Proceeds from the band’s newest single are being donated to fight the disease
According to the Centers For Disease Control And Prevention, American Psychological Association, forbes.com and a host of others, substance abuse and overdoses are up during the pandemic. A variety of other sources suggest liquor stores and marijuana dispensaries have seen wide-spread growth during COVID. But self-medicating can be a slippery slope to manage. The band Copperstone is raising awareness about addiction with the song “Unsaid,” including an accompanying music video.
With some of the band based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and others from Richmond, Virginia, for now, Copperstone is mostly a virtual collaboration creating original material, including the EP Vinyl.
**Read a review of Copperstone here!
Recognizing addiction is a global issue, Copperstone’s efforts toward informing others about the disease are ultimately realized with “Unsaid.”
Musicinterviewmagazine.com spoke with Chris Buchanan of Copperstone about the music and more.
About overcoming addiction, what inspired the band to create and record “Unsaid?”
Chris Buchanan: We’ve always had a desire to use some of our music to help promote a cause and after writing the music of “Unsaid,” we quickly realized that this was going to be the one do it with. So, from there everything else just sort of fell into place organically. As far as the cause, we’ve unfortunately lost friends and family members to drug and alcohol addiction, so it only made sense to try and raise awareness to an issue we’ve seen firsthand. A lot of people don’t realize that addiction affects over 22 million people in the United States every day, exponentially more worldwide and often goes unseen or is ignored. This is partly why we titled the song “Unsaid.”
What is Shatterproof?
Shatterproof is a national nonprofit organization that is dedicated to ending the addiction crisis in the United States. For years now they have provided assistance not only to those who suffer from addiction but to the loved ones and communities affected by it as well. After researching charities to potentially work with, we were impressed by their [Shatterproof] mission to advocate change, provide resources, and most importantly educate communities on a disease that affects millions around the world each day.
To be commended, how did the band first become acquainted with Shatterproof?
After we finished the track, the next step in our process was to find an organization that aligned with our vision and who were willing to let us sort of promote on their behalf. This proved to be easier said than done as a lot of places didn’t quite fit, or there were laws against using an organization’s name without a formal contract, especially with organizations based overseas. Our intent was never to have a formal partnership, just to be a conduit for raising funds and awareness for the fight against addiction. In the end, we couldn’t be more excited about the support we received from Shatterproof as they were on the short list of charities we wanted to promote from the beginning.
Besides providing the music, was Copperstone also involved in making the video for “Unsaid?”
Our involvement was intentionally very minimal. We wanted the video to convey the different, subtle aspects of addiction, without going overboard, while still highlighting the song’s message of hope. We felt that having us in the video, or shots of a band playing, would only detract from that message. We couldn’t be more pleased with the end result and are thankful for the team at United Cinemas who worked on it. For anyone who hasn’t seen it you can check it out on our website, our YouTube music channel, or on MixzTV where it will be debuting.
The band’s debut EP, Vinyl, is a virtual collaboration. Is that due to the COVID lockdown? Who produced the EP?
Not entirely. We call ourselves a virtual collaboration since half the band is based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and the other half in Richmond, Virginia. COVID has certainly created challenges, but it has also forced us to get more creative in how we write, play and record. Thankfully, we have the technological tools available to be able to accomplish all of this. Another piece of the virtual aspect is that the studio we work with is based out of Los Angeles, California and our good friend, Jamison Forkenbrock at jforkmusic.com, is who produced the EP. Jamison is a phenomenal musician with a great talent for production. He really helped bring Vinyl and “Unsaid” to life.
Who are the band members on “Unsaid” and Vinyl and what instruments do they play? What about the vocals?
Both Vinyl and “Unsaid” consist of our two founding members, me-Chris Buchanan and Brian Taylor. Brian is our lead guitarist and backup vocalist who absolutely shreds. I handle lead vocals as well as playing guitar, bass, drums and keys. We’re both versatile musicians and look forward to potentially adding other permanent band members as things start to get back to normal.
What is next for Copperstone?
More music starting with the release of our next song. Due out on May 21, 2021, the song is called “Pontoon Ride” and it’s going to be a great summer song, reminiscent of late 90s Sugar Ray. Beyond that, we will be finalizing more music and hopefully getting back to playing live.
For more, please visit Copperstone’s official web site.
For more about overcoming addiction, visit the official Shatterproof web site.
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Paul Wolfle, the publisher of musicinterviewmagazine.com, is a web-based journalist who has written for several popular sites. Paul has a passion for connecting with a diversity of musicians who are looking to grow a positive presence on the World Wide Web.
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