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Unless
there's another Dominic Miller running around, you've been credited
with playing for the Backstreet Boys.
Yeah!
How did
you end up doing that?
There was a producer in London who was doing the Boyzone single. He
said, "Would you mind hanging out? Because I'm producing this thing…"
and I played on it. I didn't even know who it was. I heard the vocals
and I said, "Who are these people?!" He said, "It's the Backstreet
Boys." So I thought, "Oh." It took me 20 minutes. I played an acoustic
part. I can't even remember what it was. When I do sessions, they go
by so quickly. So in terms of charging, how do you charge for a
session? I just charge it as an appearance. Not by the hour, because
if I did it by the hour, I wouldn't be very well off. [Laughs]
How do you
choose which projects to work on?
I just get called up. I choose them according to my timetable. I'm not
too proud, because I'm a professional musician. I'm not an artist. I
just enjoy different experiences. And nothing gives me more pleasure
than going to a record which is uncertain – let's say is an artist
that doesn't know what they're doing. For me to improve that song or
make it a hit is just the best thing possible. So I don't care if it's
the Backstreet Boys or Boyzone or Sting or Phil Collins or whoever. If
I can contribute something to the record to make it better, then I can
drive home with my guitar in the back having been paid and feeling
good about it. I can sleep, you know? I'm a professional guitarist.
You can't say no to stuff, because then you'll get a reputation for
saying no. See, the real clientele that I have is producers. Producers
aren't too proud, either. I mean, some people are. But they're
professional producers. So if a producer knows that you came to this
record and you did something good, you're at the top of his sheet. I'm
at the top of a lot of producers’ sheets. They have one, two and three
or four. Then you get yourself into a situation where I'm at now –
where I can work quite a lot as a session player. And I enjoy it.
Can you
tell us a bit about your new solo record, Second Nature?
On the new record, I've used a bit more instrumentation. I have Manu
Katché and Pino Palladino, who's great. In fact, Pino Palladino, Manu
and I have an album that will be coming out soon. We've nearly
finished it. We don't know who it's coming out with yet but we're
called The Tweeters. It's a terrible name, but that was the best name
that we could come up with!
I don't use that much in the way of rhythm section on 'Second Nature'. A
lot of it is sort of intimate music for insomniacs, I suppose. I can't
write music on the road because it's not a real normal existence. All
the music that I write comes from personal experiences with people
that I know or don't know. Experiences influence me, like the rapport
that two people can have together. It's always different, and it
always influences me to write music. I always see that. Always at the
end of a tour when I finish these kinds of things is when I write
albums. At the end of a tour you just vent everything that's inside
you. That's what happened at the end of the 'Ten Summoner's Tales' tour.
I vented everything that was inside of me out of every pore.
Do you
think that part of that was having to play other people’s music for a
long time?
Yeah, it's other people's music, but I was part of the process of
building that music. When I play with Sting, I really feel like I'm
playing in a band. I mean, on paper it's called "Sting," but once
we're onstage I would describe him as the older brother that I never
had. You know, he bullies me and he's funny with me and we slap each
other about and we sometimes argue; that kind of shit! It really is
that brotherly type of relationship. So I really don't feel like it is
like playing someone else's music because I just know the stuff so
well. And I like it. I like his stuff. I mean, there're some bits I
don't like. I don't like it when we play country.
Aw, come
on!
I fucking hate that shit. But I know how to play it. I suppose the fun
thing is that it's kind of guitaristic. It's a bit of a yoga workout
for the fingers. It is. Oh, what's that song on the last album...? I'm
so happy! If you saw the fingering on that, a lot of people would go,
"You're crazy, man." It's very awkward. It's nuts. It's sort of
relentless twanging.
Do you
force yourself to like it?
No. I don't even do that. I enjoy the exercise of playing it, I
suppose, to some extent. It makes me laugh. There's humour in it.
Are there
some songs that you always enjoy playing?
I always enjoy playing Police songs. Always. Every time. They're so
energetic, and they sound good. And certain songs from 'Ten Summoner's
Tales'. A lot of the stuff on the new album. I love 'A Thousand Years'. I
think it's a really beautiful song, even though I hardly played on it.
Live, I just do a little bit more. That's how we start the set. A lot
of people criticize us for that, but I think it's great because it's
quiet. We're starting a rock-and-roll show with a ballad, and I think
that's so cool.
Did Sting
play guitar on 'Brand New Day'?
He did a lot of guitar playing on this album. A lot of the riffs. I
think that you can probably tell what I did and what he did.
Did you
teach Sting some of the classical guitar duets that I've seen you play
over the years?
No, no. He reads a bit of music and so do I. We just do that for fun.
It's just like an exercise. It's sort of a discipline, I suppose,
playing Bach music. It's so playable on the guitar. I mean, neither of
us plays it really particularly well. We couldn't do it
professionally, but it's fun to play; and music should be fun to play.
We just have a laugh doing it.
Sting
played a guitar synth during 'A Thousand Years' at soundcheck. Does he
play guitar on any other songs in the show?
That and Fragile as well. I play bass on that.
You don't
mind playing bass?
It's fun. We joke about it, because Sting is quite proud of the fact
that he played [guitar on the recording of 'Fragile']. I remember when I
first met him and I saw the video. I said to him, "I thought someone
else played that and you where just miming." I said to him that I
thought that it was pretty uncool of him to mime someone else. I said,
"Who actually played it?" And he said, "That was me! THAT WAS FUCKING
ME!!" I meet a lot of fans who think that I played it. I tell Sting
that I say I did. It really pisses him off! [Laughs] I didn't even
know Sting back then. So, his comeback is not letting me play it live.
It's been like that for years now and I'm delegated to bass. He says
I'm delegated to bass, but then I say, "Delegated means it's not so
difficult." I say, "Anyone can play bass." [Laughs]
Ouch!
What do you call a shit guitar player? A bass player. Thank you.
[Laughs]
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