progea
2008-05-14 02:21:04 UTC
Boy, do I hate this pandemic, really. MySpace bulletins with pasted
contents but no links. I could not find it either and my time is
limited. I mean, how come he has aleady today tomorrow's issue of
South Florida's Sun-Sentinel? Steven Sullivan, how does one find a
link in *florida*? I don't know what the fuck is the last "wayne" part
either. Screw it!
Drummer Stuart Copeland speaks of his Police benevolence As the band's
tour comes to an end, drummer Stewart Copeland says the reunion was
done for all the right reasons.
By Sean Piccoli - Pop Music Writer
South Florida Sun-Sentinel - May 14, 2008
Has "reunion" become a dirty word in rock music? Stewart Copeland of
the
Police thinks not.
Weary critics might grouse about old rockers hogging the limelight,
cashing
out and repeating themselves for lack of fresh ideas.
Nevertheless,
Copeland's once-pioneering reggae-rock trio is on the road once more,
and
headed back to South Florida, after last year's great reawakening.
It's part
two of a reunion run that the Police had successfully avoided for 23
years,
and it's the latest in rock's sometimes exhausting string of
comebacks,
album tours and prolonged farewells.
In an interview last month, Copeland defended doing it again.
And his
Exhibit A was another band's work.
"The whole purpose is to see *Dark Side of the Moon* live and to get
that
emotional buzz from reliving that music," he said by telephone, citing
ROGER
WATERS' touring re-creation of a classic PINK FLOYD album.
"And in the case
of the Police it's all about *Roxanne* and *Every Breath You Take* and
*Message
in a Bottle*, and the phases of people's lives those songs have been a
part
of, which in the last 20 years has been a lot.
"
It's arguably to their credit that drummer Copeland, guitarist Andy
Summers
and frontman Sting have never offered any other reason for getting
back
together.
They haven't been coy about future plans =97 they've never said t=
hey
had any.
Beyond the mere fact of playing again, they have not raised hopes
for a new album and have maintained they're in no position to make
one.
Last week they also declared an end point to this excursion,
announcing that
a summer concert in New York City will be, according to Sting's
official Web
site, "their last ever concert.
"
Three weeks before that farewell notice, Copeland talked about the
reunion
in terms that put clear limits on what it was meant to accomplish.
"There's something different about a reunion," he said, contrasting
the
Police in 2007-2008 to what he called "current" bands.
"A reunion tour is
more of a liturgy, a service and a ceremony than it is for exploring -
that's what I have [side project] Oysterhead for.
"
The reasons that bands such as the Police and PINK FLOYD broke up may
still hold true, said Copeland, but they're not an argument against
reviving the
back catalog.
"Re-creating that thing, it's very powerful," he said.
"It's a very valid
artistic endeavor to go perform that material in the same way it's
valid
that an opera singer would perform *La Traviata*.
"
Copeland, 55, said that when he first sat down at the drum kit for
rehearsals, it wasn't a matter of relearning the material.
"To me, it felt like it was all there waiting to be played again," he
said.
The challenge, if anything, was to help one bandmate unlearn a few
things:
Where Summers and Copeland retained a more fixed sense of the songs,
date-stamped 1984, Sting had continued to play them in different
bands,
using different arrangements, for the next 20 years.
He had "evolved his concept of them," said Copeland.
"So we had a lot of
struggle to accommodate the old and the new.
But we took care of that in the
first two months.
"
The songs, as heard today onstage, sound like they did in their
heyday.
But
Copeland said there are alterations in place - "all kinds of tiny
inflections that musicians excruciate over endlessly," he said.
He guessed
that most listeners wouldn't notice these: "They're listening for the
overall effect.
"
Which, by most accounts, they're getting.
Reviews for the tour have been
largely positive, with the notable exception of a now-famous blog post
by
Copeland himself, in which he gleefully panned a less-than-stellar
performance last year in Toronto.
While the Police were away, musicians and fans were learning to use
the Web
to reach one another.
