Template:Fan

FAN NAME (OR PSEUDONYM)
Basic information
Country of origin:	COUNTRY
Fan of:	Remove icons/lines as necessary: The Police Andy Summers Stewart Copeland Sting
Fan since:	YEAR
Favorite Police-related album:	ALBUM TITLE
Favorite Police-related song:	SONG TITLE
Member of:	FANCLUB/FORUM/WEBSITE MEMBERSHIPS
Website:	LINK TO YOUR WEBSITE(S)

About me

This section needs more information. Whatever you wish to share about yourself and your involvement as a Police fan.

See web-site www.pianissimos.weebly.com for my bio...

Concerts & events attended

This section needs more information. Feel free to include a list of the Police-related events you have taken part in (including solo performances).

The Police: August 13th, 1983 - Hartford Civic Center, Hartford, CT Sting: September, 1984 - Radio City Music Hall, NYC, NY Sting: Oakdale Theater, CT - Date TBD Sting: Garden State Arts Center, Date TBD Sting: United Center, Chicago, Date TBD Sting: Jones Beach, LI, NY, Date TBD The Police: Giants Stadium, 2007 The Police: MSG, NY, NY, August 2008

Other stuff

Got anything else to say? Add more subheaders, or delete this one if not.

Letter to Sting dated July 4th, 2010:

Any help you can give to forwarding this email to Sting ASAP would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much!

Marc Weissman Derby, CT 203-463-8632

Dear Sting,

I want to apologize for what might be very short notice for this somewhat lengthy email / request, but the truth is, for quite some time, I have been mulling over exactly how to describe: a) my 28+ year admiration of your personal and professional accomplishments, b) some of the interesting parallels between our respective lives and c) a personal request from which we can hopefully both enjoy and benefit. I actually feel a bit like Marcia Brady writing to Davey Jones, but at 44 years of age, the timing feels right so here goes...

Beginning with your music, I'm sure you have heard / read countless accounts of how your songs have affected fans' lives, particularly on an emotional or personal level. To this end, I am no exception. Back in '82, my first memory of hearing "Every Little Thing..." and the rest of Ghost in the Machine, prompted me to immediately buy the piano sheet music, which I quickly learned as an eager teenager. I still remember my first impression while watching the "Every Little Thing..." video, thinking "Who is this guy with the incredible voice, but wears an earring for goodness sake?! Yet, on the other hand, he and his band mates seem to be having so much fun in the studio, Jamaica, etc." Needless to say, without hesitation, I added Outlandos..., Regatta... and Zenyatta... to my music collection and piano repertoire and to this day, continue to enjoy the fruits of Andy, Stewart and your collective labors. Upon reading that The Police were truly a "thinking man's" band, I proudly designated them as my official favorite group. Prior to this, I actually felt very insecure being a NJ high school musician and not having a favorite band or artist, per se. Instead, I tended to latch onto my older sister or brother's musical interests of the seventies. Finally, I had found a band I could call my own, so to speak. Anyway, I felt dutifully rewarded with this decision when Synchronicity was released later that spring. Clearly, The Police were a musical force at this point, and I am proud to say that their August 13th concert at the Hartford, CT Civic Center represented my first-ever solo-attended concert. That summer of '83, I was a camper/waiter at a sleep-away camp in Kent, CT and literally had to stowaway on the counselor's bus just so I could purchase the ticket in neighboring Torrington. (In fact, I almost got fired for this!) Fortunately, I was able to keep my job and got to witness what turned out to be a prelude to the infamous Shea Stadium gig that proved to be your unofficial Police swan song. For that, I am very grateful.

Once you went solo in the fall of '84, I, like so many others, were keenly aware that your distinctive voice and songwriting were the defining qualities of The Police, so jumping aboard the ...Turtles bandwagon was a no-brainer. At this point, I was a freshman at Cornell University (where I later jealously discovered, The Police had performed back in '79) and I went so far as to take a 4+ hour bus trip to see your concert at Radio City Music Hall. I still laugh when I tell the story of oversleeping the Ithaca bus stop on the ride back to Cornell later that night/morning, almost ending up in Montreal, but luckily waking up in Canandaigua, NY and desperately convincing Greyhound to let me take a return trip back to Ithaca for free.

