Preston Elliot Speaks To One Of His Rock Heroes, Sting

The familiar hits of The Police from the late 70s and 80s will ring out in West Philadelphia. On September 9th, the One Day Fine festival hits The Mann. Send out an S.O.S., Philadelphia, Sting is coming to town!   He’ll be performing alongside the rapper and singer-songwriter Shaggy, with whom he released an album by the name of “44/876” referring to the +44 international area code and the Jamaican performing a co-curated list that encompasses all their tastes of music.   “[Shaggy and I] met and it was like when you meet one of those people you feel you’ve known your entire life. Just very easy. We laugh at the same things... music just comes out of that joy.”  The unlikely reggae duo will be at the Mann Music Center on September 9th, and in anticipation for this exciting event, The Preston and Steve Show was lucky enough to have Sting on the show for the very first time this Tuesday.   https://www.instagram.com/p/CvdWjuUKJqE/?hl=en Sting, being one of Preston’s musical idols. He had a lot to ask in the way of his songwriting and inspiration. And our course The Police’s frequent use of timeless ska and reggae rhythms in their music. Sting had to admit that despite all the influence from the West Indies ska artists of the 1960s, his earliest songwriting muse was Rockabilly legend Buddy Holly.  “[Buddy Holly & the Crickets] wasn’t a very sophisticated band, but you know it’s the hardest thing of all to be simple... to pare it down to its bare essentials.”  Sting has expressed his love for the fundamentals. Contradictory to that, his music style is complex. He and The Police have put together tunes that have elevated from the simple to difficult songs with a lot of creative intrigue. Examples include their massive hits like “Message in a Bottle” and “Every Breath You Take,” both of which include guitar riffs that trip up your average guitar player and mystify fans to this day. So much so that even Sting has worked to decode the songs further as they take new life.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjFHtUBg3UI&t=10078s “My job every night is to sing a song I may have written 40 years ago but to find something new in it... and I always do. There’s something, maybe the audience doesn’t notice the change, but it’s an organic growing thing for me.”  A true student of music, even of his own! And his willingness to innovate and improvise surely helped him out with his cameo on “Only Murders in the Building” that made every Sting fan’s day when it released. Steve Martin and Martin Short have their way of presenting a script. The resulting scene unfolds into a helping of improvising that Sting says kept him on his toes throughout.   It was an honor to have Sting on the program. We're in awe to see his career continuing to bear new fruit decades after his initial success. Be sure to save September 9th in your calendar and get your tickets to see Sting & Shaggy at Ticketmaster.com.   Matthew McCarney, The Preston & Steve Show Staff