STEVE MORSE PROVIDES UPDATES ON DEEP PURPLE AND ROCK ’N’ ROLL FANTASY CAMP
GuitarWorld.com
Posted 03/01/2017 by James Wood , photo by Courtesy of Rock ‘N’ Roll Fantasy Camp
Rock ‘N’ Roll Fantasy Camp—which is now in its 21st year—gives musicians the chance to hang with and learn from some of the most respected talents in rock.
Sure, attendees can interact, jam with and be mentored by legendary players, but the camp also allows them to write, rehearse and record in a professional environment, all of which culminates in a once-in-a-lifetime live performance.
One of this year’s camps—which runs March 2–5 in Hollywood—features Steve Morse, Glenn Hughes and Ian Paice, all of whom are or have been members of Deep Purple.
I recently spoke to Morse about this week’s Rock ‘N’ Roll Fantasy Camp and got an update on Deep Purple. Check out the interview below.
What do you enjoy most about doing these camps?
One thing I do have is a lot of experience, so I guess it would have to be to legitimately be able to answer any questions and to pass along tips. Back when I was trying to learn stuff, it was usually done by listening to records through a bad speaker in the basement of my house and trying to guess.
There were so many question marks about everything, and my brother and I would always wonder what it would be like to be a professional musician. Then when Led Zeppelin came to town right before their first album came out, we’d try to imagine how all of this worked: How many business people are involved? Who does what? Is it possible to make a living doing this? They were all legitimate questions. For people feeling that same way now, I can bring my knowledge to them. It’s a really cool idea.
Simply put, what’s the camp like? What kind of experience is it?
It’s a real team effort with several different projects. There are a bunch of professional players who come in, and we organize and concentrate on a tune and play together. When I did the last one, there was also a Q&A session and performance interaction with everyone. At the end, all of us did a big jam concert.
What can you tell me about the new Deep Purple album, Infinite?
Well, I can tell you is that it’s the same producer [Bob Ezrin] and studio that we did the Now What?! album, which did very well for us. We had an abundance of material and Bob gave us a lot of latitude. He was a great influence and had a vision of what he wanted the band to sound like.
In sort of an homage to the great lineups of the Seventies, the band is gearing up for a tour with Alice Cooper and Edgar Winter.
Yes, and I’m very excited. Alice always has great musicians in his band and I’m also friends with Doug Rappoport, Edgar Winter’s guitarist. He’s another very good player.