As a Cornell freshman, I took a course in Greek and Roman Mythology just to learn exactly who Scylla, Charybdis and Mephistopheles were. I scoured the Cornell libraries for anything "Jungian" or "Koestler-esque." As a sophomore, much to the chagrin of my family (who actually thought I was taking drugs because of my newly-spiked hair and round, reflective sunglasses), I choreographed and performed a "Murder By Numbers" lip-sync tribute to the "Wrapper Around Your Finger" video, complete with white jump suit and red, yellow and blue candles. Despite chopping one of the candles in half with my "blood"-stained plastic knife/drum stick, I came in 2nd to a group of students who performed Van Halen's "Hot for Teacher". Oh well, c'est la vie...

As a junior, when ...Nothing Like the Sun was released, my then-girlfriend and future wife, Dina, was review editor on the Cornell Daily Sun (no pun intended) newspaper. Somehow, she was able to convince the paper's review board to let me, albeit just a fellow student at the time, write a review of your second solo album. Apparently, the student-run paper was ok with me writing the review, but giving me my own byline violated an in-house rule, since I was not an official reporter. While I was overjoyed to ultimately see my critique in print, regrettably, the byline faux pas led to Dina being denied a financial benefit she had earned through her previous hard work on the paper. So I guess you could say she had made the supreme sacrifice...

After grad school in '91, Dina and I were married at the Fireside, Inn in Newtown, CT. In lieu of the traditional wedding march, I somehow convinced her to walk down the aisle to...no, not the sinister "Every Breath You Take" as you've oft-mentioned misguided couples have done...but instead, to the initial strains of "Russians"?! It seemed like a good idea at the time - classically-inspired piece, somewhat happy melody, sans politically-motivated lyrics. Unfortunately, I neglected to review the intro with our hired pianist prior to the ceremony, so it sounded more like a brooding funeral march than a joyous wedding piece. Dina's family had very puzzled looks on their faces when the music started but luckily, frowns turned to smiles as she entered the room, looking beautiful in her veil/gown. Later, during the reception, she threw her bouquet to "Every Little Thing...", which I suppose somewhat made up for the prior decision...

Career-wise, I have primarily been a bioengineer for most of the last twenty years, designing artificial hip and knee implants for various medical device companies. During one memorable business trip to London, I took it upon myself to rent a car and take the A1 to Newcastle, with several of your biographies in tow as well as the obligatory maps, "Geordie" dictionary, still and video cameras. I traversed the streets of Wallsend to try and get a feel for what your childhood and adolescence must have been like as well as your days with Last Exit and the Phoenix Jazzmen. To this day, any mention of the U.K. instantly prompts me to brag about my Sting-motivated adventure.

Having seen you at numerous venues for Ten Summoner's Tales and Mercury Falling, fast forward to New Year's Eve, 2000, post-release of Brand New Day. Dina and I had just relocated to Warsaw, IN for my new job with Johnson and Johnson, and we were in the process of building our own house. With the structure only open-framed at that time, Dina did the unthinkable by buying a small, 9-in, battery-operated, B&W TV just so we could watch you perform the title track after the ball dropped in Times Square. Imagine the two of us uncomfortably shivering at midnight in this sky-lit, half-open pre-dwelling, complete with newly-fallen snow on the exposed floorboards and painfully squinting to see your image on the small set. Paints quite the picture...

After relocating back to CT in 2005, I progressively became very anxious, depressed and "Driven to Tears" about the future of my engineering career and our financial stability. Eventually, this led to hospitalizations for major depression with auditory hallucinations (i.e. "Voices Inside My Head", pun well-intended!) Looking back, although it was for very different reasons than the depressions you've experienced, I cannot help but think how cathartic it must have been for you to compose Soul Cages and ..Nothing Like the Sun after your respective parents passed. My father passed in '93 and he was literally, and figuratively, instrumental in cultivating my musical ability. I think about him constantly while I play your songs for patients and passersby in the lobby of Griffin Hospital in Derby, CT.

