I’m making this up by the way, but I’m sure that instinct and brain chemistry must have something to do with it. Kinetic ritual releases the I’m-with-my-pack brain wave—which we like. We can jump higher and run faster when we feel that collective energy around us.
The part that I’m not making up is that to be at the focal point of the attention of massed humans is to be infused with some kind of extra power. Just on a raw horsepower level there is some kind of upgrade going on. Maybe it’s something about how the body burns calories; the car just goes faster. Mentally as well, feats of coordination are enhanced by the pulse of collective consciousness. The fingers wiggle with increased coordination when in tune with the kinetic ritual.
So kinetic ritual is what happens when a group of humans stomp and hoot, or sing or march or dance together. Everybody likes the feeling of communal empowerment. This must be why we musicians, sports stars, actors, and politicians can make our livings. We draw humans together and charge them up.
My Pygmy friend, the Congo shaman, with his hoots and stomps, arouses the combined power of his little pack of humans and Barack Obama uses ritual imagery in soaring cadence to combine the power of millions of humans. Music is both a by-product of and catalyst for this phenomenon.
There is a green flag that is following us around the world. I recognize the insignia; it’s my Rhythmatist rampant on green logo. Two images were sliced together in a recreative Photoshop moment to produce a handy logo for the fan-site, and now it has become a woven image. Not as grievous as a graven image perhaps, but near enough to ponder a behavior that is so feared by God as to be specifically banished in the Ten Commandments. There is a whiff of kinetic ritual in this behavior.
Something motivates a community of people that stretches around the world to send this green artifact on a tour parallel but distinct from The Police tour. It’s not hard to imagine the lighthearted fun of this ritual behavior but why is it fun? Why is it fun to play with this flag as if it is sacred, to revere it, to sign it, and behold it as it travels across the land?
The flag is a manifestation of the human desire to be connected to a community. Part of that connection is the traffic in shared icons or…graven images.
My theory is that this recreation idolatry is a semivestigial trait derived from our nature as pack animals. We herd. We tend toward cooperation. This cooperation is greased by physical cues, which at one extreme are verbal discourse, but at the other extreme are dance and music. Ritual bypasses logic and motivates instinctive communal activity.
Maybe a by-product (ritual) of this by-product (music) is that which God so fears—worship. It’s not the real worship of a real religion, but it playfully mimics the behavior. In the cult of the Rock Demigod, I’m an atheist, but it sure feels natural to behave like an acolyte. It doesn’t matter how many dickhead guitarists I have known, when Jeff Beck walks in the room, I’m ready to start worshipping, and all I know about him is guitar mojo.
I hope God isn’t too mad at us for all of this. The folks at the concerts aren’t bowing down so much as rising up in exultation, but I’m just saying that I have an idea of what it feels like to be a golden calf.
Whatever is the meaning of this mojo, when the voodoo rises, people go into that ritual mode that bypasses logic, and strange things happen.
Children of the flag. The original is on a stand behind the drums.
Photograph courtesy of Steve Petrica
This is who I really am.
APPENDIX
ISKANDAR—My childhood friend from the age of four to fourteen, when we lived in Beirut from 1955 to 1965. He was the son of a Palestinian refugee who worked for our family as maid, nanny, and cook.
MILES COPELAND, JR.—My father, an agent for the Central Intelligence Agency and founding member of its predecessor, the OSS. He worked in London and throughout the Middle East and played a critical role in U.S. activities in Syria, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, and Ghana. After retirement he wrote books. He died in 1991. I credit him for much of my musical appreciation and aptitude. He was a gifted musician himself, playing trumpet in his younger years under Glenn Miller, Charlie Barnet, and Ray Noble.
MILLFIELD SCHOOL—A cutting-edge Hogwarts and the coeducational boarding school in England where I spent most of my high school years, from 1967 to 1969.
MILES COPELAND III—My oldest brother, a manager, film executive producer, and a music impresario who founded the BTM record label and later, I.R.S. Records. As a promoter, he helped get The Police signed to a major contract and later managed Sting for many years.