Compare that to the '70s and '80s, when, as Copeland
remembered it, feedback consisted of what fans told a band at record-
store
appearances.
"That wasn't an accurate representation of the zeitgeist," he said.
"For
that, we had critics to lambaste us or praise us as they saw fit.
Now it's
all multifarious and specific and explicit, and there's tons of it, "
he
said of Internet-aided feedback.
"And you can really see what a lot of
people are thinking.
"
Copeland also said the Internet has poked holes in the bubble that
rock
stars inhabit.
Case in point: As interest grew in the reunion, the band
added dates and extended the tour, and "inside the bubble we thought
this
was a great idea," said Copeland.
Outside, on blogs and discussion boards, some Police fans who had
bought
tickets for the original finale were upset: They thought *they* were
getting
the authentic, last-night-of-the-tour experience, with confetti and
emotional farewells, only to have the band keep picking other, later
dates
as the wrap. Where the Police were expecting gratitude, they got
scolded.
"We would never have guessed that or intuited that without the Web,"
said
Copeland.
One thing Copeland's intuition did tell him was that someday the
Police
would reunite. A decade ago, he was deep into a second career scoring
music for film and television. But in a 1996 interview with the *Sun-
Sentinel*, he sounded confident that he, Sting and Summers had more to
do.
"I haven't
finished with them yet," he said then.
It took another 11 years.
Asked what happened to his certainty during that
interval, he said, "It never faltered.
What did happen is, I forgot about
it. I got a new family, life, career, kids.
I would say I was keen - eager,
even - [to reunite] but there was nothing to be done about it so I got
on
with my life.
"
That resolve to not look back has been an appealing part of the
Police's
legend.
But, having finally climbed aboard the reunion train, Copeland made
no apologies for enjoying the ride.
"I'm in my 50s," he said, "I'm nostalgic.
"
wayne (believing a Total Eclipse Reunion of The Pink Floyd Sound's
surviving members is about as likely as seeing Roger hugging David -
and
David hugging back! - in public!)
contents but no links. I could not find it either and my time is
limited. I mean, how come he has aleady today tomorrow's issue of
South Florida's Sun-Sentinel? Steven Sullivan, how does one find a
link in *florida*? I don't know what the fuck is the last "wayne" part
either. Screw it!
Drummer Stuart Copeland speaks of his Police benevolence As the band's
tour comes to an end, drummer Stewart Copeland says the reunion was
done for all the right reasons.
By Sean Piccoli - Pop Music Writer
South Florida Sun-Sentinel - May 14, 2008
Has "reunion" become a dirty word in rock music? Stewart Copeland of
the
Police thinks not.
Weary critics might grouse about old rockers hogging the limelight,
cashing
out and repeating themselves for lack of fresh ideas.
Nevertheless,
Copeland's once-pioneering reggae-rock trio is on the road once more,
and
headed back to South Florida, after last year's great reawakening.
It's part
two of a reunion run that the Police had successfully avoided for 23
years,
and it's the latest in rock's sometimes exhausting string of
comebacks,
album tours and prolonged farewells.
In an interview last month, Copeland defended doing it again.
And his
Exhibit A was another band's work.
"The whole purpose is to see *Dark Side of the Moon* live and to get
that
emotional buzz from reliving that music," he said by telephone, citing
ROGER
WATERS' touring re-creation of a classic PINK FLOYD album.
"And in the case
of the Police it's all about *Roxanne* and *Every Breath You Take* and
*Message
in a Bottle*, and the phases of people's lives those songs have been a
part
of, which in the last 20 years has been a lot.
"
It's arguably to their credit that drummer Copeland, guitarist Andy
Summers
and frontman Sting have never offered any other reason for getting
back
together.
They haven't been coy about future plans =97 they've never said t=
hey
had any.
Beyond the mere fact of playing again, they have not raised hopes
for a new album and have maintained they're in no position to make
one.
