At MacExpo by Dave & Wendy

The Dominic Effect

The lights fade, and anticipatory murmurs ripple over the crowd like an encroaching wave. Before long, a deafening hush settles over the thousands of people attending the evening’s sold-out performance. Dark silhouettes toting guitars emerge from out of nowhere, taking their places on stage. Suddenly, a funnel of light thrusts from the balcony, illuminating the stage, while minions of female admirers erupt in screams. Immediately, British megastar bassist Sting launches into a set that propels his audience through a dynamic set of jazzy pop tunes and socially relevant lyrics. And anyone within earshot of a radio within the last decade will be all but able to sing along.

Off to Sting's right, a sandy-haired guitarist provides tasty, hypnotic nylon-string textures behind Sting's haunting melodies as the musical evening slips away. The gentleman's name is Dominic Miller, and he, in addition to having the enviable gig as Sting's guitar player, has recorded with the likes of Phil Collins, Tina Turner, The Chieftains, Pavarotti, Rod Stewart, Melissa Etheridge, John McLaughlin, and Peter Gabriel, to name more than a few. Not just a sideman, however, Dominic has shared writing credits with Sting, having co-written Shape of My Heart on his eight million-selling album Ten Summoner's Tales, in addition to co-writing La Belle Dame Sans Regrets, from Sting's latest, Mercury Falling.

Dominic has indeed drawn from the fountain of culture, having spent years of his life in Argentina, England, and the United States. He has studied at such schools as Boston's Berklee School of Music, as well as London's Guildhall School of Music, embarking on a program of classical guitar and composition. In 1981, Dominic began to play professionally on the London scene, but it wasn't until I989 that he met producer Hugh Padgham, and shortly thereafter played on Phil Collin's But Seriously album. Dominic recalls, "I just asked Phil to pay my expenses to get to the session, and if it didn't work out, he wouldn't have to worry about paying me." The session did work out, though, and from that point, things happened fast and furiously.

One might think that with a resume as impressive as Dominic's, he might consider some gigs beneath him. Not so. He is acutely aware of the potential brevity of a musician's career, and understands the need to take advantage of every opportunity. His love for guitar, music, and composition has sustained him through more than two decades of the tough, yet rewarding labyrinth of making music. And as we talked, he provided a peek into his influences, his guitars, his compositional process, and his boss- Sting.

What was it about guitar that attracted you?

I was born and brought up in Argentina. And in South America. The guitar is the most popular instrument - bar none. So it was very clear for me to pick it up, not least because my family played guitar. My eldest sister taught me how to play and the first thing she taught me was Brazilian music. That was the most natural thing to me, as a child.

Did you go off to college to study it?

I came back to England when I was eighteen and went to music college. Later, I spent a month at Berklee, and then came back to England and played with a few soul bands. By the age of sixteen, I was playing professionally in top forty groups, and that was really exciting for me. So actually, American Black funk music has been a big influence in my musical development; I love that stuff. For a long time, having a wide rage of influences was to my detriment, however. In England, the music scene is quite snobby. Most people want to know exactly what you do, and a lot of musicians stick to just one thing. But one of the problems I had getting into this business was the fact that I didn't have just one thing; I had various things, which is kind of why I ended up playing with Sting. His music is very varied, and he likes to mess around with different styles. It has always been important to me to be as unbiased as possible with music. I love all kinds, and I've tried to maintain that as a musician.

When I was at college in London, I studied classical guitar. I learned all the Bach, Sor, and Villa Lobos material. However, the classical guitar repertoire is not that big, and it's bloody difficult, too. And that is why I studied for just two years. To be a prominent classical guitarist, you have to practice six or eight hours a day. At that point, it loses its fun. I had been playing professionally, and the whole classical guitar thing just got to me after a while. It's too much work; I like to have fun. So I got into playing different styles, like jazz.

What other influences have crept into your playing?

I've always liked the stuff on the ECM label-the more esoteric, classical Brazilian music. I would also have to include John McLaughlin, as far as modern jazz goes. Harmonically, I think he’s a genius; he’s not just a great guitarist. What has always fascinated me about him is that both his playing and his writing are on an even keel. Typically, if one area is stronger than the other, a weakness is exposed. I’ve always tried to make my writing as strong as my playing, or vice versa. But it always upsets me when there is such a discrepancy between a player’s writing and his playing.

