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DARK SECRETS: Steve morse - The Real Truth

Deep Purple are in their seventh decade. They've sold 120 million albums. And they still have things to say. "There was no joy, no happiness on stage. I don't blame any one person for it, but Ithink we know who we're talking about"

With a combined age of 361 and a ‘f***-off’ attitude to chasing trends, Deep Purple went all-in on Splat!, their 24th studio album

Louder

Albert Lee reveals the guitar technique Eddie Van Halen was reluctant to try: “He said, ‘I can’t play on that!’ I said, ‘Yes, you can – you can do all that tapping!’”

Lee looks back on his days in one of guitar’s all-time greatest secret supergroups

Guitar World

“Bob Ezrin was recording and I changed to a different guitar. Within five seconds, he stopped the tape and said, ‘There’s something wrong…’” Simon McBride on Deep Purple’s new golden age of heavy

The band's fleet-fingered, PRS-toting guitar-slinger tells GW how the rock legends nailed their ‘70s sound in the 21st century on their new album, and the pedal people would be surprised to hear is on his 'board...

Guitar World

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“His death was an incredible loss, not only for the band but for guitar fans as well”: Every Deep Purple guitarist, from Blackmore to McBride

The British rock pioneers have survived almost continuously since 1968, partly because of their ability to choose the right players to stand in Ritchie Blackmore’s place

Guitar World

“The biggest mindset shift is that guitarists should think of themselves as athletes”: As arthritis creeps into the hands of aging guitar heroes, what can we do to prolong our peak playing days?

Joint disorder doesn’t mean a divorce from your beloved guitars – but you need to focus on prevention, not cure

Guitar World

“I can hear a lot of Ritchie Blackmore fans crying out, ‘No! He’s using digital stuff!’” Simon McBride is ditching stacks for modelers and transforming Deep Purple’s sound

But his reason for the switch isn’t what you might think

Guitar World

“I said, ‘It’s everything I need. Can I borrow it to do my demo?’ They went, ‘Let me ask Ern’”: Steve Morse on how a gear nightmare lead him to Ernie Ball – and the signature guitar of his dreams

Morse has become one of Ernie Ball’s most loyal and high-profile endorsers – and it all started with a broken volume pedal

Guitar World

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“It was like, ‘Here’s what we need.’ They said, ‘But you have to use Fender parts.’ I said, ‘Alright, I’ll see you guys later’”: Steve Morse on why his ill-fated Fender signature guitar never got off the ground

Before partnering with Ernie Ball Music Man for his now-iconic signature, Morse was courted by Fender – but the project didn’t get far

Guitar World

"What began to change us was success. When your dream comes true, where do you go from there?” Kansas: an everyday story of success, failure, religion, drugs, booze and jealousy

The story of Kansas is just your average tale of power struggles, line-up changes, religious conversions and multi-million selling hit records

Louder

Big jumps for a bigger sound: Steve Morse’s masterclass on wide intervals

Deep-dive your technique for powerful intervals with six string-jumping, fretboard-stretching examples from one of the world's most influential super-pickers

Guitar World

“He said, ‘It’s not going to happen.’ He gave me that tough-guy New York thing. I said, ‘How about something that is going to happen?’ It was career suicide, but it felt really good”: How Steve Morse took on a media mogul and got away with it

Guitarist worried about asking friends John Petrucci and Eric Johnson to guest on his new album – but decades ago he had no hesitation in confronting industry giant Clive Davis to get what he wanted

Louder

“The jazz people were laughing when they saw me at the audition with my Telecaster”: Steve Morse says the music school jazz snobs were not impressed by his choice of guitar

After flunking the audition simply because of his guitar choice, Morse could have turned deep purple with rage – but it was the making of him

Guitar World

“The school would kick everybody out with hair that touched their ears. Someone on the board found out we were wearing short-haired wigs!” Steve Morse endured educational woes, dodgy gear and jazz snobbery, but knew he could make it as a guitarist

The ex Deep Purple member recalls how he got started in music, and beginning to write Kansas-style songs – long before he accidentally joined them

