Stewart Copeland
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It has been suggested that Klark Kent singles Discography be merged into this article or section. (Discuss) |
| Stewart Copeland | |
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 Stewart Copeland. Concert, 2006
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Stewart Armstrong Copeland |
| Born | July 16, 1952 |
| Origin | Alexandria, Virginia |
| Genre(s) | Rock, Reggae, Pop, New Wave, Jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, Composer |
| Instrument(s) | Drums Percussion Vocals Keyboards |
| Years active | 1975 - present |
| Label(s) | A&M Records Koch Records |
| Associated acts | The Police Klark Kent Animal Logic Oysterhead Gizmo |
| Website | www.stewartcopeland.net |
Stewart Armstrong Copeland (born July 16, 1952) is an American musician, best known as the drummer for the band The Police and is an influential drum stylist. During the group's extended hiatus from the mid-1980s to 2007, he played in other bands and composed soundtracks.
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[edit] Background
Copeland was born in Alexandria, Virginia,[1][2] the youngest of four children of CIA officer Miles Copeland, Jr. and Lorraine Adie, a Scot who served in British intelligence.
The family moved to Cairo, Egypt a few months after his birth, and Copeland spent his formative years in the Middle East. In 1957, the family moved to Beirut, Lebanon and Copeland attended the American Community School there. He started drum lessons at age twelve and by age thirteen he was playing drums for school dances. Later he moved to England and attended Millfield from 1967 to 1969. Copeland went to college in California, attending California Western University and UC Berkeley. He returned to England in 1975, playing drums for the progressive rock band Curved Air.
[edit] Personal Life
Copeland married Curved Air vocalist Sonja Kristina in 1982. They divorced in the early 1990s. They have three sons: Sven (drummer/producer), Jordan (film-editor/director and frontman in London-based rock 3-piece Hot Head Show[1]) and Scott (currently tour-manager for uncle Miles Copeland III's Bellydance Superstars). Copeland has another son, Patrick, with Marina Guinness, daughter of Desmond Guinness. Copeland currently lives in Los Angeles with his second wife, Fiona Dent. They have has three daughters: Eve, Grace, and Celeste.
Stewart's oldest brother Miles Copeland III, founder of I.R.S. Records, was manager of the Police and has overseen Stewart's interests in other music projects. Stewart's other brother, the now deceased Ian Copeland, was a pioneering booking agent who represented the Police, amongst many others.
Stewart's hobbies include rollerskating, cycling along the beach in Santa Monica, filmmaking and playing polo.
[edit] Drumming
Copeland is known for his precise, energetic, and creative rock drumming along with a reggae and jazz influenced style. His distinctive sound centers on a hard, high-pitched crack on a snare drum or rimshot, subtle hi-hat work with understated flourishes, while often playing only hi-hat with bass drum. Copeland is a master of the syncopated beat, and his distinct approach consolidates his position as an important drummer on the world stage, subsequently influencing generations of drummers. His credit on Curved Air's Airborne album was "Heavy Artillery" rather than "drums."
Copeland is also noted for his heavy emphasis on the groove as a complement to the song, rather than displays of technical prowess. He once drove this point home at a drum clinic: Copeland announced that he would show the audience something "that very few modern drummers can do," and proceeded to play a simple rock beat for two minutes. Nonetheless, his playing often incorporates spectacular fills and subtle inflections which greatly augment the groove. Compared to most of his 1980s contemporaries, Copeland's snare sound was very bright and cutting. Another novelty was his use of splash cymbals. He also is one of the few rock drummers using the traditional grip rather than the matched grip.
[edit] Equipment
Stewart Copeland currently uses Tama Drums, Paiste Cymbals, Remo Drum Heads & Vater Drum Sticks.
[edit] The Police Reunion (2007-2008) tour kit:
- Tama Starclassic Maple Drums and Paiste Cymbals:
- Drums - Blue Sparkle
- 10x8" Tom
- 12x9" Tom (To the left of his snare drum)
- 13x9" Tom
- 16x16" Floor Tom
- 18x16" Floor Tom
- 22x18" Bass Drum
- 14x5" Tama SC145 Stewart Copeland Signature Snare
- Tama Custom Octobans (x4) (custom made for Copeland)
- Cymbals - Paiste
- 12" Prototype Micro Hi-Hats
- 16" Signature Full Crash
- 17" Signature Fast Crash
- 18" Signature Fast Crash
- 18" Signature Full Crash
- 18" 2002 Flat Ride (prototype)
- 22" Signature Blue Bell Ride
- 10" Signature Splash
- 8" Signature Bell
- 8" Signature Prototype Splash
- Stewart also uses his own Vater Stewart Copeland Standard Sticks.
[edit] Copeland's Classic Kit Set-up
- Tama Imperial Star Maple Drums (9-ply) and Paiste Cymbals:
- Drums - Midnight Blue
- 10x8" Rack Tom
- 12x8" Rack Tom
- 13x9" Rack Tom
- 16x16" Floor Tom
- 14x5" Snare
- 22x14" Bass Drum
- 20x16" Tama Gong Drum
- Tama Octobans (x4)
- Two Tama Tymp Toms
- Cymbals - Paiste
- Formula 602 13" Medium Hi-Hats
- 16" Thin Crash
- 8" 2002 Bell (x2)
- 8" 2002 Splash (x2)
- 11" 2002 Splash
- 14" Rude Crash Ride
- 16" Rude Crash Ride
- 22" Rude Crash Ride
[edit] The Police
In 1977, Copeland founded the Police with singer/bassist Sting and guitarist Henry Padovani (who was soon replaced by Andy Summers), which became one of the top bands of the 1980s.