I would say that my funk influence is really felt in the tune Rush Hour. In the middle of it, however, it goes into an ECM kind of vibe. The South American tango influence is felt in the tune La Boca. I think the first tune, Eclipse, is heavily influenced from a harmonic standpoint by Egberto Gismonte - a modern Brazilian guitarist/composer/pianist. And to be fair, there are a lot of Sting influences, of course. But I don't think he would mind me saying that he has been influenced by me, as well. I've been playing with him for eight years, now, and his sound is part of my sound, and vice versa. It's only inevitable that if you work with someone that long, you will influence each other.

What specifically have you drawn from him, and what has he drawn from you?

I've drawn a sense of form from him, really. In my opinion, a lot of tunes on instrumental albums are too long. I try to treat my tunes as songs, so the actual form or shape has a lot to do with the arrangement. I've taken a lot from Sting, on that that. For example, I often ask myself, why go to a certain section? I've learned about lateral flow.

What do you mean by lateral flow?

Don't go to the obvious place; the rules are there to be broken. For instance, with La Boca, there is no real harmonic relationship between the intro and the verse. The first thing that came to my mind, however, was go for it. Sting has done that a lot in his music. He just goes for it. Have the courage to do something off the beaten path. As to what Sting has drawn from me, I think he’s gleaned a certain harmonic sense. I've co-written songs with him, like Shape of My Heart, so I'd like to think that he has drawn some harmonic influence from me, but I'm not going to delve into that too hard.

How do the two of you approach the co-writing process?

It's pretty casual; it's the same way anyone else does it. You start out with a riff, or a few ideas. With Shape of My Heart, for example, we started out with the intro like you hear it on the album. Sting started singing to it, and things started to take shape. You go through every permutation, and then you end up with a song, which can take anywhere from five minutes to five years to write. When I work with him, it usually goes quickly, because we both like to get results. And I'm really glad about that, because there are some people I work with who take too long. When that happens, I lose interest pretty quickly. It took me a month to record this album.

When writing, how do tunes begin for you?

It starts by jamming, really, and the first thing that happens is that two chords form a relationship. Usually the melodic ideas come vocally, so I'll start with a vocal idea and a couple of chords. My feeling is that a chord is nothing without the chord next to it - either before or after. It's like colours on a canvas. An amazing shade of purple is only going to look great in comparison to what is next to it. That's how I like to approach it. And as soon as I have an idea - it may only be one or two bars - and I know that it stimulates the soul or the heart, then I work on it. The process could take a long time, though, and that's where the craft is - the hard work. It's all very well to have a good idea, but you can't just keep repeating it over and over; people will get bored. It starts with a simple idea that is meaningful, then you build on top of that.

Timing is also important. I love the idea of not just having a four or eight block section of chords, but deviating from that. There's a tune on the album called Scan, where the chord sequence is seven bars long. The song is in 4/4, but the eighth bar is actually the first measure of another sequence. I'm really into compound rhythms; it's a lot of fun to play around with those.

To you, what are the key ingredients of a good song?

The melody is the most important thing. That is what warrants writing a tune in the first place. The other keyword that springs to mind is sincerity. There's no point in being a great instrumentalist if you're not really saying anything. I've made a few mistakes, but I'm trying my hardest. It's a matter of opening yourself up and making yourself vulnerable, both lyrically and musically. There's no way that I could say what makes a great tune harmonically, because that's a matter of opinion. I think the bottom line is getting a sense that the composer is telling the truth.

Lyrically, John Lennon was very good at that. When you listen to some of his songs, you really feel like he is letting you inside of his world. Sting is good at that, too. A song like Every Breath You Take, for example, is about jealousy; he's putting his heart on the line. And that's what I feel a good piece of music is. The composer needs to be putting his heart on the line, saying "Here I am."

How do you approach your accompaniments with regard to Sting's singing?