IAN COPELAND—My other brother, a leading promoter and booking agent who helped ignite the New Wave movement in the United States. As a talent agent, he represented some of the most famous bands in rock history, including The B-52s, The Cure, Simple Minds, The Go-Gos, Nine Inch Nails, and R.E.M. He died in 2006, at age fifty-six, from melanoma.
LORRAINE (LENNIE) COPELAND—My sister, a filmmaker, author and now co-owner of the Ono Store and Café in Ono, California, population: single digits. Her 1988 book, Going International: How to Make Friends and Deal Effectively in the Global Marketplace, was a bestseller.
LORRAINE ADIE COPELAND—My mother, an archaeologist who specialized in the Paleolithic period and wrote extensively. Her books have always stopped me at the second word. They start with “The,” followed by an unpronounceable fourteen-syllable word. She is Scottish and a naturalized American citizen who worked for British intelligence during World War II. She now lives in France.
KIM PHILBY—The British double agent who spied for the Soviet Union after World War II and became a friend of my dad in Beirut. I was friends with his son, Harry, before the entire Philby family disappeared in 1963, only to resurface years later in Moscow.
SAN DIEGO SCHOOL OF CREATIVE AND PERFORMING ARTS—A public arts magnet school where kids take specialized classes in theater, music, dance, the visual arts, video production, and stagecraft. It’s where I first studied music composition under Dr. Mary K. Phillips, my teacher.
FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA—The famed director of The Godfather series and producer or director of dozens of other films. He called me out of the blue in 1985 when he was looking for someone to write music for Rumble Fish, which he was directing. I learned later that one of his kids had told him, “Hey, get that drummer guy from The Police.” Francis always listens to his kids.
JEFF SEITZ—Despite his training as a classical musician (at Juilliard), Jeff joined me as a drum tech and became a recording engineer and coproducer thirty years ago and never left. He still sets up my drums wherever I need them, although we both barely remember how.
SONJA KRISTINA—Actress, singer, my former wife (1982 to 1991), mother of my first three children, she was the vocalist for Curved Air and continues to collaborate as half of a duo known as Mask, with another Brit, Marvin Ayres.
DARRYL WAY—British rocker, composer, and founding member of Curved Air, best known as a violinist, making the group one of the first rock bands to use one. The other original members were Francis Monkman (keybords, guitar), Sonja Kristina (vocals), Florian Pilkington-Miksa (drums), and Rob Martin (bass). Later members included Mick Jacques, Phil Kohn, and Tony Reeves. I played on two of their albums.
PAUL MULLIGAN—My brother Ian’s best friend from our days in Beirut, he’s a private businessman who put up £400 for “Fall Out,” the first single released by The Police. He now operates 247 Jet, a corporate jet charter firm in Surrey, England.
NIGEL GREY—Grammy Award winner, recording engineer (extraordinaire) and producer for The Police’s first two albums. He also produced albums for Siouxsie and the Banshees, Wishbone Ash, and lots of other groups.
KIM TURNER—He was the first tour manager for The Police, whose prime mission was (and he generally succeeded) keeping three blond heads from murdering one another. He was more like The Police referee.
BUDDY RICH—My first drummer idol and a master of technique, whichever one he used. He played with the biggest swin
g bands and stars of the 1940s and 1950s and continued performing through the 1980s. Once, at the Grammy Awards, he asked me for my autograph, for his daughter, Cathy. Imagine that.
JEAN-PIERRE DUTILLEUX—A filmmaker of the Fourth World who brought Sting and his wife, Trudie Styler, to the Brazilian rainforest in 1988 and was the founder of what is now known as the Rainforest Foundation Fund. He was cowriter with me on the 1985 film, The Rhythmatist, on which my brother Miles was executive producer.
MOHAMED KHASHOGGI—An actor, producer, director, and son of the Turkish-Saudi arms dealer, Adnan Khashoggi, who was caught up in the Iran-Contra scandal. The family ranch in Kenya became the set of the Dutilleux film.
