Well, it looked like one anyway. It really is a Tudor-style residence built a hundred years ago on a beautifully manicured property in what has been the posh part of Los Angeles the whole time. And it is a proper abode for an Englishman who can live wherever he decides, the likes of Andy Summers.
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Our meeting with the guitar great was granted through his PR team, who vetted us, I suppose, based on observations of previous episodes to include one with his former bandmate, Stewart Copeland. However it fell into place, we were happy to have booked him.
I was concerned that this would be a difficult interview. As a rabid fan of The Police, I have consumed about all there is to see and hear about them. Sting has always been their charismatic spearhead. I've dissected every lick Stewart has ever recorded for the public, so I knew I could talk with him for hours. Andy has always been the stoic, guarded, above-it-all member of the band.
So there we are, Pete and I, rolling down a very busy street, looking for a rock star's address. How on earth could a member of what in their heyday was the biggest band in the world have a house on a main thoroughfare? It seemed quite strange. And then, as we were instructed (thanks, Dennis - more on him later), we entered a nondescript gate between long ivy-covered walls, meandered past some beautiful, if less grand, estates, and up to another gate. I pushed the intercom button and heard a voice I immediately recognized as Andy Summers (we spoke on the phone a half hour prior.) I announced myself, "Hey Andy, it's Jon from the Break It Down Show." And in a milestone moment, those words opened a gate behind a gate concealing a secret location. I could have turned around and gone home right then.
Thank goodness I didn't. In the context of my love of Andy's old band, I'll admit that he was my third favorite member of the Police. Sting being an unstoppable pop music force, and me being a drummer, I can justify ranking Andy behind them, even given his obvious instrumental prowess. Based on our conversation, his hospitality, his willingness to share the origins and drivers of his artistic directions, and understanding a little more about why we should let him explore without imposing upon him the burden of pop entertainment, he deserves a greater share of my attention. And if we want to learn more about our own humanity, he deserves it from all of us.
Jon Leon Guerrero
I was concerned that this would be a difficult interview. As a rabid fan of The Police, I have consumed about all there is to see and hear about them. Sting has always been their charismatic spearhead. I've dissected every lick Stewart has ever recorded for the public, so I knew I could talk with him for hours. Andy has always been the stoic, guarded, above-it-all member of the band.
So there we are, Pete and I, rolling down a very busy street, looking for a rock star's address. How on earth could a member of what in their heyday was the biggest band in the world have a house on a main thoroughfare? It seemed quite strange. And then, as we were instructed (thanks, Dennis - more on him later), we entered a nondescript gate between long ivy-covered walls, meandered past some beautiful, if less grand, estates, and up to another gate. I pushed the intercom button and heard a voice I immediately recognized as Andy Summers (we spoke on the phone a half hour prior.) I announced myself, "Hey Andy, it's Jon from the Break It Down Show." And in a milestone moment, those words opened a gate behind a gate concealing a secret location. I could have turned around and gone home right then.
Thank goodness I didn't. In the context of my love of Andy's old band, I'll admit that he was my third favorite member of the Police. Sting being an unstoppable pop music force, and me being a drummer, I can justify ranking Andy behind them, even given his obvious instrumental prowess. Based on our conversation, his hospitality, his willingness to share the origins and drivers of his artistic directions, and understanding a little more about why we should let him explore without imposing upon him the burden of pop entertainment, he deserves a greater share of my attention. And if we want to learn more about our own humanity, he deserves it from all of us.
Jon Leon Guerrero
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