FYI, I am not a professional translator but I tried my best.
(I hope you don't mind Shangeris)
http://www.derwesten.de/nachrichten/kultur/freizeit/2009/8/19/news-129846711/detail.htmlHe was the founder and drummer of the band, The Police: Stewart Copeland. After a short band reunion, the 58 year old discovered his heart for ancient Rome. He composed the soundtrack for the show “Ben Hur Live” which will transform the Schalker Veltins-Arena into a Circus Maximus on November 27th and 28th.
Dear Stewart Copeland, you are known as the founder of The Police. Honestly, do you still feel like a rock star?
Copeland: Not at all! One thing I’ve learned is that there are no stars. They only exist in other people’s minds. I get up every morning and put on my pants. One leg after the other, whereas Mick Jagger probably jumps into his with both legs at once (laughs).
But you still have the tight pants?
Copeland: Before the Police-Tour they supplied us with the latest designer clothes. Sure, tight pants, too. My wife thought they were great, “ Darling you look, amazing!” Although, I am a father of seven children and turned 58 a few weeks ago.
You would not know.
Copeland: (Smiles) As long as I can kick my sons in the butt, I feel very vital.
Now, but seriously, only a few people know that you are a very successful film composer. You wrote the soundtrack for Coppola’s ‘Rumble Fish,’ for Oliver Stone’s ‘Talk Radio’and for Kevin Costner’s ‘Rapa Nui.’ Even for ‘Desperate Housewives’….
Copeland: But only one episode.
The general public hardly knows about the work you have been doing for the last 25 years.
Copeland: Well, the main thing is that the producers and directors in Hollywood know, because they are the ones who offer the jobs (laughs). Of course. When ‘Wall Street’ was released, everyone saw Michael Douglas, but not the composer.
Do you mind?
Copeland: No. I don’t miss the hype. I truly had enough of it.
Have you ever counted how many film scores you have written?
Copeland: Not really – maybe for 40 or 50 films and some series… I have a list that is ten pages long somewhere.
Some of these films are really good, some are dreadful. You don’t know beforehand. You just get to read the script.
How many instruments do you play other than percussion?
Copeland: Guitar, bass and a bit of piano – but for composing, I mostly work with keyboards and computers.
The Film ‘Ben Hur’ was released when you were seven…
Copeland: Hey, you did your homework, right? (laughs)
I do get paid for that, don’t I?
Copeland: Holy, you are a tough journalist! Actually, I wanted to talk bullshit, but maybe I should just drop it (laughs). Yes, I saw ‘Ben Hur’ in the theatre in 1959.
Do you still remember what you first thought of it?
Copeland: Oh, I get mixed up. What was ‘Ben Hur’, what was ‘Quo Vadis’ and what was ‘Spartacus’? All that Roman stuff… “swords and sandals,” how we call it in the States.
We would rather say, “Muscles and sandals.”
Copeland: Interesting! When I recently watched ‘Ben Hur’ again, I thought how wispy Charlton Heston actually was. He wouldn’t get a job in this genre nowadays.
How did you get your job for the arena production?
Copeland: Ah, Gundula Abraham ( the wife of the producer Franz Abraham, the Red) woke up one night and called out my name (laughs). No, it really was her idea.
And what does your work look like?
Copeland: I have been working on the soundtrack at home for five months and here I am finishing it up. It is all a question of timing. The Romans come on stage: “You bastard! Kiss my a$$. I beat you!” - So give them 15 seconds. If I had planed 20 seconds before, I would have to cut so and so, which probably had the best beat! (laughs) As a film composer, you need skin like leather. We make a plan for every action and dialogue. Also for each lap of a chariot race. It has to coincide with every second.
Can you explain what the music for ‘Ben Hur Live’ sounds like?
Copeland: Orchestral with exotic instruments from Istanbul, like trash cans. So: Concert for Orchestra and trash cans.
Trash cans?
Copeland: Yes, drums sound too much like rock. Trash cans deliver the right Roman sound. Here, listen (drums on a severely dented trash can). Or here, these drums from a washing machine.
And the other instruments?
Copeland: The orchestra comes from Bratislava, Slovakia. Then there are different instrumentalists, some from Turkey and Armenia. The tracks will be put together under my supervision. Therefore, I travel to different countries. And I, of course, play the first trash can (laughs).
And this is for families to watch?
Copeland: Oh yeah! This would be too exotic for Broadway, but I deal carefully with the material –a tough pill to swallow. Very epic. The music is very present at such an arena show. Unlike movies, the actors are very far away. Therefore, the music has to tell the spectators what is actually happening.
Above all, as I heard, they only speak Latin and Aramaic?
Copeland: Yes, it sounds crazy. But there is a narrator (the actor Ben Becker, the Red.) who explains the story in German.
What are you inspired by?
Copeland: The inspiration is, the story takes place during the most significant epoch of history, around the year zero. During this time a lot of things happened, those impacts still influence us today. The fall of Egypt and the rise of Rome, of course , the birth of Christ, the destruction of the temples in Jerusalem. It was the beginning of a new history.
How do you feel when 400 people act to your music? This is more than a big opera, isn’t it?
Copeland: Fun! (laughs) It feels like an opera, even though hardly anybody sings. It is very dramatic.
I would like to go back to The Police. Rumour has it, your relationship with Sting isn’t the best..
Copeland: Mmmmhh… not so true. Let’s say it this way: We drive each other crazy, but the music that results from it seems to attract millions.
Is it true that you hired a therapist during the 2007 / 2008 tour?
Copeland: Yes, that is correct. You know: We love each other like a family, but we are so different. For him, the music is a narcotic for the pain. He is the “King of Pain”. For me, music is life, suspense, exaltation. I am loud and shallow, he is quiet and profound. I love noise, laughter and silly stuff. He only wants intellectual, spiritual stuff. He says: quiet. I say: loud. He says: slowly. I say: fast. No compromise possible. At that point Andy would come into play and tip the scale. Not as a referee. More like the third tip of the triangle.
Terrible fight , frankly speaking…
Copeland: Oh yeah. The process is painful, but the result is enormous. During the tour, our boys knew: The more we go at each other, the better the show is.
Have you definitely closed the chapter of The Police?
Copeland: Yes. You know: With The Police I was just the drummer, which is okay. But when I write film scores, I am my own god (laughs). Well, hopefully I`ll have a bit more time in life. Maybe it’s just a question of dosage. Every 20 years going back to his old band, that’s alright…
Posted: 20 Aug 2009 13:40