KULDIP DHILLON—“Sooty,” to his chums although I variously know him as “Collin,” “Kollin,” “Kuldip,” “The Hammer of Punjab” or “Damn it, where’s the ball?!” One of my best friends, a polo-playing teammate and godfather to my daughter Eve. He’s a real estate developer in England, whose son, Satnam, a partner in the family firm, plays polo at a professional level alongside the Prince of Wales and his sons.
MICHAEL SMUIN—Tony and Emmy Award–winning choreographer and codirector of the San Francisco Ballet for twelve years though 1985, a period that included Lear, a ballet I wrote and Victoria Morgan choreographed. Michael and I collaborated on Rumble Fish. He died in 2007.
DAVID BAMBERGER—A founder and general director of the Cleveland Opera, which became Opera Cleveland in 2006. It was home to the 1989 world premiere of my first opera, Holy Blood and Crescent Moon, just one of two hundred productions he has staged around the world. These days, he’s head of the Cleveland Institute of Music’s Opera Theater.
SUSAN SHIRWEN—Librettist for Holy Blood and Crescent Moon, which was loosely based on the theory that Jesus married Mary Magdalene, producing a short line of Frankish kings and a long line of mythology, not to mention The Da Vinci Code.
KATHY SCHENKER—Publicist for The Police and my first opera, Holy Blood and Crescent Moon, staged at the Cleveland Opera in 1989. She replaced my brother Miles as Sting’s manager.
MY COPELANDS—Fiona and I have been married since 1991. We have three daughters together, Eve, Grace, and Celeste, and they are sisters to my three sons with my former wife, Sonja Kristina—Sven, Jordan, and Scott—as well as to Patrick, whose mother is Marina Guinness, a lass from Ireland. I’m also Grandpa to Sven’s daughter, Kaya, and father-in-law to Jordan’s wife, Ami.
JONATHAN MOORE—A renowned British stage actor, playwright, librettist, and opera director for film and television, he was Billy the Kid (and screenwriter) to my Jesse James (and music) in Horse Opera, a 1993 made-for-TV show commissioned by Channel 4 in London. The director was Bob Baldwin.
LES CLAYPOOL—Founder and leader of Primus, he’s a master of the electric bass and developer of a distinctive slap technique. He teamed with me and Trey Anastasio of Phish to create Oysterhead, and later wrote and directed the jam band mockumentary, Electric Apricot: Quest for Festeroo, in which he played Lapland “Lapdog” Miclovich. Since then, he’s written a book, appeared on-screen again, and composed songs for the Wii game Mushroom Men. The original Primus was Les, guitarist Todd Huth, and a drum machine. These days, it’s Les, guitarist Larry LaLonde, and drummer Tim Alexander.
TREY ANASTASIO—Drummer, guitarist, and a founding member in 1983 of Phish, along with drummer Jon Fishman, guitarist Jeff Holdsworth, and bassist Mike Gordon. All but Holdsworth remain, his place now taken by vocalist and keyboard player Page McConnell. After a five-year hiatus, the band regrouped with an extended tour. Their fans are ecstatic.
GENE PROVENCIO—Former artists’ relations officer for Tama drums, expanding their appeal beyond hard rock and heavy metal, he’s now president and CEO of his own company, ProCymbal Inc., which makes products to keep cymbals clean. They’re used by guys like Lars Ulrich of Metallica and Brian Frasier-Moore, drummer for Christina Aguilera and Madonna. He continues to serve as an independent consultant in the drumming world.
VITTORIO COSMA—Composer, arranger, and artistic director of La Notte della Taranta. Our band there was called Gizmo, and it included some of Europe’s best musicians: Armand Sabal-Lecco, Max Gazzè, Mauro Refosco, and Dodo, as well as Dave Fiuczynski, an American guitarist best known as the leader of The Screaming Headless Torsos.
BRAD SANDS—Tour manager for Oysterhead, who had started with Trey Anastasio, the Phish guitarist. He also worked on The Police reunion tour.
MAURO COLOMBO—Tour manager for Gizmo and an emerging director.
