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Welcome to the official The Police Academy Tribute band website!

August 19, 2023

It started as a joke back in early February, 2023, and today we are pleased to announce the launch of The Police Academy tribute band website!

So who is The Police Academy (“TPA”)? No, not the movie. Sorry, the band is not associated with Michael Winslow. TPA has the distinction of being one of the few younger acts on the tribute circuit, and it’s their youthful energy that allows them to recreate the experience of seeing The Police in their prime. They can bounce between the raw, stripped-down punk sound of the early records of The Police, and the layered, synth-driven pop masterpieces of their late career.

Joshua Jones, Jon McCracken, and Christian Hernandez all have the same rock and jazz background that Sting, Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers did, and their influences show up in the authenticity of their sound. Additionally, each member is a part of various world-renowned tribute bands, including Jumping Jack Flash, Wild Child, and The Fab Four! And they use what they’ve learned from those projects to help put together an immersive, authentic experience, with their special brand of showmanship and humor sprinkled in.

Covering everything from the radio staples of “Message in a Bottle” and “Every Breath You Take,” to the album cuts like “Murder by Numbers” and “Synchronicity II,” The Police Academy brings a powerful, authentic, energetic performance to help take you back to 1983.

Here you’ll see pics and videos, get more info on the band, and keep track of when the band will be performing in your town! Be sure to follow The Police Academy on Instagram for even more content, @thepoliceacademytribute!

Christian Hernandez as Andy Summers

Christian Hernandez is a Southern California-based multi-instrumentalist with 20+ years experience playing guitar, bass and drums, and has been teaching since 2001. He currently performs with a variety of touring acts, including the legendary Wild Child (a celebration of Jim Morrison and The Doors), and Jumping Jack Flash, one of the nation’s premiere tributes to The Rolling Stones. In the tribute world, Christian has performed the music of Led Zeppelin, The Who, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Santana, The Police, The Doors, and the Beach Boys.

Christian zoomed through the guitar performance program at Berklee College of Music, earning his Bachelor of Music in Performance, in just three years. While on the east coast, Christian studied with many notable figures in jazz guitar, including Mick Goodrick, Adam Rogers and David Gilmore. He was hand-selected by the chair of the guitar department (Larry Baione) to become one of eventually only two students to be mentored. He was awarded two scholarships to Berklee while living in California, and was awarded an additional three scholarship increases during his studies at the college.

While in high school, Christian was awarded an “outstanding soloist” award at every jazz band competition, except for the last one where the venue chose not to hand out individual awards. He formed a quintet in high school and submitted his demo of original compositions to 88.1 KKJZ, where they chose his group for their first ever High School Jazz Festival combo competition, alongside OCHSA and LACHSA. Christian was awarded another “outstanding soloist” award at the competition, and his group was asked to open for David Benoit at the Long Beach Jazz Festival later that year.

Christian formed an instrumental funk/rock band, The Christian Hernandez Rotation, after returning from Berklee. His third release, Sonic Flow (2015), was engineered and produced by Grammy Award-winning producer Anton Pukshansky (Santana – Supernatural, 1999). His fourth release, Enter the Void (2020), features Christian on guitar, bass, drums, and keyboards.

Christian teamed up with drummer Jon McCracken (Jumping Jack Flash, The Chambers Brothers, The Fab Four) and bassist/vocalist Joshua Jones (The Fab Four, Elton vs. Billy) to form The Police Academy, a tribute to The Police. He is also the lead guitarist of Smooth Sounds of Santana.

Jon McCracken as Stewart Copeland

Jon McCracken, a Los Angeles native, developed a passion for classic rock after being introduced to The Beatles at a very young age. His interest in music led him to begin to learn the drums at the age of six, drawing inspiration from Ringo Starr and starting with an improvised drum set made of pots and pans with wooden spoons for drumsticks.

Jon’s parents and relatives introduced him to many great artists in classic rock and jazz throughout his childhood, including Queen, The Who, Buddy Rich, Max Roach, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and many others. Not to mention The Police!

Throughout his school years, Jon actively participated in music, joining his high school’s drum line, marching band, and jazz band. Following his graduation, he enrolled in the PIT program at Musician’s Institute in Los Angeles, CA, where he studied with top musicians and began to learn about the music industry.

At the age of 18, Jon began performing with various bands, including festival-headlining Irish techno band Sonic Impulse, and even managed to sneak into Southern California bars for gigs until he turned 21.

In a remarkable turn of events in 2011, at the age of 20, Jon received the incredible opportunity to perform at Carnegie Hall in NYC with an original band he was in called Arrest My Sister. During this period, he was also performing in 15-20 bands and playing almost every night.

In 2017, Jon auditioned for the national touring Rolling Stones tribute, Jumping Jack Flash, and a year later, he secured the position of the show’s media manager. Presently, Jon continues to reside in Los Angeles and pursues his musical career performing with major acts such as Jumping Jack Flash, The Chambers Brothers, The Fab Four, The Who Experience, and now The Police Academy!

From a young age, Jon found great inspiration in The Police. There were times when he would spend an entire month solely listening to their music. Throughout his career as a musician, the influence of Stewart Copeland could be heard in his playing, especially in the studio. Copeland also served as one of Jon’s primary influences for adopting the traditional grip early on in his drumming journey. When the opportunity to co-create a tribute band for the Police arose, Jon joined without hesitation.