“The Copied Copied is an eloquent blend of rock and groove that unconditionally percolates itself into your crotch, quenching your innermost cravings for high quality noise,” says Devin Gifford, 20, drummer of this band of amusingly insightful boys.
Gifford is joined by Ian McAllister on vocals and guitar, Justin Emter on guitar, Chris Loosbroock and Kevin O’Connell on bass, and Takuma Ieto occasionally enters into the mix, playing nearly every instrument known to man.
The Copied Copied got their name from a song that Emter wrote about a year ago, but when asked to further explain the meaning behind it, he chose to plead the Fifth. Listeners can take a stab at deciphering the connotation behind this band’s mysterious name from the song “The Copied Copied” on the band’s album Ralston Stories.
This energetic band has jammed together since spring break of last year. Between a pitcher of pale ale and smiling faces and alongside random conversations of life after death, Emter, 23, makes it known that this band is “not trying to fit into any sort of framework.” To affirm this point, Gifford has formed a habit of adorning himself with massive amounts of cowboy gear specifically for his onstage presence, even though the band is more indie-folk-rock than tear-in-your-beer.
“I do it up with a cowboy hat, a vest and a handkerchief every time we go onstage,” says Gifford, for nothing but the simple reason that he “woke up one day and wanted to be a cowboy.”
McAllister jokingly claims, “We get about 2,000 people at each of our gigs, all of which are girls.”
This is what we shall call the dream world of The Copied Copied—and a seemingly ideal one, to boot. “We usually play at the Zephyr,” McAllister continues, “and Fritz’s sometimes, too.”
Their newly released Ralston Stories (which may have changed names to Fourteen Stories of Fact and Fiction, but the band could not confirm by press time) can be downloaded from thecopiedcopied.com, as well as from their Myspace Web site. The back of the album reads: “Endorphins left on their own front lawn are going home before the dawn, This modern appliance was dressed the same as the opinions of tomorrow and the facts of today, so hold onto your bands and forget about everything, we’re trying to find a home.”
The Copied Copied ties a vivid sense of mystery and ambiguity into their music, and the band members appear to want their fans to figure it out for themselves. This is an entertaining group with a well-developed ear for sound, as well as a hearty desire for herds of females to bombard their live performances.
Drawing inspiration from the Smashing Pumpkins, Pavement and Wilco, The Copied Copied sounds a lot like a well-structured mix of the three, with a bit of The Shins and Re Hot Chili Peppers thrown into the groove. This band does an awesome job on their harmonies, for the most part, although they sound a little bit off in their title track. Otherwise, you really can’t go wrong by listening to this band—they’re damned good, and they know it.
“I think we all have a little Copied Copied in us,” Gifford says.