American guitarist Steve Morse will be familiar to anyone who has seen one of the many recent DEEP PURPLE tours to Australia. For many musicians, Steve sets the benchmark for guitar playing skills and also has a rich history as co-founder of virtuoso guitar pushing trio DIXIE DREGS, as a respected solo artist, with incommensurately numerous project collaborations and now as a member of relatively new band FLYING COLORS. Their self titled debut album was eagerly received in the rock community which led to a double live album. Now, with their second studio album ‘Second Nature’ just released, Steve found some time in his hectic schedule to have a chat about all things music.
The live album ‘Flying Colors – Live in Europe’ not only has remarkable performances but also contains the entirety of their first album in the live set. “We didn’t have much choice because that is the only material the band had plus we had to add some covers and identity pieces. For the live set now, we’ll be doing four or five songs from the first album and most of the songs from the new album,” he says.
Progressive rock fans can be assured of extended songs similar to first album’s song ‘Infinite Fire’. The new album is book ended with two epic, long tracks in ‘Open Your Eyes’ and ‘Cosmic Symphony’ both of which exceed the ten minute mark. “I think that Mike [Portnoy – drums] has the most complete feel for how the songs are going to be arranged and we all agreed that something like that takes you on a journey with a long introduction. By the end, hopefully you’re in the mood to listen to some profound and quite deep emotional stuff as opposed to going out with a happy pop song,” he explains.
As the band has five members who all have varying degrees of international fame and is self produced this time around after their debut used renowned producer Peter Collins, does having so many potentially valid inputs threaten a songwriting demarcation dispute? “We go with the primitive vote method when we reach an impasse. If somebody hates it, we don’t do it,” replies Steve. “If someone likes their way better than another, then we vote. For songwriting, Neil [Morse – keyboards], myself and Casey [McPherson – vocals] arranged conference calls to talk and play instruments together. By using computers in our studios we could discuss ideas and get instant feedback before we started in person. Then we had two separate face to face sessions where the intense writing and arranging began over maybe ten days. Everybody records their own instruments except Mike who needs an engineer for drums. It took a fair amount of time.”
Given his prolific nature and the busy workload of all members, it appears that the pace with which things are done stops any sensation of FLYING COLORS being merely a side project. “Trying to keep up with these guys was like being dropped into the middle of traffic,” he says. “You’ve got to do something and start moving or die. You don’t have time to think about it being a side project. For me, the challenge is to keep up and to contribute my normal percentage of ideas. It is very intense but fun.”
It is also not a self indulgent musician virtuosity showcase. Their may be a perception from some that because Steve plays Music Man guitars and is in a band with the ex drummer of DREAM THEATER then over the top instrumental virtuosity is expected. “Some might think that but if they listen to the music they’ll see that the content of the album is very writing oriented,” he retorts. “Our lead singer indicates that it is more like a YES styled project than a flashy instrumental thing. Audiences accept different things as long as it doesn’t seem like pandering. There is an unconsciousness awareness of only the die hard fans staying with it. So, if you’re open to different things others will be too.”
Since Steve is a music industry veteran who keeps moving and is not at all jaded, it is still fair to ask if Casey being a comparatively younger front man provides a fresh perspective or more enthusiasm for the band. “Sure, it brings in a different viewpoint,” he admits. “On our first album, it took him a while to speak up and he was polite about it. Things like, ‘I like the idea but it sounds time stamped from a generation that I’m not from so let’s change it’. He had a lot of influence in that way. On this one, he had no reservations about jumping in with ideas and opinions. He always comes up with great stuff.”
A case in point is the song ‘Masked Machine’ which has a vibe to it that combines new sounds with a more vintage feel. For example, the muted, lower patterns could be seen to fit in with say BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE. “Yeah, that was right up Casey’s alley,” he reveals. “Of course, having myself and Mike playing on it is going to get it wierded up. We change parts to keep it from sounding to obviously anything but that song was smart with ideas. FLYING COLORS is great for me to do melodic solos. In most cases, I can say that the chord progressions and tonalities came before the vocal line. Neal has so many ideas all of the time. In a lot of cases, we’re getting the feel, riffs and chord structure first. The melody becomes the identifiable part to drive the song.”
Naturally, Steve’s ongoing tenure in DEEP PURPLE should be addressed. After twenty years in one of the most coveted rock guitar roles available, it is amusing to find that he still feels like the new guy. “I’ll always be the new guy because even though I’ve been there ten years longer than Ritchie [Blackmore – original guitarist], he knows all about English football and the cultural jokes so it is a different world. I don’t mind, I knew that coming in. The band has been around forty odd years. Even though this group has done more gigs than any version of the band, it’s still that the classic stuff is with Ritchie.”
On that note, are there any plans to bring FLYING COLORS to Australia for a tour? “We’re limited with time,” he replies. “I can only pull a few days to get loose of commitments and have time to unpack between tours so we were unable to do it this time. We’d love to but it is all scheduling. All English speaking people from every land I’ve ever talked to love visiting Australia. It is just a matter of making it work.”