The Copyrights

If you're gonna read anything in this bio, at least get these few facts straight: 1) The Copyrights are from a small college town in downstate Illinois called Carbondale, and are by far the biggest thing to come out of those cornfields as they have toured internationally multiple times; 2) They released a 3-song EP on Fat Wreck Chords called No Knocks which was just a teaser for their 2014 LP, Report, on Red Scare and 3) they're one of the best, smartest bands making buzzy, anthemic pop-punk.. Still here? Cool. Let's take it from the top... Early on The Copyrights released a 7” that was entitled Nowhere Near Chicago.

The name referenced a question that kept coming up: “Wait, where are you guys from again?” These kids were so good they HAD to be from a big city where they have real music scenes, right? Naw, Carbondale is a little burg in the boonies that is hours away from an international airport, but they have a vibrant arts community, house shows, and the guy who invented Dippin' Dots is from there. Oh, I guess Jenny McCarthy was from there too, which is kinda lame, depending on how you feel about science and sanity. But the isolation has never hindered the quartet, as they have been able to tour the land with bands like The Lawrence Arms, The Queers, Swingin' Utters, Strike Anywhere, Teenage Bottlerocket, etc etc.

After doing a couple releases with labels like It's Alive Records and Insubordination Records, The Copyrights were snatched up by Red Scare Industries and sent in to record with Matt Allison at Atlas Studios (The Menzingers, Alkaline Trio, The Lawrence Arms). That first Red Scare release, Make Sound, was a real breakout for the foursome and they were called “Pop-punk saviors” by the credible crusties at Maximum Rocknroll. It brought about a lot of touring opportunities, some radio play, a spot on the Warped Tour comp, and a couple more great albums like Learn The Hard Way and North Sentinel Island.

Going into 2014, The Copys had more momentum than ever. They were invited to record in Oklahoma with Mike Kennerty, who is the guitarist and music nerd from All-American Rejects. Mike not only has platinum records of his own, but he's produced albums from Direct Hit! and Screeching Weasel as well. Needless to say, everyone was really stoked on the final product: a 14-song album dubbed, Report. This stuff came out so good that they got the attention of Fat Wreck Chords, who wanted a couple hits for a 7” EP of their own. Now that word has gotten out that The Copyrights have caught a lightning in a bottle, expect to hear more good things from these small-town overachievers this year and beyond as they take their music around the world and deliver the Report!