Steve Morse Clinic Review

[kbaim]

Hey all,

Q. What's better than a deep purple concert, and on par with a dixie dregs show?

A. A Steve Morse guitar clinic.

On Valentine's day, Steve was in LA for a DP show and swung by GIT (guitar institue of technology) to give a clinic.

I'll be posting a review a little later today when there's more time.

Lemme just say that back in 1982 I was a student at git and my biggest influences at that time were PAGE, BECK, and Alex Lifeson. Another student who went there lived a few blocks away from me. I went over to jam with him one day and he puts on this record (yup, vinyl) that immediately changed everything I thought possible with the guitar.

The compositions were full of twist and turns, and just amazing guitar playing. I couldn't even begin to identify the kind of music. One song was even country. Another was classical, with violin and keyboards and bass. What the hell is going on here??

That album was "UNSUNG HEROES" by the (dixie) dregs. The guitarist was Steve Morse. And 22 years (and a helluva lot of listening) later, I saw him do a clinic at the same place I discovered his music (though the location has since moved a few blocks from where it was back in the day).

FULL CIRCLE indeed.

KEITH

 

[Shnook]

Sounds like you had a pretty cool experience. I'd love to hear more about the clinic. I too am a Morse (Dixie Dregs) fan. Steve is just an all around amazing player.

 

[Hookpunch]

I would like to hear more about the clinic too. I am going to the Purple concert in Toronto near the end of the month and Steve is the main reason.

I love his stuff - too bad High Tension Wires is on the delete list, I can't find it anywhere.

 

[kbaim]

Hey all,

Instead of just writing one long review of steve's clinic, I'll post here and there throughout the next couple of days.

I'm kinda hoping that this thread becomes more like the Steve Morse Appreciation Society. Then maybe someone mentions it to him and he reads through it with a big smile and good thoughts.

Real quickly, I'll start by saying that some audio problems caused about a 20-25 minute delay at the start. So Steve was really up against the clock at the end. He still had to get to soundcheck for that nights DP gig, and who knows how long travel time takes in LA these days.

I mean, I traveled 60 miles, and it took me 2 1/2 hours to get there!

That said, he stayed to sign every glossy and take pictures with plenty of students. When reminded that he had to get out of there, he politely said that there were still people in line waiting and that as soon as the line finished, they could get going.

Very cool, don't you think?

On a side note, I had the chance of going to the DP gig that night with a guitar buddy. But I didn't.

I guess for me, it would've been too much like running into your favorite old girlfriend with a different guy. Awkward, emotional and just not the same as it was.

I'm sure steve is happy to play with the fellas of DP, and I'm glad a player of his talent and tude is making much better money these days. But it must come (like everything, I suppose) at a huge cost.

I have to believe that he misses being able to play his wonderful compositions for people on a regular basis, and also misses playing with ROD, Dave, Van, etc.

And, of course, I miss hearing new dregs tunes. For the newbie, start by tracking down STRESSFEST, HIGH TENSION WIRES, UNSUNG HEROES & DREGS OF THE EARTH.

Trust me, you'll thank me. And it'll no doubt also impact your playing.

More on clinic later

KEITH

 

[kbaim]

Back.

BTW Steve signs his autograph and includes a little guitar doodle/squiggily thing.

In the beginning , there were sound problems, and steve went to great lengths to explain how his rig is set up. Many of you probably already know, so suffice it to say, he has a dry amp (no effects) on all the time. And also uses a wet amp (chorus delay distortion etc.) hooked up to a eb volume pedal to blend in whatever amount of effects are needed.

This gives him lots of versatility and huge sound. I wonder how many of the students had an a-ha moment. Many probably figured "I can't even afford another crappy amp let alone a second good one."

He also spoke about his guitar (natch), and how the way it's designed is really useful in getting a variety of sounds just by rolling volume and tone and pickup switching. All with the same amp setting. He made specific mention on how low he keeps his single coils so that he gets a volume drop, a bit of twang and still retains some high end for note definition when going for the quiter passeges.

It was another key piece of info I hope the students remember. Let's face it...at that age, fast and loud rule the day pretty much. At least it used to.

Questions? Comments?

KEITH

 

[kbaim]

Some of the songs steve played (along to some backing tracks) were VISTA GRANDE, HIGHLAND WEDDING, A WELL DRESSED GUITAR, and another off either southern steel or possibly coast to coast. Damn, I must be going senile.

Hard not to appreciate the fretboard gymnastics this guy pulls off. Very involved and VERY well thought out. This guy doesn't strumm bar chords 4x a measure if you know what I mean. He lovingly jumps from one great note to the next with the perfect amount of sustain and feeling. If you haven't seen him live it's almost impossible to imagine.

Do not miss him next time (if?) the dregs are within a couple hundred miles of you.

He also spent a great deal of time showing different right handed picking techniques. Quickly switching between pick and fingers, fiddling with knobs and switches, and volume pedals. Obviously trying to get across variety instead of simply speed that students are usually obssessed with. It was like watching a magician do a card trick his hands were moving so fast.

