Watch: STEVE MORSE BAND Joined By REB BEACH During Pennsylvania Concert
May 29, 2023WINGER and WHITESNAKE guitarist Reb Beach joined STEVE MORSE BAND on stage on May 26 at The Oaks Theater in Oakmont, Pennsylvania to perform the CREAM classic "Crossroads", originally recorded by blues legend Robert Johnson in 1936 as "Cross Road Blues". Fan-filmed video of Beach's appearance can be seen below (courtesy of ChiefBridgeFuser, Rick Robshaw and jmh2112 YouTube channels).
Earlier today (Monday, May 29),Beach shared video of the performance and tweeted: "It was such a huge honor to jam with my childhood hero, @SteveMorse . He is such an extraordinary person. He is incredibly kind and humble for being a musical genius. Like Jeff Beck, he is one of the great guitarists of our time, and a mind blowing song writer. It was a night I will definitely never forget. Thank you so much for letting me play with you, Steve."
Joining Morse in the STEVE MORSE BAND are Dave LaRue, also of FLYING COLORS and THE DIXIE DREGS, as well as Van Romaine, one of the most in-demand percussionists throughout his extensive career playing live and recording with legendary names like BLOOD, SWEAT & TEARS, Billy Joel, NAUGHTY BY NATURE and many more.
Last July, Morse officially left DEEP PURPLE to care for his wife, Janine, who was battling cancer. He was replaced by Simon McBride.
Morse's announcement came four months after the guitarist said that he would be taking a hiatus from the band, in the hope of rejoining his bandmates once his wife's health improved.
Morse effectively took over Ritchie Blackmore's DEEP PURPLE slot in 1994 and had been in the group longer than Ritchie.
Steve Morse spoke to the Beaver County Times about his decision to reform his STEVE MORSE BAND for a series of live appearances in April and May.
"I quit PURPLE because the tours were too long and we had a health emergency in my family with my wife having Stage 4 cancer," Morse said. "I told those guys 'I can't do this' and they were upset for like three to four seconds and then moved on. That's life, I and I wish them well and they're doing great."
Referencing STEVE MORSE BAND, he said: "I had always been told that we couldn't do weekends only. That it just wouldn't be possible to pay everybody and not be paying out of pocket to play. However, when we did the math with three people, it was possible in many cases to make it work. And the reason for the short length is so I can be home 90 percent of the time and possibly drag my wife with me, and line up all the medical appointments and everything. The idea was to make it possible so I could play some shows and not feel like I'm shortchanging what I could really help with by being home. It has made a huge difference in being a medical advocate through all the crazy stuff that's happened, and the surgeries and complications. There's so much to do with that."
Videos courtesy of ChiefBridgeFuser, Rick Robshaw and jmh2112 YouTube channels
musical genius. Like Jeff Beck, he is one of the great guitarists of our time, and a mind blowing song writer. It was a night I will definitely never forget. Thank you so much for letting me play with you, Steve.
— Reb Beach (@RealRebBeach) May 29, 2023
Can’t wait to head to Pennsylvania with the Steve Morse Band, performing live on May 26th at The Oaks Theater in Oakmont, PA. Get your tickets now at Eventbrite.com, and we’ll see you there!
Posted by Steve Morse on Wednesday, April 12, 2023
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