Sideman to the stars Dominic Miller has had his fair share of tours with Sting – who initially recruited him as part of his band for 1991’s The Soul Cages.
However, the guitarist ended up staying by his side ever since, contributing his guitar chops to many of Sting’s album and co-writing the classic Shape of My Heart from 1993’s Ten Summoner's Tales. Now, 34 years on, what would someone who has explored the nitty-gritty of he Police’s repertoire say is their hardest song to play?
“Synchronicity II,” reveals Miller in an interview with Ultimate Guitar. “It’s always important to get the right energy on that one. It’s not about the riff. There’s no riff that I find challenging in The Police. Everything is playable. There’s nothing that I find challenging.
“But just, it’s all a question of energy, finding the right energy. And Synchronicity II is a sweet spot that we’re looking for. And that’s quite challenging to find it sometimes, but when we do, it's great.”
Energy aside, are there any Police songs that prove tricky to recreate without the original lineup?
Miller responds, “No, I don’t think so. Because, first of all, I think they’re really good guitar parts. I highly respect Andy Summers, and I don’t want to mess with what he’s actually done with the Police. So, I’m trying to play what he’s playing, but I want to have fun with it. So I’m not going to stick completely to his script.”
Miller goes on to say that the main concern for him is to nail “the main riff and then let me improvise. Because we do improvise a lot, even on Police songs.” However, despite the fact improvisation is key to Sting’s solo band, “it’s all very structured.” And of course, you can’t have a Police song without the main riff...
“The important riffs, I’m always going to play. I don’t want to mess with them, because I can’t come up with better material than that.”
A couple of weeks ago, Sting took the stage for a three-song set at the FireAid benefit concert – the mega fundraising event organized to support relief efforts for the victims of the Los Angeles wildfires.
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