I got to see Stewart Copeland!

I GOT TO SEE STEWART COPELAND TODAY!!! He was on campus to teach classes and perform with the university symphony. He did a Q&A session today. He was sitting 15 feet from me telling all these great stories (and ragging on Sting) for an hour! Working where I work has its benefits.

He was funny, insightful, and gracious. The instant he sat down after coming out onstage, his phone rang in his pocket. Rather than being embarrassed or brushing it off, he looked at it, rolled his eyes, and said to us, “Geez, Sting, I told you not to call me today!”

And in response to a student’s question, he told this great story: Early in his career with The Police, his kick drum head broke while in the middle of a set at Madison Square Garden. Not an easy replacement so they had to stop the show. He said:

It could have been a disaster, but luckily we had a fantastic showman on stage. Sting began live-narrating exactly what the crew was doing while they were doing it. ‘And now they’re removing the mike stands! Here comes Danny Quatrochi! Oh and he’s taking off the toms, ladies and gentlemen!’ The audience was eating it up. He turned what could have been a disastrous situation into a real bonding moment with the audience.