The interview touches on many subjects, from early days with the Dregs, Deep Purple, playing technique adn future plans.
One of the highlights from the interview I liked most is talking about the time when he met with Deep Purple's management and band members for the first time back in 1994. Steve Morse admitted that he had some trepidation:
"Actually, I did have some trepidation. They asked me to join the band, but I'd never even seen them play live. They played all over the world, but they didn't play a lot in America. I didn't know what they'd be like, whether they were a band just living of their name and not into new ideas – all those things. So my manager, Frank Solomon, set it up Deep Purple's manager that I would play four shows with the band. That way, it was an easy get-out-of-jail arrangement on both sides if we were unhappy."
"I didn't know what to expect, but during my first rehearsal with the band, which was only a couple of hours before we were supposed to do a gig, I was blown away by how great they were. I think we were all surprised at how good things sounded and how easy the chemistry was. Within an hour, we were laughing and slapping one another on the backs going, 'All right, this is gonna work!'"
Steve Morse also talk about his guitar playing technique live and while recording albums in studio, whether recording with Deep Purple or for his solo projects. There is a video giving a demonstration of his signature guitar, with some shredding and soloing that leave you speechless.
No one can beat this man's guitar technique - John Petrucci of Dream Theater himself consider Steve Morse as his idol.
I think he got used to that, but it looks like inevitable in an interview with Steve Morse without seeing/hearing/reading about the subject of comparing him with Ritchie Blackmore. This interview is no exception.
One of his responses to the question about his approach:
"In truth, my attitude about my guitar was more based around what the band wanted, and what they said to me flat-out was, 'Don't copy Ritchie.' They told me that right off. They could've picked from plenty of people who wanted to be just like Ritchie Blackmore in Deep Purple. That's not what they wanted. They wanted somebody with his own persona – and not only that, but a strong persona.
"If I would play a Strat,
everything would go right out the window and I'd be entering into that
land of parody and emulating Ritchie Blackmore. I respect him totally,
but I don't want to be him in a Deep Purple cover band."
I personally hate this non-sense comparison. Steve Morse is the longest-serving guitarist in the history of Deep Purple. He co-wrote with them fantastic albums, such as Purpendicular and Bananas. I have seen him playing live with Deep Purple three times, and if I have the opportunity again I will definitely go. His presence and charisma on stage is nothing to compare with the that of Blackmore. This is a fact.
Speaking of playing DP songs live, "Highway Star" is Steve Morse's favorite Deep Purple song to play on stage, because it has a lot of changing parts...
"Plus, it has that awesome keyboard solo, which is an absolute work of art. If you were to say to me, 'Name me one of the greatest examples of classical meets rock music,' I wouldn't have to think too hard. And the guitar solo is a lot of fun to play."
In the interview he also explains how to play Smoke on the Water. Check it out below:
Steve Morse talks briefly about Deep Purple's progress regarding the recording of their new album - the last studio album by the band was "Rapture of the Deep", released in 2005.
"We've got the music pretty mapped out for the majority of the recording. The goal on this album isn't to stretch out to new heights; it's more about revisiting the roots – riff-oriented blues rock. Heavy stuff, you know?"
The full interview can be found here
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