#581: Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Stewart Copeland — Fear{less} with Tim Ferriss

Welcome to another episode of The Tim Ferriss Show, where it
is my job to deconstruct world-class performers to tease out the
routines, habits, et cetera that you can apply to your own life.


You’ll get plenty of that in this special episode, which
features my interview with Stewart
Copeland from my 2017 TV Show Fear{less}. The
“less” is in parentheses because the objective is to teach you to
fear less, not to be fearless.


Fear{less} features in-depth, long-form conversations with
top performers, focusing on how they’ve overcome fears and made
hard decisions, embracing discomfort and thinking big.


It was produced by Wild West Productions, and I worked with them
to make both the video and audio available to you for free, my
dear listeners. You can find the video of this
episode on YouTube.com/TimFerriss, and eventually
you’ll be able to see all episodes for free
at YouTube.com/TimFerriss.


Spearheaded by actor/producer and past podcast guest Vince
Vaughn, Wild West Productions has produced a string of
hit movies including The Internship, Couples
Retreat, Four Christmases, and The Break-Up.


In 2020, Wild West produced the comedy The Opening Act,
starring Jimmy O. Yang and Cedric The Entertainer. In addition
to Fear{less}, their television credits
include Undeniable with Joe Buck, ESPN’s 30 for
30 episode about the ’85 Bears, and the Netflix
animated show F is for Family.


Please enjoy!


*


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*


On Letterman and lions: Stewart details the only two drum solos
he’s done in his life (and, for the sake of participation, I
share mine). [05:28]


The great thing about taking risks with music? It’s not
paragliding. How does Stewart introduce a new musician to having
fun with music without worrying about the consequences of making
mistakes? [10:30]


With a father who was both a jazz musician and a CIA agent, what
was Stewart’s childhood like? [14:09]


What initially drew Stewart to music, and how did his first gig
go? How did these early forays into music abroad affect his
evolution as a musician? [16:25]


How Stewart became the drummer for a band he was managing and
married the singer in what looks, on paper, like a series of
Machiavellian, Game of Thrones-style power moves. [20:55]


How did The Police come together as a band? [23:04]


During the early days of The Police, what did Stewart and his
bandmates imagine success might look like? What milestones inched
them closer to realizing this success? [27:08]


How does Stewart prepare for a gig? [29:52]


Why being in The Police was often like wearing “a Prada suit made
out of barbed wire.” [32:27]


Circumstances that might trigger the righteous anger by which
Stewart finds himself invigorated. [36:41]


Examples of good things that have happened to Stewart simply by
saying “Yes.” [39:37]


How did Stewart wind up scoring Rumble Fish for Francis Ford
Coppola? [41:13]


How does Stewart define success? [43:27]


Stewart’s advice for anyone from a rock and roll musical
background who wants to pursue film scoring. [44:33]


Stewart’s advice for a budding musician trying to get their foot
in the door of today’s entertainment industry, and how the
process differs from when Stewart was just getting started.
[46:22]


What music does Stewart find particularly interesting from
today’s roster of artists? [48:42]


On favorite failures as a concept. [51:47]


What Stewart’s billboard would say, and parting thoughts for the
audience. [52:42]


*


For show notes and past guests, please
visit tim.blog/podcast.


Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (“5-Bullet Friday”)
at tim.blog/friday.


For transcripts of episodes, go
to tim.blog/transcripts.


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books: tim.blog/books.


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Facebook: facebook.com/timferriss 


YouTube: youtube.com/timferriss


Past guests on The Tim Ferriss
Show include Jerry Seinfeld, Hugh
Jackman, Dr. Jane Goodall, LeBron James, Kevin
Hart, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Jamie Foxx, Matthew
McConaughey, Esther Perel, Elizabeth
Gilbert, Terry Crews, Sia, Yuval Noah
Harari, Malcolm Gladwell, Madeleine
Albright, Cheryl Strayed, Jim Collins, Mary
Karr, Maria Popova, Sam Harris, Michael
Phelps, Bob Iger, Edward Norton, Arnold
Schwarzenegger, Neil Strauss, Ken Burns, Maria
Sharapova, Marc Andreessen, Neil Gaiman, Neil de
Grasse Tyson, Jocko Willink, Daniel Ek, Kelly
Slater, Dr. Peter Attia, Seth Godin, Howard
Marks, Dr. Brené Brown, Eric Schmidt, Michael
Lewis, Joe Gebbia, Michael Pollan, Dr. Jordan
Peterson, Vince Vaughn, Brian Koppelman, Ramit
Sethi, Dax Shepard, Tony Robbins, Jim
Dethmer, Dan Harris, Ray Dalio, Naval
Ravikant, Vitalik Buterin, Elizabeth
Lesser, Amanda Palmer, Katie Haun, Sir Richard
Branson, Chuck Palahniuk, Arianna Huffington, Reid
Hoffman, Bill Burr, Whitney Cummings, Rick
Rubin, Dr. Vivek Murthy, Darren Aronofsky, and many
more.





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