Guitar hero: Justin Derrico has been Pink's guitarist for the last few of her tours. Picture: Nicole Cleary Source: National Features
IF you've seen Pink live - and her record-breaking Australian ticket sales suggest you probably have - you'll have seen Justin Derrico in action.
Derrico has been Pink's guitarist for her past few world tours.
"She lets me shred," he says. "It's really refreshing. A lot of people either want you to play exactly what's on the record or have some lame idea, she just says, 'Just be you'.
"She knows what she wants but she's not afraid to listen to other people's ideas."
His boss - who has put her day job on hold while she enjoys motherhood - has even been tweeting her support of his solo career.
As well as a solo album, Boldly Going Nowhere, he's touring Australia, a place where Derrico has spent a lot of time.
"I love her to death," he says of Pink. "And Australia's like a second home for me. It's more of a vacation than a tour."
Boldly is a rarity in 2011 - an instrumental album with the guitar as the main star.
"A lot of instrumental guitar records are full of blazing, blazing amazing guitar playing," Derrico says. "I tried to approach it in a more melodic way, almost with pop arrangements - a verse and a chorus. The guitar is more like a vocal. But there's also a million blazing notes, that's just for me, it's fun for me."
The album contains not only his diverse originals, there's a cover of Phil Collins' In the Air Tonight using the talk box - best known from Bon Jovi's Livin' on a Prayer.
"It works well live, plus that song has the greatest drum fill in the world," Derrico says.
Derrico's session work this year has seen him recording covers with Puddle of Mudd and joining the house band of US TV hit The Voice as guitarist, playing everything from banjo to mandolin: "It made me a better musician."
The show - which had more than 10 million viewers, selects contestants by listening to their voices rather than looking at them.
"It's a great spin on a vocal competition," Derrico says. "People get so caught up in how old you are and how you look. Talent's not prejudiced. People who are talented should have the same chance as someone talented and beautiful."
While down under he will do some guitar clinics ("It's fun to pass the torch a little bit, help the world have greater guitar players") as well as playing pubs. "It'll be good to be up close to people," the guitarist says. "They can buy me a beer."
As well as his originals, guest vocalists on the tour will include Michael Paynter doing Voice judge Cee-Lo's Forget You in a "Tommy Emmanuel style - Tommy's the king".
But don't expect any Pink covers.
"That might be a bit cheeky. I don't want to ruin her songs, they're great," he says.
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WATCH The Voice, Go, Tuesdays, 7.30pm
HEAR Boldly Going Nowhere is out on iTunes.
SEE Justin Derrico, Bended Elbow, Geelong, August 19. $34.70. Oztix. Esplanade Hotel, August 20. $35.10. Oztix.
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