STEWART COPELAND

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzf75TU9UwU


thoughts?

Keith spent a lot of time in Dallas; people I play with are close friends of his. After moving to New York he hooked up with Wayne Krantz, then got the Steely Dan gig and became the first drummer to play on an entire Dan album. He's also on Fagen's "Morph the Cat." Sting fans caught him on the Sacred Love tour. Why Sting didn't keep him on for the Broken Music tour is beyond me because he's nothing short of amazing. Very much a Stewart disciple, but has his own style carved from years of serious study and absorption of many other drummers. I met him when Sting was in Dallas for Sacred Love. He sat in with a local band (called The Spread, where the brothers in the band are Keith's very good friends) and they played ELTSDIM. So, he got to play that song twice in one night. Can't believe we never crossed paths when we were both at UNT or just playing around in the scene. I mean that interpersonally, because I don't think I was ever on his level to play in bands with him. I'm pretty sure leaving the Sting gig was mutual, because he's had the opportunity to do many other things since the Sacred Love tour and I'm sure they were things he needed to jump on, rather than stay with Sting for another year.

He was pretty bad at the San Diego stop on the Sacred Love Tour. He was metronomic, something Sting seems to appreciate and something Stewart is not known for, but he lacked those elusive qualities of "pulse" and "touch." Could have been a sub-par night for him. Sting has had a way of toning down otherwise great drummers. Chances are also good that he played the whole show to a click so as to keep in time with Kipper and his Pro-Tools performance, which would help to explain all of the above.

He probably did play to a click for most, if not the whole show and Keith joins Dominic Miller, Vinnie Colaiuta and Stewart Copeland in saying that Sting rushes, and rushes BAD.