Louder

“There’s a couple guys in the band that were really glad for me to be gone”: Steve Morse opens up on his departure from Deep Purple – and why it was time for him to go

Morse left the band in 2022 to care for his late wife, who was battling cancer

Guitar World

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MusicRadar

“Nobody can play better than that guy, man!”: In a new in-depth interview, guitar virtuoso Steve Morse discusses the supernatural powers of John Petrucci, Eric Johnson, Angel Vivaldi and Deep Purple legends Jon Lord and Ritchie Blackmore

His new Steve Morse Band album Triangulation is an audacious work of instrumental rock

Guitar World

“When I played the Purple songs and took it out, some of them – a certain percentage of them – just hated me”: Steve Morse on the challenges of putting his own stamp on Deep Purple’s material

Ritchie Blackmore's legacy loomed large when Morse first stepped up to fill his shoes

MusicRadar

“I was always pushing him to go back to playing the organ through an amp for some solos… y’know, the sound that he had in the Machine Head days”: Steve Morse on why he loved writing with Jon Lord and the Deep Purple track that started with a cup of tea

Steve Morse on how a noodle during one of Deep Purple's many tea breaks ended up on the album, and the mixed reception from Ritchie Blackmore fans when he'd improvise onstage

Louder

The story of Porcupine Tree's Deadwing is on the cover of the new gift-packed issue of Prog, which is on sale now

Prog 165 also features Peter Hammill, John Lodge, Cardiacs, Gazpacho, Steve Morse, Solstice, Atomic Rooster, Crown Lands, The Utopia Strong, Barry Palmer, Cate Le Bon, Amorphis and loads more...

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Guitar World

“I’ll just grab ahold of the G string, pinch it and then bend it way up. You’re doing it to get a laugh out of the guys”: Big Wreck’s Ian Thornley on channeling Eric Johnson and Steve Morse – and why he’s called a guitar the “Jungle Gym”

Cutting lose on his Suhr electrics, Ian Thornley is officially enjoying himself on the Canadian rockers latest LP, The Rest of the Story. He discusses his intro to metal, pinch harmonics, and wrestling with producers

Louder

Building the Beast: Iron Maiden's Steve Harris and Bruce Dickinson on battles, breakthroughs and the birth of a legend – only in the new issue of Classic Rock

Also in this issue: Ace Frehley, Ian Gillan, Judas Priest, Wolfgang Van Halen, Whiskey Myers, The Cramps, Stephen Dale Petit, Massive Wagons, Solstice, Steve Morse and more

MusicRadar

“Yes, I know, I have no respect for an instrument. To me, it’s a piece of wood until you make it into a useful tool”: Steve Morse on the time he took power tools to his guitar so he could play a Deep Purple show with a broken wrist

Upper-fret access, the DIY way... Do not try this at home. But as the former Deep Purple guitarist explains, you can't stand on ceremony when you need your guitar to play how you want it to

Guitar World

“I think my time of doing the performance grind is closing. That window is closing”: Steve Morse opens up on the constant struggle of playing with arthritis

Morse is doing everything in his power to prolong his gigging days – including changing his technique on a nightly basis

MusicRadar

“When I wake up, am I going to be able move my hand or not? I don’t know”: Steve Morse reveals how he is playing through the pain barrier – and how arthritis is forcing him to change the way he plays guitar

Morse says you really have to want to play when you have arthritis, but the good news is that he does, and he's determined to make it work – “It’s broke, but I’m gonna find a way”

Guitar World

“Jimmy Page would be nice to have on there”: Dweezil Zappa has already tapped Eddie Van Halen, Brian May and Yngwie Malmsteen for his ambitious instrumental project – but wants to recruit a few more guitar greats before it’s finished

Albert Lee, Steve Morse and Steve Vai have also recorded for What The Hell Was I Thinking?, which Zappa began work on back in 1989

Guitar World

“It’s the simple stuff that’ll kill you – especially when everyone’s recording it on their cell to put on YouTube”: How Phil X warms up to nail Bon Jovi's biggest songs on stage

As Bon Jovi’s lead guitarist, Phil X knows that, in the age of social media, every anthemic solo has to be perfect

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