Steve Morse left Deep Purple in 2022 and has continued his career with Dixie Dregs since then. The guitarist recently reflected on his experience with both bands in an Ultimate Guitar chat:
“With Purple, we did thousands of gigs. So, there’s no more real challenges to, ‘Wow. Am I going to get this part? Am I going to remember that this sound changes before this part? Am I going to be able to make that switch and then change from seventh position to thirteenth position in one-sixteenth note?’ There was none of that. It was just, ‘Just relax and have a good time. It’s a fun, exciting time.’”
He continued:
“Now, with the Dixie Dregs, there are a lot of things that are more intense about it. The music is harder to play, the parts are harder to play, the soloing feels similar to playing in Purple. Because the soloing, the band was more or less letting me do what I’d want. That was really a cool part of being in Purple.”
Why Did the Guitarist Leave The Purple Lineup?
Morse stepped away from Deep Purple after 28 years to support his wife during her battle with stage 4 cancer. He announced on Facebook at the time:
“We both miss being at shows, but I simply couldn’t commit to long or far away tours, since things can change quickly at home. I suggested lining up a substitute guitarist last Autumn, hoping we could see the miraculous cancer cure all of us have heard about. As time went by, I could see the way things were heading though, after 28 years of being in the band.”
The guitarist played his final show with the band at the Rock Legends Cruise in Florida in 2022.
He’s On The Road With Dregs Now
Steve Morse is now on tour with Dixie Dregs across the East Coast. Jordan Rudess will join him, Andy West, Rod Morgenstein, and Allen Sloan for 8 special dates.
So, Morse’s comments on the upcoming trek read:
“This is a very special tour happening with the Dregs, featuring Jordan Rudess and my trio, the Steve Morse Band opening up the shows. We’ve done one tour long ago with Jordan and were thrilled when he was able to take over with Steve Davidowski being already committed to a project. We’ll be adding many different tunes than our Reunion some years back, so this is the best time to hear the original instrumental rock band in action!”
Dixie Dregs’ first stop will be Durham, North Carolina, on April 21.