The Police, Still Playing by Their Rules

Stewart Copeland Discusses the Reunion, The Tour and His Rock-Out Face

Stewart Copeland was born in Alexandria but grew up around the globe -- in Egypt, Lebanon, England and that crazy place called California. Eventually, Copeland toured the world as the drummer for the Police. The rock three-piece with jazz and reggae leanings formed in 1977 and became the biggest band in popular music before splintering in 1986. Now, 21 years (and one Puff Daddy remake of "Every Breath You Take") later, the Police are back: Copeland, guitarist Andy Summers and superstar singer-bassist-lutenist-yogi Sting have reunited for a 30th anniversary tour, now on its second spin through the states. The tour stops tonight at the Verizon Center. We called Copeland, 55, to discuss.

-- J. Freedom du Lac

Has the reunion been all that you'd hoped and dreamed?

Well, no. It's been a little more, actually -- which is not that difficult, because I hadn't been doing a lot of hoping and dreaming. And amongst all of us, I was the big optimist.

Are you guys getting along?

Yeah, you called at a really unfortunate time. There are no current dramas to regale you with. We're pretty happy campers. But I must say, it is a constant struggle, because we're working out of our comfort zones. We're three different players forced to accommodate each other. Each of us, we have a certain kind of music, a certain level of response from whatever crowd we're after. But together, it's a whole other deal. The reason I'm better with the Police than I am on my own is those two SOBs make me do things I wouldn't do on my own. They force me into better shapes. That's not to say more comfortable shapes. But the response from the crowd makes it all worthwhile. It's what sustains us.

Not long before the tour was announced, you said that you were keen on getting back together with the band -- but that the word "Police" gave Sting "the heebie-jeebies." What changed?

Sting is the king of pain. He loves it. And I guess he got to the point where he could think of nothing more painful than reuniting with Andy and me. (Laughs.)

The songs have changed some, too: You're using a lot of new arrangements on tour. Don't most fans just want to hear the hits as is?

This is the big debate. People who buy those tickets bring a lot of the show with them. When we look out at them, what we can see is it's not just that "Roxanne" is a great song or that we're great players -- it's also infused with 20 years of their lives. I think that emotional response is triggered by how much of an identical reproduction of the record you do. It's a question we struggle with, always. We err on the side of freshness and performance, because we can see they're digging it. But you have to find a balance. Some of the songs are almost the same, some are completely different, some are mostly the same but we might do a section differently. It's an ever-changing mix. I think we're the only band on this level that still does sound checks every night because we're still tinkering.

Over the past couple of decades, you've done movie soundtracks, ballet scores, video games -- even an opera. Does anything come close to playing live in front of thousands of people?

It's a fairly unique experience. It's very intense. But it's not all euphoria, by the way. But it's something everyone should try.