Addicus is made up of longtime collaborators Alexis Armstrong (vocals, guitar) and Joshua Copeman (guitar, production). They have recently been joined by Isaac Copeman (drums) and Nathan Long (bass).

“Alexis and I were making music before Addicus came around, since 2021,” said Joshua Copeman.

They officially formed Addicus in 2022, and have been releasing and performing energetic, catchy pop-punk tracks ever since.

“We definitely started out a little more indie, because we were getting used to being in a band,” said Armstrong. “And I come from a very acoustic background, so I think it was heavily working around that. As we continued, Josh [Copeman] ended up writing more songs, and he comes from more of a hardcore background.

Local Marquette pop punk band Addicus released their new album, titled “A Story About…” in 2025. (Photo courtesy of Alexis Armstrong)

“As we progressed, and got more comfortable with our instruments … that’s been making it more pop-punk, hitting grunge aspects,” said Armstrong, adding that the recent addition of Isaac Copeman has only further added to this shift in sound.

Isaac Copeman is Joshua Copeman’s younger brother, and although he’s been around Addicus for years, this is his first album playing with them.

“I went to almost all the shows for a really long time, and I’ve been around since the Lex (Armstrong) and Josh (Copeman) shows, before Addicus,” said Isaac Copeman. “The opportunity for me to learn the stuff and play it was really fun … getting to help write the material, too.”

“This album was still the three of us and our last bassist,” said Armstrong. “So moving forward, we have some new stuff recorded now with Isaac (Copeman) and Nathan (Long) that’s going to be a lot heavier, probably.”

According to Joshua Copeman, that “new stuff” could be out as early as this year.

From left: Nathan Long, Alexis Armstrong and Joshua Copeman play at the “A Story About…” album release at LoveMarq church in Marquette. (Photo Courtesy of Alexis Armstrong)

Joshua Copeman is the band’s producer, and his skills are evident on “A Story About…” which sounds more like it was recorded in a professional studio than a twenty-five year old’s bedroom or, as Joshua Copeman alleges, a barn.

“I’ve been recording all of our music, and I feel like every project I get more educated, get a little more experience,” said Joshua Copeman. “I can make it bigger; I’m really into big-sounding records … So just getting this new album to sound louder was my goal … I wanted to see what the band would sound like turned up a notch.”

In addition to turning the volume up a notch, Addicus turned the vulnerability up a notch in “A Story About…” which features Armstrong’s evocative songwriting on a whole new level.

In the song “Neat Freak Tendencies,” reportedly the favorite track on the album for both Armstrong and Isaac Copeman, Armstrong sings “I think I’m never good enough, / is that the price to pay to get your love?” and “I’m still asking constantly for validation / But I never get it, not when I need it most / It’s never perfect, but you tried to come real close.”

“I put a lot of importance on keeping my lyrics vague, because I want people to be able to fill in their own blanks,” said Armstrong.

The title of the album, “A Story About…” is part of this ethos; listeners have to decide the story for themselves.

“I don’t want to speak for Alexis, but I look at [the album] like her diary,” said Joshua Copeman. “It’s very personal, and I think the story revolves around … her perspective of her life experiences and her mental health. Everything is written in the sense that if the shoe fits, it’s relatable. It’s not like you’re listening to something that’s solely based around Alexis. It’s not about Alexis, it’s about the feelings she’s experienced, and that other people have too.”

“They’re written in very emotional times,” said Armstrong. “Well – sometimes. Some of them are just fun. But there’s definitely been a few where I’ve been upset or crying, and have thought, ‘I’m going to write this out really quick.’ The more vulnerable they are, the better it feels to put them out.”

The new album has gotten plenty of positive attention since its release.

“It’s definitely performing just as well if not better than the last album,” said Joshua Copeman. “It’s gotten the attention of people; not only fans, but also other people who make music and produce records. They’re reaching out, saying it sounds really good … It felt like the hard work paid off”

Addicus had the opportunity to celebrate all of that hard work at a release show held in January at LoveMarq church, along with other Marquette bands Knupdica (Joshua Copeman) and Minimum Wage (Nathan Long).

“LoveMarq is a dry venue, so there’s no reason to be there other than the show,” said Joshua Copeman. “It was super cool, everyone had a great time. There were lots of people getting down and dancing.”

Armstrong and Joshua Copeman are in their mid-20s, but Isaac Copeman and Long are younger, still teenagers. That range in ages gives Addicus an edge in attracting audiences, and as a result they’ve helped introduce many young people in Marquette to the local DIY music scene.

“We’ll have a lot of kids coming to our shows and saying ‘this was our first mosh, this is our first DIY show,'” said Joshua Copeman.

At their release show, the audience was further bolstered by Addicus’ recent success on TikTok.

“We had one video get like 23k, 1,600 likes all of a sudden,” said Armstrong.

“It was a little bump, with a lot of lovely people in the comments,” said Joshua Copeman. “People asked when we were playing, and obviously we had a show so it was perfect timing.”

“There were a handful of people at the show who said that they’d seen us on (TikTok) and had to come,” added Armstrong. “It feels good.”

Addicus is certainly enjoying growing notoriety around town; while they were in The Mining Journal office for their interview they were approached two separate times with opportunities to play at local venues.

“I think we’re out of the garage,” said Armstrong.

“A Story About…” is available for purchase on Bandcamp, and can be streamed on all major music streaming platforms. Addicus can be found at @addicus_band on Instagram, where they post announcements for all of their shows. They can also be found at @addicusband on Tiktok.

Annie Lippert can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext.. Her email address is alippert@miningjournal.net.