DEEP PURPLE's MORSE: I'm Relieved RITCHIE BLACKMORE Hasn't Said Anything Harsh About Me

Joe Bosso of MusicRadar.com recently conducted an interview with DEEP PURPLE guitarist Steve Morse. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

MusicRadar.com: You're now the longest-serving guitarist in DEEP PURPLE history. Did you go into it thinking it would be a career gig? Also, did you have any trepidation stepping into the shoes of Ritchie Blackmore?

Morse: "I have been through something like this before when I replaced Kerry Livgren in KANSAS, so I was sort of prepared for what the experience would entail. You go in knowing that a certain percentage of fans will just hate it, no matter how well you play or what you do. A lot of fans like a band only one way; another guy comes in, they don't like it. It doesn't matter who it is, what songs they write, or even if they're better than the guy that came before some fans will just fold their arms and go, 'I don't like it.' I understand that. Still, when I joined DEEP PURPLE, it was a chance for me to really bring something to the table. As a fan of the band, I felt as though they needed something. They did the organ and the keyboards thing really well, but with the guitar stuff, a lot of which was blues based and I realize that's their meat and potatoes I felt like there needed some stepping up, a different kind of attitude. 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 with 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!'"

MusicRadar.com: Tell me something, have you ever had any contact with Ritchie Blackmore? Has he commented on your playing?

Morse: "I've had no contact with him, but he has made some comments which I thought were remarkablyrestrained. He's certainly had perfect opportunities to say whatever he wants, negative or otherwise. I realize I could be one giant target for him. And not just Ritchie, but for many, many fans out there. There's still lots of people who want the band to be the original guys. I understand all of that. But I'm really relieved that he hasn't said anything harsh about me. The most he ever said, and I'm paraphrasing, is something like, 'This guy plays very well and does a lot of different things. I'm not sure if he's right for DEEP PURPLE' He said something to that effect. But you know, how can anybody replace Ritchie Blackmore in DEEP PURPLE? You can't. All you can do is come in, do what you do and change the band here and there. You can't be a cloneand you're shouldn't. What Ritchie did has been done. I do what I do. There you go!"

Read the entire interview from MusicRadar.com.