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DevilGotMyWoman
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Re: The Interviews Serie 1990 - 1998
That is one of the greatest Deep Purple related pictures I have ever seen. Hah! Where can I buy that t-shirt? 
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11/4/2007, 21:37
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Al Erikson
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Re: The Interviews Serie 1990 - 1998
Interview #7 (part 1)
March 1996 (interview with Steve Morse). Just after the release of Purpendicular.
Int: (After you quit playing in 1987 for civil aviation,) we were expecting everything except to find you joining Deep Purple!
SM: First of all, I chose to play with them because they asked me, but let me tell how it happened. My manager calls me one day and just asks me what I think of Deep Purple, no more than that. If I had spit on the band, they wouldn’t have gone further. To the contrary, I told my manager all the good things I felt for Deep Purple: they were part of my influences and of my musical culture. Then he told me the news: that legendary band was looking for a guitarist and wanted to meet me. I didn’t know what to answer. Well, of course the proposal sounded nice, but I didn’t want to go without any insurance. So, we first started by looking at each other during a quick tour in Mexico. I wanted to see if I could make myself comfortable in the band and they wanted to be sure I would fit the band. Within two days, everybody was clear about it. We had a deal. We then followed with live shows during a busy tour, visiting South Africa, India, Korea and learning to know each other while composing the new album’s tracks. Alchemy is a rare thing which you can’t really work out. It appears like this, and can’t be expected. Very quickly, everything worked out quite well between us and we were soon able to do a good team job. The first thing I discovered with those guys was how good musicians they were and how easy it was to improvise with them.
Int.: I guess you wanted to secure a certain degree of freedom of movement in that band before accepting to join them…
SM: My question was to know if they really wanted me in, or if they were only looking for a replacement. When we started composing, I realized how strong they wanted me and I felt useful. I wouldn’t have played only on classic Purple stuff or pretending being Ritchie Blackmore on tour. I would have been the wrong guy for that.
Int.: Moreover, the flashing appearance of Joe Satriani was not really reassuring…
SM: But I still think Joe was a good choice. He was maybe the best one to take over after Ritchie. He’s a great solist.
Int.: …Yes, but a solitaire too, with no experience of being in a band!
SM: Well, that’s true that when it comes to being in a band, I know what I’m talkin’ about! Ah Ah! I can say that Joe has done a great job with Deep Purple. I know it because I’ve been working a lot on the basis of tapes recorded during the tour with him. Sorry, Joe, I got bootlegs! But I must say he plays wonderful.
Int.: Your integration in the band is so good that the new album sounds like old Deep Purple. You play harmonies with the organ like at the good old time!
SM: That’s exactly what I was looking for and I made it clear to the others. I thought it was important to get back to the sound and the spirit of Machine Head. Take for instance “A Castle full of Rascals”: this is very Purple-like, or “Cascades”, with those very quick and chromatic phrases played by the guitar and the organ, lightly distorted. This is typically Purple! That sounds like their classic stuff. I got in the usual Purple fan’s shoes who would come and see the band in concert. What would he like to hear? Heavy, bold rock, like Machine Head’s but slightly evolved. After all, (MkVII) is just the same line-up as (MkII), one single member excepted… See, let’s take another riff like “Hey Cisco”. This is more shuffle than I usually play. Ian Paice is an extraordinary drummer. He plays with much swing like the great drummers in the 50’s/60’s who had a peculiar touch. This is quite appreciable for a heavy rock drummer. It gives another kind of pulse. That’s why shuffles are allowed with Deep Purple. Ian must have a jazzman background!
Int.: You prefer that to a big fat drumming sound?
SM: He can do both. That’s what’s interesting. It makes it easier to play together, all rhythms are possible and we didn’t refrain from exploring them. Most of the songs on the album (Purpendicular) come from jams between me and Ian. The guys were coming one by one in the studio during the rehearsals and started to play with us. They seemed to like our impros.
Int.: For the old songs, did you stick to the albums or did you try to create your own sound?
SM: I already knew almost all the songs. If you take “Woman from Tokyo” for instance, I asked them a favour for that song, because I really wanted to play the middle section’s rhythmic: those arpeggios are very beautiful, very melodic. It’s my favourite part. I play the song almost like the original version, note for note. Same for “Highway Star”: I play Ritchie’s part the same way as his: that speed crescendo part during the solo.
