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Steve Morse is Pretty Intense about Flying Colors

A Nice Little Side Project for Deep Purple Guitarist

By Rich MonettiPublished 4 years ago 5 min read
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Photo by Stephan Birlouez

At 11 years old, Steve Morse first got a look at the Beatles in 1964, and the electric guitar certainly got his attention. So by the time Morse was a teenager, he took it up a notch and got into his first band. He quickly learned what it was like to live off the energy of a good show. Moving forward, Morse got his first big break when the Dixie Dregs were signed by Capricorn Records. When that eventually ended, he settled into a comfy spot with Deep Purple in 1994. Squeezing some time in between Purple’s rugged schedule, he conspired with a group of virtuoso musicians and helped reel off a bluegrass, classic rock and fusion recording mix. In deep -if you will - the turn around was done in record time

Nine days to record and Flying Colors was born.

The idea came together a couple of years ago when jazz pianist Bill Evans approached Morse with a proposal. "What do you think about getting together with me, Neal Morse and Kerry Livgren," remembered the guitarist.

Morse liked the inspired notion and pictured a real intense effort. Unfortunately, Livgren had a stroke right after they began piecing the project together, and it became just Morse and Neil. "We did a little writing session that we were very pleased with," he said.

Eventually the duo enlisted Mike Portnoy, Dave LaRue and Casey McPherson, and no matter the initial bumps, the kinetics made nine days plenty of time to coalesce the sound. "When we got together in January 2011, the chemistry of writing was fantastic. Everybody had bits and pieces to bring to the table, and within that time span, the basic tracks of the album were laid down. Of course, everybody eventually went off on their own and redid some of their parts, but the basic template was there," said Morse.

Harmony obviously emerged, but that doesn't mean all the competing minds had everything go smoothly. "We had disagreements generally about everything. I mean you look at the number of strong writers that we had. Everybody had their own opinion. For instance, we were working on an idea that Neil started, and then he got up to get a drink. Before he got back, I proposed completely changing the chorus. So I was showing it to Casey, and he liked it. Then everybody joined in to try their hand at it. Neil walked back in and said, 'what happened to my chorus.' Sorry, I said, take a drink, lose a chorus," Morse conveyed the comedy.

On the other hand, resolution took more than just redirecting the quorum with sarcasm, and they knew a real mediator was needed. "Peter Collins, who had produced for Rush, was the one who would settle the arguments. I lobbied heavily to have somebody like him, because I knew we’d all have our own opinions. It just made it quicker and less painless to make decisions," Morse revealed.

The central figure in place didn't necessarily alleviate the rigors, though. "It was intense. Everyday was just idea, idea, idea," said Morse.

The inspirational ricochet was up his alley nonetheless. "That fit right into my forte. If somebody brings in an idea, I’ve got a million different ways of doing it. I would go back to my hotel room afterwards, and try to think of things I could bring in," he said. "It was an easy 17 hours a day."

All the previous mileage didn't have Flying Colors tire, but he admits that Rock 'n Roll isn't as forgiving when it comes to gray hair and getting older. "It’s not allowed on TV – unless you appear in makeup," Morse joked.

The record companies can be averse too, but quality goes a long way toward making the suits hear what they need to. "Bill Evans got others on it immediately, because it had a good sound," boasted Morse.

At the same time, if people are digging into their wallets for concert money, age also gives the old guys a leg up. "Fans want to know they are getting something good," he said, and experience says as much.

But going in on any musical endeavor always amounts to a crap shoot. "Recording on almost any level is generally equivalent to doing a charity event. It does good things, builds Karma, but it doesn’t bring in any money. On the other hand, it’s one of those things that if the band is good, we just keep it going and turn it into something to support. But my inspiration - despite this turning into a nice little side project - is I love the guys. I love the energy, and I love the sound. It’s something I just had to do," he asserted.

Of course, he already knew the basic economics from growing the Dixie Dregs. "Building it up for us was very, very slow. It was years of playing for free or a percentage of the admission. We would literally carry around our sleeping bags or play in exchange for a place to sleep," Morse lamented.

The Dregs running its course, bigger things would come off the recommendation from Phil Walton of Capricorn. "My friends in Kansas got their band back together with their lead singer, and I played with them for a few years. At one of the shows, Roger Glover liked what he saw, so when Joe Satriani quit the band, Roger recommended me. We all took a chance. I did four shows, the chemistry was great, and we lucked out. It’s now been almost 20 years," Morse remembered.

The long success has provided artistic latitude for Morse but the uncertainty of Deep Purple's scheduling always has him doing a dance to find free time. "For the last 18 years, it’s been, well we’re doing June and July, we don’t know about August. September, I’m not sure. October, maybe, November, yeah, we usually are. But we’ll let you know. So it’s just impossible to book anything in advance," he said.

With some pushing, though, he was able to nail down some time for Flying Colors, and despite a lull in the genre overall, he believes Rock 'n Roll is far from dead. "It’s been overexposed in some of the weirdest ways. But the spirit of rock continues – especially when originality drives it," Morse concluded.

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Author can be reached at rmonettiaol.com

80s music
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Rich Monetti

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