SERGIO BLASI—Mayor of Melpignano, Italy, who made me an honorary citizen. So, he’s my mayor!
DEREK POWER—My manager and friend of almost thirty years. He has represented actors, directors, novelists, screenwriters, and film composers, and has produced eight films of his own, including my 2006 Sundance entry, Everyone Stares: The Police Inside Out.
DEAD LIKE ME—A comedy-drama television series about soul saving on Showtime that starred Mandy Patinkin. I wrote the music. It ran two seasons, 2003 and 2004.
ENSEMBLEBASH—A British percussion quartet, formed in 1992 and influenced by the music of West Africa to create performances of contemporary classical, jazz, and musical theater.
INCUBUS—An alternative band from Southern California, formed in 1991, with three original members still active: Brandon Boyd (vocals, guitar, percussion), Mike Einziger (vocals, piano), and Jose Pasillas II (drums, percussion). Other current members are Chris Kilmore (turntables, keyboards) and Ben Kenney (bass). Andy Summers and I joined them in 2004 for a show in L.A., playing some of The Police hits.
ANJELICA HUSTON—The great film actress, she directed the 2005 TV movie I scored, Riding the Bus with My Sister, which starred Rosie O’Donnell and Andie MacDowell. Rosie executive produced along with Larry Sanitsky.
MICHAEL THOMPSON—A great session guitarist who has contributed to many of my scores. In 1988 he played in the band I formed with Stanley Clarke, Animal Logic.
JUDD MILLER—A master of the electronic valve instrument, he’s played on or scored hundreds of films and television shows, including twenty with me.
JESCA HOOP—Once a nanny for Tom Waits’s children, she is a gifted singer, songwriter, and composer with a strong following in Southern California. I played drums on her debut album, Kismet.
FOO FIGHTERS—A group started in 1995 by post-Nirvana Dave Grohl, a virtual one-man band, who sings and plays guitar, piano, bass, and drums, although not at once. The current nucleus of the band includes three regulars, bassist Nate Mendel, who joined him at the beginning, Taylor Hawkins (drums), and Chris Shiflett (rhythm guitar), who joined in the late 1990s.
ARMAND SABAL-LECCO—The deepest bass player of all my many bass-playing friends. He’s from Cameroon; his work with Paul Simon drew the attention of President Bill Clinton, who invited him to play at his 1993 inauguration. Armand has collaborated with a mighty list of musicians, including Peter Gabriel, Mike Stipe, Carole King, Stanley Clarke, Herbie Hancock, and your humble correspondent.
RAIZ—An Italian singer, former member of Almamegretta, a world reggae band from Naples, Italy. Raiz, a.k.a. Rino, left the band in 2003 to pursue a solo career.
MAX ABRAMS—My first big-time drum teacher and the author of fifty jazz tutorial books. I studied under him in London in 1966.
SERGIO FANTON—My drum technician for La Notte della Taranta and Gizmo tours and owner of a musical equipment rental empire, Notak.
STANLEY CLARKE—One of America’s greatest jazz bassists, he has recorded dozens of solo and collaborative albums and written music for scores of feature films and television shows. He has also produced albums for stars like Natalie Cole, Marilyn McCoo, and Maynard Ferguson. He and I formed the group Animal Logic after The Police broke up, and we recorded two albums together, in 1989 and 1991.
GIOVANNI POLLASTRI, EUGENIO BRAMBILLA, LADY P—Friends, fans, and designers/maintainers of my Web site. Giovanni has been collecting news and pictures since 1980, which he later used to cr
eate an online community of fans. He sometimes serves as assistant promoter in Italy. As the graphics specialist, Eugenio is the architect of the Web site, designing and maintaining everything that appears on it as well as stuff like T-shirts and DVD/CD covers. Lady P, whose real name is Paola Attolino, is a researcher in linguistics at the University of Salerno and mater familias of the lyrics page on http://stewartcopeland.net, where she offers critical analyses of my lyrics.
Strange things happen: a life with the Police, polo, and pygmies Page 26