Int.: Is it not a little bit old fashioned?
SM: Oh no, it’s pure rock guitar in its most classical aspects. Even for the solos, it is quite exciting. At he beginning, people at the first row may seem surprised and deceived: they are faced with a new guitarist “Where’s Ritchie, guys? Where’s Ritchie?”. Those guys have obviously come to see Ritchie playing his style. And, eventually, I think they leave happy after they understand that I myself am a Deep Purple fan. You have to face it: Ritchie’s left and the band needs a new guitarist. Therefore, I enjoy playing his style while there are songs in the set I can play my own way.
Last edited by Al Erikson, 17/5/2007, 16:50
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"You and me Baby
Are nothing but mammals
So let's do what they do
On the Discovery channel"
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17/5/2007, 16:48
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Al Erikson
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Re: The Interviews Serie 1990 - 1998
Interview #7 (part 2)
Int.: Did you speak with Ritchie about the way to handle the Purple sound?
SM: No. Unfortunately, I’ve never met him. The only time I’ve crossed his path was when we opened for a Rainbow show.
Int.: Purple was not your only influence, far from that…
SM: I had a crush on Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton. I would put Page at the top because he had the most impressive riffs collection. This was great stuff for a young guitarist like me who wanted to learn fast. But of course, I also knew who played “Smoke on the Water”…!
Int.: Progressive music provided you with a lot of inspiration. The guitarist of Yes, Steve Howe, notably…
SM: Definitely. He had a great influence on me. He was the first guitarist I discovered, being able to play electric and acoustic. Do you remember that? (Steve plays the intro of "Roundabout", just before the main theme). Just that part: that really amazed me!
Int.: That’s not all: you cover "Mood for a Day" on Tales from Yesterday, a tribute to Yes on the Magna Carta label…
SM: No only that. I play "The Clap" as well. God! that’s tough! “The Clap” is awfully difficult to play. We worked a little bit with Steve on a Dreggs’ track (“Up in the Air”) with two classical guitars. He first recorded his part in England before sending me the tapes. Then I saw him once again, with Asia. We were touring together.
Int.: You too, you impress very much with your instrumental technique. Many envy your all styles capacities: at the same time, you’re a good picker, you can play country, blues, rock, classical, so good that some are afraid to play with you!
SM: Well, I don’t know if I can play everything. But guitar playing is not that difficult. In any style, you only have a 12 notes range. And when it comes to picking, this is how I started to play.
Int.: The same 12 notes, ok, but each playing technique is different!
SM: You speak both French and English. How do you do that? Those are two different languages and eventually, you realize that some words are similar, some structures are the same and you start using that basis. No, that’s not that tough. In music, it’s always the same.
Int.: Let’s come back on this turning point in your career. You had almost left everything behind to become a pilot, your second passion. What was your motivation for that?
SM: To like music is one thing, doing business with it is something else. I got bored by he music business, I had no pleasure anymore in playing. I loved touring with Kansas, I was their fan even before meeting them. Really, I loved their sharp feeling in composing and their music was quite interesting. I didn’t realize at that time how hard it was to deal with records companies who want to have everything under their control. I was not prepared to that and I had no intention to compromise with that. That’s why I left right after the tour. Again, I liked the band, but I couldn’t stand those business people who felt entitled to have an opinion on everything, to the point that they diverted us from playing the best songs and telling us what to play. In other words, they wanted to have their hands on everything without being able to do so. We had a joke in the US: What happens to a guy who failed with his music graduation? He ends up as an artistic director! I didn’t feel right there, so I left. I cut my hair and I got hired by an airline company. It’s hard to find a job as pilot in the States: you have to hang on. After six months, I told myself “Steve, buddy, if you spend so much energy to get back into music business, you’ll achieve great things!”. So I quit.
Int.: Which company was it?
SM: I’m not allowed to mention it: that would cause me problems. I reformed my band and everything went back into order. That’s why, when Deep Purple’s offer came out, I immediately tried to know if I’d feel right in that band. I wouldn’t have lived the same experience. The guys were fantastic from the very beginning.
Int.: Did you keep on playing guitar while being a pilot?
