Roncesvalles Village's Derek Miller brings home his second Juno Award
It was tough to tell if Miller was indeed going to play a couple of rounds with the country crooner or if he was simply pulling someone's leg. Whether he was going to hit the green or not, he was in New York at JFK Airport April 15 on a three-hour layover enroute to Texas.
"My cousin just got here and he's already bored," Miller said laughing.
He was putting in time doing media interviews.
Miller recently took home the Juno Award for Best Original Recording of the Year for his release The Dirty Looks at the Juno Gala Dinner and Awards in Calgary earlier this month.
"You're always surprised when you hear your name," said Miller who's a two-time Juno award winner. "You can never say something's going to happen until your head's in the pudding."
While surprised, Miller admitted it was nice to be recognized.
"I put a lot of passion into it," he said of the The Dirty Looks.
Miller has been a musician for two decades now - "I'm an overnight success," he said laughing. "Music is what I do. I should be good at it by now."
Miller still writes songs on the warped neck Fender guitar his mom fished out of his grandfather's closet when he was 13. �Born on the Six Nations of the Grand River in Mohawk Territory of Ontario, by the age of 25 Miller had not only toured with iconic Canadian vocalist Buffy Sainte-Marie, but had also won a Canadian Aboriginal Music Award. In 2000 he performed on and co-produced Keith Secola and The Wild Band of Indians' album Fingermonkey. Two years later, he released his debut album, Music Is the Medicine, which garnered a Juno Award, a Native American Music Award (Blues/Jazz Single of the Year) and a NCI-FM Best Album of the Year among others.
Following his debut, he toured extensively. The pressure had gotten to him by 2005 and Miller found himself not just exhausted, but struggling with drug and alcohol addiction. Since entering rehab, he's been more focused than ever on his music.
He was recently in the United States recording his next CD, which included work in the studio with Nelson. He's also had a film crew following his every move since January. It's for a documentary about his life and his music.
He'll be releasing a live DVD in September as well.