The main thing I do is close my eyes and imagine what I would like the guitar player to be doing. Then, I see if I can play it. Basically, we just mess around with a lot of different ideas. His role is to just let us do what we do: He doesn't have this dictatorial type of style; he likes to hear what we have to say with accompaniment, and then he edits what we do, saying, "Could you do a little more of this and a little less of that?" It's difficult to describe, because there is no set way that we do it. That's the rule of thumb with Sting; there is no set way of doing anything. As soon as a formula develops, he loses interest, and so do I. So really, you're talking about an artist who likes to bend things all the time. And that's how it is live, as well. The whole nature of the job is that every day is a new day. There's no job security around here; it's all about change.

What is the key to originality?

I've often wondered about that. I think it's really a matter of getting in touch with yourself and your influences. You can't be who you aren't, you have to be who you are. It's no good, for example, for me to try to play like Steve Vai. I could sit in my room for a few months and work on Steve Vai-isms, but it really wouldn't be me. As much as I respect his playing, it's not what I do. By the same token, Jeff Beck is my favourite living guitarist, but it wouldn't make any sense for me to do what he does, simply because he's already doing it. But you can always use those influences. To find your own voice, you really have to draw on all your influences, and that's what makes you unique. It's like your record collection; no two people have the same record collection. You just put it all in a big casserole, mix it up, and that's who you are.

What guitars do you play, both for recording, and on the road?

I'm always changing them. On the road, I use a P Project guitar that was built in the custom shop of a Japanese company called Fernandez Guitars. They're custom-made, solid-body, nylon-string instruments, very similar to Sadowsky's. My main electric is a 1961 Fender Stratocaster, which is just marvellous. I also use Les Pauls; I use everything. On the acoustic side, I have a Rodriguez, which is a very fine classical instrument. And I just bought a 1963 Martin D-18, which I'm very happy with. I've been trying to get into playing steel-string lately, as opposed to nylon-string, just for a change.

On the technique side of things, do you use a thumbpick, or just your nails?

My nails break all the time, so I use a mixture of nails and flesh. I think that gets the best tone, really. And my nails are very short, so I use more flesh than nail. On my thumb, I just use the flesh, no nail.

Is colouring the sound more difficult with an amplified nylon-string, as opposed to a standard classical, and how do you go about doing it?

No, it is really easy. This guitar has a great dynamic range. When playing melodies, I usually play toward the middle of the guitar, regarding my right hand, in order to get a warm sound.

How do you rise above creative and performance plateaus?

Everyone is different. You can never think that you've arrived, because the moment you do, you're going to encounter a big shock! I constantly have to create problems for myself, in order to rise above them. For example, let's say I'm on tour and felt like I've been doing great sets. A couple of nights down the road, however, I'll vary my performance, in order to keep from becoming stale.

As artists, we are there to change things, and we have to take the responsibility seriously. Even though you know what you're doing is good, you have to take chances. The result may not be as good as what you did before, but you have to keep things fresh, and move on and take a nomadic approach. I wouldn't recommend being a musician to anyone who isn't one. But if you are willing to put in a lot of hard work, it is very rewarding.

What do you find hopeful about today's guitar scene?

I think this is a really good time to be a guitarist, especially a young guitarist who wants to get into this industry. The guitar is back. It was in a slump during the eighties, with all the synth bands and makeup, but I feel strongly that the guitar is having a resurgence in a big, big way. A lot of kids now are wanting their parents to buy them guitars for Christmas, as opposed to a synthesiser, or a Yamaha keyboard. So my parting advice is to get yourself an acoustic guitar. You can get more sound out of that than you can any effects board. I love using effects, but I can get more sound from one acoustic than a whole rack of effects. Besides, playing acoustic also strengthens your fingers. As far as getting into the industry, don't say no to anything. A lot of the good fortune that I've had has come through the most incredible channels. You might meet someone out of a low-paying gig who will remember you ten years down the road, and say, "Would you like to join me on this next venture?" I'm very open with the work that I do; I'm a believer in opportunity. I don't believe in luck. I think that luck is something you create by taking advantage of opportunities. I've spent many years working for no money. But some of those people for whom I've worked for free have become very successful, and they have remembered my gratis gigs. One of the reasons there is so much substance abuse in this industry is because it is so stressful. However, it's a good thing we don't get tested the way athletes do, because if we did, there wouldn't be an industry. Put that in your pipe! [laughs].

The bottom line is, you can't refuse something that you think is below you, because in the end, it all links together. You have to be willing to make sacrifices, and just go for it.

© Fingerstyle Guitar magazine | October 1998

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