Frequently cited recordings with the Police include:
- Outlandos d'Amour: "So Lonely," "Roxanne," "Can't Stand Losing You"
- Regatta de Blanc: "Message in a Bottle," "Walking on the Moon," "The Bed's Too Big Without You"
- Zenyatta Mondatta: "Driven To Tears," "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da," "Don't Stand So Close to Me," "Canary in a Coalmine"
- Ghost in the Machine: "Invisible Sun," "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic," "Spirits in the Material World"
- Synchronicity: "Synchronicity I," "King of Pain," "Wrapped Around Your Finger," "Every Breath You Take," "Synchronicity II"
[edit] Klark Kent
Copeland also recorded under the pseudonym Klark Kent, releasing several UK singles in 1978 with one ("Don't Care") entering the UK Singles Chart that year, along with an eponymously titled 10-inch album on green vinyl released in 1980. In a 2006 online chat, Copeland "revealed" (with tongue in cheek) that A&M Records signed the Police in order to get Klark Kent.[3]
[edit] Singles
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For more details on this topic, see Klark Kent singles Discography.
- "Don't Care" / "Thrills" / "Office Girls" - 1978
- "Too Kool To Kalypso" / "Kinetic Ritual" - 1978
- "Away From Home" / "Office Talk" - 1980
- "Rich In A Ditch" / "Grandilinquent" - 1980
[edit] EPs
- Klark Kent - 1980
[edit] Albums
- Kollected Works - 1995
[edit] Later Career
In 1982 Stewart Copeland was involved in the production of a WOMAD benefit album called Music and Rhythm.
In 1983, Stewart Copeland would compose the musical score and earn a Golden Globe nomination for his scoring of Francis Ford Coppola's Rumble Fish. The film directed and produced by Francis Ford Coppola from the S.E. Hinton novel also had a song released to radio on A & M Records "Don't Box Me In - Theme From Rumblefish" - a collaboration between Copeland and singer/songwriter Stan Ridgway, leader of the band Wall of Voodoo, that received significant airplay upon release of the film that year.
After The Police stopped touring in 1984, Copeland established a career composing soundtracks for movies (Talk Radio, Wall Street, 'Riff Raff, 'Raining Stones, Surviving the Game, See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Highlander II: The Quickening, The Leopard Son, She's Having a Baby, Taking Care of Business, West Beirut, I am David), television (The Equalizer, Dead Like Me, Star Wars: Droids, the original pilot for Babylon 5, The Life and Times of Juniper Lee), and video games (Spyro the Dragon and The Agents), along with operas (Holy Blood and Crescent Moon, commissioned by Cleveland Opera) and ballets.
In 1985, Copeland released a solo album, The Rhythmatist. Featuring drums and percussion, the record was the result of a pilgrimage to Africa. In 1988 he followed up with The Equalizer & Other Cliff Hangers, an album collecting some of his soundtrack efforts.
In 1989, Copeland formed Animal Logic with jazz bassist Stanley Clarke and singer songwriter Deborah Holland. The trio had success with their first album and world tour but the followup recording sold poorly, and the band did not continue.
Copeland has occasionally played drums for other artists including Peter Gabriel. In 2000, he joined with Les Claypool of Primus (with whom he produced a track on the Primus album Antipop) and Trey Anastasio of Phish to create the band Oysterhead. In 2002, Copeland was hired by Ray Manzarek and Robby Krieger of The Doors to play on a new album and tour, but after an injury sidelined Copeland, the arrangement ended in mutual lawsuits. In 2005, Copeland released Orchestralli, a live recording of chamber ensemble performing music of his own composition on a short tour of Italy in 2002. Also in 2005, Copeland started Gizmo, a new project with avant-garde guitarist David Fiuczynski. The band made their U.S debut on September 16, 2006 at the Modern Drummer Drum Festival.
In January 2006, Copeland premiered his film about the Police called Everyone Stares: The Police Inside Out at the Sundance Film Festival. In February and March, he appeared as one of the judges on the BBC television show 'Just the Two of Us' (A role he later reprised for a second series in January 2007).
At the 2007 Grammy Awards, Copeland, Andy Summers and Sting performed the song "Roxanne" together again as The Police. This marked the band's first public performance since 1986 (they had previously reunited only for an improvised set at Sting's wedding party in 1992 and for their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003). One day later, the band announced that in celebration of The Police's 30th anniversary, they would be embarking on worldwide The Police Reunion Tour on May 23, 2007. Also in 2007, he released the compilation album The Stewart Copeland Anthology.
In March 2008, Copeland premiered a new composition at "An Evening with Stewart Copeland", at the Savannah Music Festival. The appearance will also feature a screening of his documentary and special guest artists.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Copeland's official site
- Stewart Copeland at BehindTheDrums.com - discography and equipment list
- Stewart Copeland discography at MusicBrainz
- Stewart Copeland at the Internet Movie Database
- Stewart Copeland Interview
- PUNKCAST#1013 Q&A at Walter Reade Theater NYC, Aug 5, 2006. (Realplayer, mp4)
- Stewart Copeland: the Think Different Drummer Mac OS X Conference keynote (MP3)
- Stewart Copeland at G. Schirmer, Inc.
- Another Biography
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