SM: I had one hour an half on the road each day to get to the Atlanta airport. A friend from Nashville had bought me a mini-replica of my Frankenstein Telecaster, so that I could play in the car while driving my Volkswagen at the same time. Don’t be afraid: highways in the US are quite linear and you can drive safely. I still do that today when going to the airport for a long trip. For shorter distances, I take my own aircraft.
Int.: And how do you work when you take your guitar?
SM: I have to work everyday. I play whatever comes to my mind by privileging working with the mediator. If I play in the evening, I only spend one hour practising with simple exercises. The day I don’t have any show, I play tougher exercises trying to explore and jamming around. Those exercises become rhythm sequences. I imagine a drum groove and I improvise. It’s the best way to combine technical and artistic approaches.
Last edited by Al Erikson, 17/5/2007, 16:57
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"You and me Baby
Are nothing but mammals
So let's do what they do
On the Discovery channel"
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17/5/2007, 16:49
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Al Erikson
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Re: The Interviews Serie 1990 - 1998
Interview #7 (part 3)
Int.: Which gear do you use today?
SM: I play on Music Man with my signature. (Steve looks at one of the guitars he’s just picked up at Music Man). Oh! A Floyd Rose! They installed it on recent models. I would have preferred to have it for the album sessions. I think that’s how Ritchie recorded at the time. But it’s true it has been so often heard that it becomes boring. However, on some Purple songs, it would really help. As for my amplification system, I’m not sure I would use the same set up everywhere, but at the beginning of the tour, I had two Peavey heads, one 5150 and one VTM 120 with lamps and Engl surrounds, equipped with HP Scorpions Peavey which provide a very clear sound which I can’t find with any other HP. Each note sounds distinctly, even with the gain. I have an effectless circuit with the two surrounds, then the signal goes into the Lexicon and two Digitech delayers. The whole thing goes through my Ernie Ball volume pedal and exits by the lampshead. When I play, I got the natural, right sound and I just have to push on the pedal to send effects with a more or less long delay through the second circuit. The only problem is that I can’t set the length of the delay unless I lean over my pedal. I don’t have any preset, but I’m ok with that. I can handle it. Well, basically, that’s the gear I used for the album and I think the sound blends quite well with the organ.
Int.: Would you say that shredders are the lazy kind of guitarists, showing off with nothing in the head?
SM: I’d say that managing the technique can never be a bad thing. It’s like having a complete toolbox which will allow you to do a good work. The reason why people like shredders is that they have a very impressive way of playing and are able to do magicians’ tricks. If you play with conviction, it is already great, whatever flashy tricks you can use. Of course, as a musician, I’d like to enjoy as much colours as I can get on my palette. The more colours you get, the more colourful gets your painting. Speed has nothing to do in the final result. If the guitarist’s playing is boring, now that’s a problem…
Int.: What do you think of those new alternative guitarists who do not seem to have much technique?
SM: If they come with a new sound, why not? In that case, I might like them. If you play out of tune just to hide your lack of technique, that’s something I don’t like. There are lots of new songs that I like: the riffs are quite rough, very interesting. That’s pure rock, Man! If the composition is ok, then it might sounds good. Others try to sound out of tune but it doesn’t work. I’m a big fan of Alice in Chain and I liked Kurt Cobain’s playing: he had very interesting chords progressions.
Last edited by Al Erikson, 17/5/2007, 20:39
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"You and me Baby
Are nothing but mammals
So let's do what they do
On the Discovery channel"
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17/5/2007, 16:50
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Erich Estrada
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Re: The Interviews Serie 1990 - 1998
thanks Al for all those interviews. 
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"I'm a Holy Man, so don't you bother me !"
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17/5/2007, 19:07
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boogaloo
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Re: The Interviews Serie 1990 - 1998
odd that Ritchie says he used a Les Paul before strat - it was an ES335...
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thinking out of line just to make the sun shine
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21/5/2007, 8:23
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Al Erikson
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Re: The Interviews Serie 1990 - 1998
quote:
boogaloo wrote:
odd that Ritchie says he used a Les Paul before strat - it was an ES335...
I checked out the article and I confirm what is written here. Don't believe everything in the newspaper anyway.
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"You and me Baby
Are nothing but mammals
So let's do what they do
On the Discovery channel"
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21/5/2007, 10:51
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