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The
following article appeared in a July 2005 issue of the Newcastle based
Journal newspaper. The author was David Whetstone.
A man
perfectly in tune with life...
The name Dominic Miller may not be familiar but you will have heard
his music.
He's the guitarist many top musicians and producers turn to, the man
Sting calls "my right hand and my left hand".
He was on stage with Sting at the Live8 concert in Hyde Park and has a
mutually beneficial relationship with the Wallsend-born superstar
stretching back 18 years.
But he has worked with many other household names including Sheryl
Crow, The Pretenders, Paul Young, Rod Stewart and Pavarotti.
Proud to call himself a session musician, he is certainly among the
elite of that ilk. And he is certainly one of the star turns at the
sixth International Guitar Festival at the Customs House, South
Shields.
His concert promises to be worth hearing but any aspiring musician
could also benefit from the workshop that precedes it.
As well as being an accomplished musician, Dominic talks undiluted
common sense.
Born in Argentina in 1960, he moved to America in 1970 and then
settled in London in 1978 when he came to study at the Guildhall
School of Music.
Asked if his ambition was to become a rock star, he replies: "Of
course, I hugely admired Jimi Hendrix and Jeff Beck. But I'm not sure
if I ever wanted to be the front man.
"I always saw myself as the guitarist in the band. I used to go to
concerts when I was 14, 15 and this was the guy I wanted to be, the
moody guy with the guitar who just stands there playing with his head
down while the lead vocalist goes crazy.
"I certainly didn't want to do that. In those days anyone who had a
guitar was my role model and it's still like that.
"I still get the goose-bumps when I walk past a guitar shop and see a
shiny red guitar. I still haven't lost that - but I suppose Hendrix is
my all-time favourite."
In a world of stars and monster egos, Dominic Miller is refreshingly
down-to-earth. Top performers and producers will ask him to contribute
to recording projects but not only because of his brilliant
musicianship.
He attributes his success partly to the fact that he has always
striven to make himself available.
"I don't turn anything down unless I simply can't do it. I have terms,
of course, and if people can pay, then great. But if someone is up for
it, I don't care who they are because I'm not too proud.
"If a producer says, 'I'm doing a record for so and so', and I say I
don't particularly like their music, that producer might not consider
me again. I'm interested in doing new styles of music so I'll do
everything. It's all a learning process.
"A lot of teenage boys will aspire to heavy metal but maybe if you
listen to something you would never have dreamt of listening to, like
bossa nova, which is a form of jazz, you could bring something
original to your heavy metal and maybe get a unique sound."
As well as appearing on Sting's 'Soul Cages' album and the Phil
Collins album, 'But Seriously', Dominic has also released several solo
albums, including 'Shapes', in 2003, comprising new interpretations of
popular classics.
Such is modern digital technology that distance performing is now
perfectly possible. As we speak, Dominic is preparing to record a
session for a guy in Los Angeles. "This is the kind of stuff you could
only dream about 10 or 15 years ago," he says. "Technology is moving
so fast that everything has got simpler.
"The downside is that you miss that human contact, being able to see a
musician's or a producer's face."
With the available technology, he argues, your next-door-neighbour
could make a record but not necessarily be able to perform it. He says
this can have an effect on audiences who still want to see music
performed.
"When you play in front of 250,000 people it does pay to have a bit of
experience.
"There were a few big name bands at Live8 who were certainly
overwhelmed.
"It's great that the guy I work with, Sting, is very experienced
because it makes you feel good. I think we did a good show."
Dominic is looking forward to coming to Tyneside where he has
performed a few times with Sting. He remembers it as a place with
small, intimate venues, which he likes, and "very nice, very
hospitable people".
Although originally scheduled to perform on Friday, he will now do so
on Saturday, having unwittingly double booked himself - an error for
which he apologises profusely.
©
The
Journal
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