[Police] Tim Commerford (RATM and Audioslve) on The Police

I thought this might please many of you, it's an article i was reading on Tim Commerford of Audioslave. Turns out him and Brad Wilk (Drummer of Audioslave) are huge Police fans. They metionned the Gateshead show. Enjoy! Kinetic kid FN= Fender Interviewer TC= Tim Commerford FN: That goes back to Buddy Miles from Band of Gypsys … TC: That’s it! Buddy Miles is freakin’ sick. (Jimi Hendrix Experience drummer) Mitch Mitchell too! He’s the best (laughs)! He would’ve been a better addition to the Band of Gypsys. There’s something about the controlled chaos of Mitch Mitchell … FN: Mitchell in turn inspired Stewart Copeland, another favorite drummer … TC: C’mon! My father-in-law and I were talking about The Police, and he was asking me about Stewart. I told him that I think he might be the best rock drummer ever! Brad and I have a DVD of the Ghost In The Machine tour, and we just watched it about a week ago. And you know, Sting simplifies the bass lines and doesn’t play the intricacies of what’s on the record while he’s singing, which kinda sucks. He’s not like Geddy Lee, where the guy’s actually playing the exact stuff that he plays on the record. But it still sounded good; he simplified them in a cool way. But then Stewart Copeland is so sick! He actually makes you forget that the bass line is a little more simplified. Then you start to listen to Andy Summers, the most unsung guitarist ever. It feels like, during the course of a song, he changes what he’s playing ten or 15 times. He keeps changing it every time he comes back to it, and it’s never the same. And it’s never, like, in your face. It’s always in the background. I was so blown away by Andy Summers. I’m a huge fan of the Police and always have been. But like I said, we just watched that, and I thought Andy Summers was so great. We went back and listened to songs by focusing on Andy Summers. We were blown away! FN: And you think it’s studio trickery, but when you hear it live … TC: No, it’s him! It’s incredible! And he doesn’t screw up. They played “The Bed’s Too Big Without You,” and I couldn’t even figure out what he was playing. I asked Brad, “Where’s the ‘one’?” But he did it so perfectly. That guitar part is so crazy in that song. It’s unbelievable man. They hold up and withstand the test of time. If there was a reunion show, it would be the greatest one ever! FN: Did you see them reunite at their Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction? TC: Yeah. Tom was there doing some other stuff, and he had a ringside seat. Tom told me that Andy and Stewart wanted to do more songs, but Sting just said “No.” Did you see Sting’s tour where he played Police songs? FN: No. TC: He had Josh Freese on drums and played at the Roxy in Hollywood. Talk about dramatic—Stewart Copeland was standing right in the middle of the house! FN: Are you kidding? TC: I’m not kidding. That’s sick! You know, Josh is a great drummer, but he doesn’t play like Stewart Copeland. FN: Nobody does. TC: That’s the beauty of that guy. It was his band. I saw the Behind The Music (laughs)! Stewart Copeland was the brains behind the whole thing. He’s such an incredible drummer. And you’re only as good as your drummer. I’ve said that so many times, and it’s the truth. You can be the slammin’-est bass player in the world, and it doesn’t mean a thing if your drummer sucks. It really doesn’t. And Stewart Copeland is the greatest “start” or foundation of a band. That he’s able to make those beats that he plays sound like they groove even though they’re really not those kind of beats, you know? I love that! FN: It’s interesting that you play with Brad and are so into Copeland. Their styles are so different … TC: Oh yeah, but you’ve got to hear us go off on our Rush tangent. We bust into “YYZ.” It’s really weird—when we were kids coming up, that was the song that we had to learn. It was the same for Brad. I learned that song. That was it. I can play “YYZ.” And when I first learned it, it wasn’t exactly right. Then I’d figured it out and see them one more time. And I’d figure it out and get it right. So, when Brad and I do it, it’s right, man (laughs)! It’s pretty sick. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com