Last week they also declared an end point to this excursion,
announcing that
a summer concert in New York City will be, according to Sting's
official Web
site, "their last ever concert.
"
Three weeks before that farewell notice, Copeland talked about the
reunion
in terms that put clear limits on what it was meant to accomplish.
"There's something different about a reunion," he said, contrasting
the
Police in 2007-2008 to what he called "current" bands.
"A reunion tour is
more of a liturgy, a service and a ceremony than it is for exploring -
that's what I have [side project] Oysterhead for.
"
The reasons that bands such as the Police and PINK FLOYD broke up may
still hold true, said Copeland, but they're not an argument against
reviving the
back catalog.
"Re-creating that thing, it's very powerful," he said.
"It's a very valid
artistic endeavor to go perform that material in the same way it's
valid
that an opera singer would perform *La Traviata*.
"
Copeland, 55, said that when he first sat down at the drum kit for
rehearsals, it wasn't a matter of relearning the material.
"To me, it felt like it was all there waiting to be played again," he
said.
The challenge, if anything, was to help one bandmate unlearn a few
things:
Where Summers and Copeland retained a more fixed sense of the songs,
date-stamped 1984, Sting had continued to play them in different
bands,
using different arrangements, for the next 20 years.
He had "evolved his concept of them," said Copeland.
"So we had a lot of
struggle to accommodate the old and the new.
But we took care of that in the
first two months.
"
The songs, as heard today onstage, sound like they did in their
heyday.
But
Copeland said there are alterations in place - "all kinds of tiny
inflections that musicians excruciate over endlessly," he said.
He guessed
that most listeners wouldn't notice these: "They're listening for the
overall effect.
"
Which, by most accounts, they're getting.
Reviews for the tour have been
largely positive, with the notable exception of a now-famous blog post
by
Copeland himself, in which he gleefully panned a less-than-stellar
performance last year in Toronto.
While the Police were away, musicians and fans were learning to use
the Web
to reach one another.
Compare that to the '70s and '80s, when, as Copeland
remembered it, feedback consisted of what fans told a band at record-
store
appearances.
"That wasn't an accurate representation of the zeitgeist," he said.
"For
that, we had critics to lambaste us or praise us as they saw fit.
Now it's
all multifarious and specific and explicit, and there's tons of it, "
he
said of Internet-aided feedback.
"And you can really see what a lot of
people are thinking.
"
Copeland also said the Internet has poked holes in the bubble that
rock
stars inhabit.
Case in point: As interest grew in the reunion, the band
added dates and extended the tour, and "inside the bubble we thought
this
was a great idea," said Copeland.
Outside, on blogs and discussion boards, some Police fans who had
bought
tickets for the original finale were upset: They thought *they* were
getting
the authentic, last-night-of-the-tour experience, with confetti and
emotional farewells, only to have the band keep picking other, later
dates
as the wrap. Where the Police were expecting gratitude, they got
scolded.
"We would never have guessed that or intuited that without the Web,"
said
Copeland.
One thing Copeland's intuition did tell him was that someday the
Police
would reunite. A decade ago, he was deep into a second career scoring
music for film and television. But in a 1996 interview with the *Sun-
Sentinel*, he sounded confident that he, Sting and Summers had more to
do.
"I haven't
finished with them yet," he said then.
It took another 11 years.
Asked what happened to his certainty during that
interval, he said, "It never faltered.
What did happen is, I forgot about
it. I got a new family, life, career, kids.
I would say I was keen - eager,
even - [to reunite] but there was nothing to be done about it so I got
on
with my life.
"
That resolve to not look back has been an appealing part of the
Police's
legend.
But, having finally climbed aboard the reunion train, Copeland made
no apologies for enjoying the ride.
"I'm in my 50s," he said, "I'm nostalgic.
"
wayne (believing a Total Eclipse Reunion of The Pink Floyd Sound's
surviving members is about as likely as seeing Roger hugging David -
and
David hugging back! - in public!)