Band
Copeland > I

Copeland was an indie rock band, originally formed in 2001 by singer Aaron Marsh (who also plays the guitar, mellotron, organ, and piano) with his friend, bassist and backup singer James Likeness, in the city of Lakeland, Florida. Aaron Marsh attended a performing arts high school, Harrison Arts Center. Bryan Laurenson, guitarist, and Jonathan Bucklew, drummer (who took the place of Rusty, current drummer of SisterBrother out of Harrisburg, PA). ... In 2002, they signed a record deal with independent label The Militia Group and released their debut album, 'Beneath Medicine Tree', a year later. In 2004, 2005, and 2006 they performed at the annual Cornerstone Florida Festival in Orlando, Florida. 'In Motion', Copeland's second full length CD, was released on March 22, 2005—it was produced by Matt Goldman and Aaron Marsh, and mixed by Ken Andrews. The early copies of In Motion that were issued included a four-song acoustic ep (a compilation of lo-fi versions of songs from 'In Motion' itself), as well as 'Beneath Medicine Tree'. Columbia Records announced their signing of Copeland in a press release dated November 14, 2006. Beneath Medicine Tree features a heavy medical theme. Aaron Marsh admits that the lyrics in this album were inspired by the hospitalization of his girlfriend and the death of his grandmother. The album booklet includes photographs by then-bassist James Likeness of hospital scenes. Marsh cites that, "With Beneath Medicine Tree, I wanted to make a record that moves people," while "With In Motion, I wanted to make a record that makes people move." Lead singer Aaron Marsh has also been featured with other bands such as The Morning Of on their album The Way I Fell In, Underoath on their album They're Only Chasing Safety, Anberlin on their album Cities and Lydia on their album Illuminate. On July 18, 2007 James made public his decision to no longer be a part of Copeland. He cited pursuing a career as a graphic designer (a field in which he has a college degree) as a chief reason in his decision to leave the band. As of September 6, 2007, Copeland announced that they had officially split ways with Columbia Records. About a year after ESR they released a B-side album entitled Dressed Up & In Line. It was released on November 20, 2007 and is composed of B-sides, remixes, and a few new songs as well. Although stated by some to be a Christian band, Aaron Marsh has said that they are not. "I think that's kind of a defective term," Marsh says. "It's not our nature to have religious connotations. We are not a ministry band. We have some people in the band that are Christian, but that is not the focus of our band" and "We have no agenda in our band other than art." See more [+]