Of course, it goes without saying that I was there for The Police Reunion Tour: at Giants Stadium as well as at the Madison Square Garden finale. The MSG show was particularly poignant, since I also happen to be a life long NY Rangers hockey fan and to hear my two "worlds" collide in one venue was unforgettable.

Fortunately, during the past year, my life has turned significantly for the better, both personally and professionally. I recently became a certified, not-so "young teacher..." excited to begin a new career at the University High School for Science and Engineering Magnet School in Hartford, CT. This fall, I will be teaching the principles of engineering as well as conducting biomedical research at the University of Hartford, among other endeavors. So far, during my first official "summer off", I have had the pleasure to see you live on the Today Show, to play "Every Little Thing..." and "Russians" on at least one piano in all five NYC boroughs as part of Mayor Bloomberg's "Play Me...I'm Yours" celebration of the arts, and I look forward to seeing you with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra three times: at Mohegan Sun's Casino, at Atlantic City's Borgata Hotel and at Lincoln Center, where, through no small coincidence, I played many of your songs on two of the four outdoor pianos to "Spread a Little Happiness" in Columbus Circle.

OK, Sting - now on to my request: As I mentioned earlier, I currently volunteer my time playing pianos at Griffin Hospital in CT's smallest city of Derby, located just 15 minutes west of New Haven. Derby has quite a storied history with respect to culture that includes early performances from a then-boy scout and future actor, Brian Dennehy (who I had the pleasure of meeting while I served as Chair of Derby's Cultural Commission) as well as hosting many performers of Hollywood's Golden Era such as Donald O'Connor, Lionel Barrymore and Harry Houdini at the town's historic Sterling Opera House. More recently, Derby has served as the backdrop for David Letterman's Worldwide Pants movie production company. Meanwhile, Griffin Hospital is a well-renowned, Fortune 500 facility that features several local musicians as part of its arts and entertainment program designed to use music as a healing tool for patients during their stay. As I'm sure you can imagine, the response to this program is overwhelmingly positive, and the emotional connection I feel as I play for patients is indescribable. It literally gives me chills when I perform and often times, as the custodian vacuums nearby, I think to myself: "I've made it", much the same way you must have felt when that window washer first whistled "Roxanne"...

To this end, I believe it would very complementary to the generous work you've done with Amnesty International, the Rainforest Foundation, and NYC's Million Trees campaign, albeit on a smaller scale, to visit Griffin Hospital and perform some of your songs. Undoubtedly, the patients, employees and citizens of Derby would all benefit greatly from your presence and uplifting "Messages in a Bottle". Similar to wishing an 87-year-old woman "Happy Birthday!" at Foxwoods Resort last year, this gesture to the community would, among other things, continue to raise your image as the ultimate "feel good" rock star.

So, if you are amenable to this request, please feel free to contact me at your convenience either via email at marc.weissman@yahoo.com or by phone at 203-463-8632 in order for us to firm up the logistics of your visit (i.e. time, date, # of songs, etc.) I realize with the upcoming tour, your schedule is extremely busy, but in light of the fact that you will be in the New Haven area this week and next, I thought it most appropriate to ask at this time.

Sting - whether you are able to stop by Derby or not, please take solace in the fact that, throughout your career, your music and experiences have resonated with me in ways I never thought possible, and I look forward to what both our futures have in store for us.

Thanks so much for doing the listening this time around!

Sincerely,

Marc Weissman Derby, CT www.pianissimos.weebly.com

Contact

If you have a preferred method of contact you'd like to provide for other fans to reach you, you can include it here.

Is this article about you? If so, please feel free to edit and add to it so our history of Police fandom can grow. If you do not wish to be listed in the PoliceWiki and wish for this article to be deleted, please see Help:Articles for instructions.