Rock News - September 30, 2009

AP Photo / Stephen Chernin

Billboard as well as 411 Music both gave details today about the forthcoming “unconventional” autobiography from Police drummer Stewart Copeland.

"Strange Things Happen: A Life With the Police, Polo and Pygmies”, he explains, isn’t unconventional “because of all the stuff I left out, the boring stuff -- I was born here, then I moved there, then I went to this school, then that school... Who cares? These are war stories.”

The “war stories” come from his time in The Police, although, according to Copela "the eight years of Police supremacy back in the day get a little bit of short shrift...I told that story with my movie ("Everyone Stares: The Police Inside Out"). Sting and Andy (Summers) both wrote books about it and covered it very well, I thought. But the last third of my book is all about the reunion tour, which, unlike the first eight years, is untold.”

"Strange Things Happen: A Life With the Police, Polo and Pygmies," will include Copeland's CIA agent father, his youth in the Middle East and England, and his other musical projects, such as Oysterhead (with Primus' Les Claypool and Phish's Trey Anastasio), jamming with Rage Against the Machine and Foo Fighters, among others. The book will also include some clarification, says Copeland, about his main band...

"I think I did succeed in clarifying the conflict in the band. It has always been too easy to assume it was just a clash of egos, and that was always very frustrating for me because it's so far from the truth. In fact, we are very selfless in the Police, all three of us; we really leave our egos at the door and go in there and take a pasting from each other -- and we take it. That's what life in the Police was all about. It was always a clash of musical ideals... We were fighting over the right things."

 

Orlando’s Megaphone has had to make an emergency change to their show planned for this Friday, October 2.

According to the band’s MySpace event calendar, “all future Friday Knights events have been cancelled.” – putting a halt to their planned Friday Knights show at Waterford Lakes. However, the band has already booked a replacement gig.

Megaphone will now be playing on Friday, October 02, at Pour House on 2461 S. Hiawassee Rd. in Orlando. Showtime is at 9:30 pm, so make sure you’re there to spend three hours with Megaphone!

Be sure to check here each day for your regular dose of Rock news, both local and national!  And stay tuned for CD and show reviews, as well as interviews - including a special feature on this year's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Nominees with some very special guests from Orlando starting on October 7!