: Did you do Phantom? Like, is that in your range?

[33:41] Matt Copley: Yeah, dude. Like 100% do Masquerade.

[33:44] Alan Seales: You've got to go see Masquerade.

[33:46] Matt Copley: I do.

[33:46] Alan Seales: Immersive Phantom.

[33:47] Matt Copley: That would be so cool.

[33:48] Alan Seales: Because they get like, I've I got I got Nick Walker spitting in my face singing Broadway Nick Walker talent.

[33:54] Matt Copley: Oh, my gosh.

[33:55] Alan Seales: All in my grill. I was like, Oh, my God. I love you, dude. Yes, I have to I'll make that a point as one of my first things here, too. I'll make sure I see Masquerade. But yeah, dude, I would love to do anything like, like within that world. That would be so cool. All right. Whoops. All right. So let us start to wind down here with plot in 60 seconds.

[34:11] Matt Copley: Plot in 60 seconds.

[34:14] Alan Seales: So I have a list of 17 popular musicals here.

[34:20] Matt Copley: Oh, man.

[34:21] Alan Seales: So you're gonna give me a number one through 17, which will mean you choose from my list. I will tell you what you chose. And then you give me the plot to that in 60 seconds or less. Make it up if you don't know it.

[34:29] Matt Copley: Oh, oh, I'm gonna be so bad at this. Okay. One through 17.

[34:35] Alan Seales: All right. Let's go five.

[34:38] Alan Seales: Five is Mary Poppins. Go.

[34:39] Matt Copley: Oh, man, this nanny is so lit. She has magic powers and she watches over these kids and they are big dreamers and they just want the world. They miss their mom, I think. And Mary shows them this great life and then this tapping dude, Bert comes in at some point and he's fun to have around. He's pretty cool. And then he goes away, I think, and they go back home and all is well. They do a lot of singing and they do a lot of dancing and it's a lot of fun. And a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down.

[35:19] Alan Seales: Oh, man, I am like, this is so revealing of my knowledge right now.

[35:25] Alan Seales: All right. So three standard closing questions I use to wrap up my episodes. First one simply is just what motivates you?

[35:31] Matt Copley: Oh, it's such a big question. I think a lot. My family does. My family is like a huge motivator for me. My wife, Brooke, and my three cats, I love them so dearly. And they made this move to New York with me last week, mostly for me and my career. And I'm eternally grateful for them. So that's they're probably my biggest motivators. I want to be successful for them. And obviously, the community online, it's really awesome. When I first posted Defying Gravity, the first thing I did, it was really cool to see so many people and hear from so many people that liked the same things I did at the same time. And of course, that might sound silly to say, like, of course, there's people that like rock music and Broadway music.

But it was never defined, I guess, until and I never saw it. And there was never this community of people. And I don't know, all to say, they really motivate me. And it's really cool to see every week, them suggest new songs they want to hear and suggest different ideas that I could do. And yeah, they're really motivating.

[36:38] Alan Seales: Well, as your audition for Ann Juliet, you have to do I Want It That Way.

[36:43] Matt Copley: Oh, okay.

[36:44] Alan Seales: Because Will Shakespeare and his in real life wife was named Ann Hathaway. So he and Ann Hathaway have a duet over how Romeo and Juliet should end. And they both are singing I Want It That Way. No, I Want It That Way.

[36:58] Matt Copley: Dude, okay, yeah, I gotta, I gotta, I really gotta watch them.

[37:04] Alan Seales: Yeah, you would really like it. There's one, correct me if I'm wrong, I think, I think one original Max Martin song, like he wrote it for the show. And all the rest are all just like his hits from the last 30 years. It's so great.

[37:17] Matt Copley: That is so sick.

[37:18] Alan Seales: All right, second question. What advice would you give to your younger self and younger people listening now starting out down a similar path?

[37:24] Matt Copley: Um, I would say, I hope this doesn't come off super cliche, but don't be afraid to try new things. And don't be afraid to think outside the box and try, just try stuff. Like don't, before this project existed, I was in theater and was just doing things, quote unquote, the theater way and, and only thought in that box. And it wasn't until I joined a band and did all these things that really, my horizons started, my horizons expanded. And I could see a lot of different visions of like this project and different things I could use my talents and voice for. And so I guess my advice would just be, just try things and don't, try things that are different, even if they suck, like just do it. And then we'll see, like, you know, and if you don't try things, nothing's ever going to change.

[38:14] Alan Seales: Oh, I love that.

[38:15] Matt Copley: So that's kind of, yeah, yeah. Good.

[38:18] Alan Seales: All right. Last question. Hardest one. If you could only see one show for the rest of your life, but you can see it as many times as you want, what would you say?

[38:25] Matt Copley: Dude, I gotta see American Idiot, man. It's just, you know, and it's so funny because I haven't seen the stage production of it in like 12 years or something like that. But from my memory, 12 years ago, that was like the perfect show for me. And they're like from start to finish. I don't even remember the plot, really. But like, I would see that show just for the music alone for the rest of my life.

[38:47] Alan Seales: I love that.

[38:47] Alan Seales: All right. And let's see. So go check out Broadway Goes Punk, Friday, October 2nd. And you've got two shows Saturday, October 3rd at the Abrams Art Center here in New York City. And then plug your socials again.

[39:02] Matt Copley: Yes, I am at Mattisunwell on all the socials.

[39:07] Alan Seales: All the socials.

[39:07] Matt Copley: And I am on theater underscore podcast on most of the socials. I don't know where I am. I'm just out there. Find me. Leave a rating. Leave a review. Share the word. Go follow Matt. Get tickets for the show. Comment on who you want him to do duets with. I would like to hear that. Matt, thank you so much. This has been a really good conversation.

[39:26] Matt Copley: Dude, thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate it.