If the kiddies were listening to this they just got the keys to the kingdom!

KEITH

 

[kbaim]

Hey,

anyone out there reading this.

Help me out here. I feel like I'm a senator on C-SPAN talking to a roomful of chairs!

KEITH

 

[Hookpunch]

Hey Kbaim, I am reading and your reports are much appreciated.

I am hoping to get Coast to Coast signed by him when he plays in Toronto. I'll let you know if he does the little guitar thing for me.

Yeah Steve has a unique pickup arrangement. Did he give any specifics on how he utilizes the different combinations? E.G. for Purple mostly the bridge, for the Southern stuff, the odd man out single coil... things like that?

 

[kbaim]

Hey hook,

With regard to the pickups he just said he flips to the single coils to clean up the sound. I'd be surprised if he stays as busy P/U switching with purple tunes as he does with his own stuff though.

KEITH

 

[NorM]

I saw a Steve Clinic back in the 90's and it was the best guitar lesson I have ever had in my life. EB really needs to take care of Steve because that was the moment I decided I would play EBMM's. Everything Keith mentioned is so cool I feel I have nothing to add. Just to say switching pups in songs really adds so much. Try a tone knob swell next time you have a sustained bend. You will find in the future you can't live without it.

The DP show in Phoenix was incredible!!! They played every song off of Machine Head. Steve had two instrumentals back to back. Contact Lost (Tribute to the last Shuttle) and A Well Dressed Guitar. I think Perfect Strangers was my favorite song. The picture on his website with him holding the guitar behind his back is where he is exposing the front of the guitar to the speaker cabs to induce the feedback which becomes an integral part of the song.

The clinic was the next day. It was questionable as to who would be let in to see it. Therefore I didn't risk the drive. (I should have gone.) Steve's music (for me) has been the ideal teaching tool. Anyone else's music just seems easy to play. Thank you Steve for holding my interest.

 

[NorM]

This is the picture mentioned in the previous post. Click me

 

[Hookpunch]

Hi Kbaim, I would be interested, since I started in classical and Steve has a degree in classical guitar, did he say how much his classical training influences his playing and composing?

 

[kbaim]

Hey hook,

Re classical training.

Steve was the guy who got me interested in classical music! He always threw a classical composition on his dregs and smb albums near the end. Like a nice cup of coffee after a great meal.

I'd recommend his dvd. There's a huge section (maybe 6 or 7 songs) of him playing acoustic classical stuff (including joy of man's desiring). All the other songs are his own stuff.

BTW My favorite classical piece of music (so far) is Rachmaninoff's Piano concerto #3.

Norm may be especially interested in this as a rocket scientist...I asked steve if there was a huge backlog of things he's composed and we have yet to hear because of deep purple. He mentioned that he has recorded 4 albums since joining DP and he did the music for THE OSPRY HELICOPTER trainig video or something like that. I sure would like to hear it.

Don't think it's available at blockbuster. Maybe norm can make a few calls to Rumsfeld or Wolfewitz and get a copy! Probably screwed up the spelling of those 2.

I also asked how he approached composing (versus the standard young gun question of how can I pick faster?).

Steve said he almost always starts with an idea for a song, learns to play it well by repeating it, then stops and lets his mind lead him to the next section. Sometimes it happens quickly, sometimes it takes awhile. But he tries to picture the sound or next section in his mind's eye (mind's ear?).

KEITH

 

[Hookpunch]

Hey Kbaim, here is something you might be interested in.

back in '87 there was a huge guitar festival here in Toronto organized by classical teacher Eli Kassner - Liona Boyd's first teacher. It featured classical, flamenco, rock, any type of guitar. My classical fave John Williams performed , and a bunch of other classical superstars.

Anyway Steve was also invited, he played a piece with Rik Emmet of Triumph and later played Train Kept A Rolling with Kim Mitchell and Emmet. That should tell you the level of respect for Steve by other guitar players, even the classical players who usually only know other classical players knew about Steve. Despite Yngwie's pretensions of classical respectabilty , the real deal is Steve.

 

[kbaim]

More classical info.

And steve mentioned that he composed a section of the DP live w/ the LSO cd. I think he said the middle string section, but I'm not sure. And I must admit, I haven't heard it.

KEITH

PS Hook, it seems steve is widely admired and respectd by so many players. And it has nothing to do with his fast playing IMO. Much more to do with his composing and blending of so many styles.

Pick up his book of articles called OPEN EARS. 50 articles he wrote for guitar magazines that reads like advice and insights from a prophet. Best 10 bucks you'll ever spend. I got mine at amazon 2 weeks ago.

 

[kbaim]

Oh yeah.

Steve said satriani came up and joined DP (see other thread for link) a few nights before the clinic. I don't think Norm was too upset about not seeing that combo

KEITH

 

[Hookpunch]

Wow Joe and Steve on the same stage, too good to be true. Did anyone here manage to see it?

I have been hoping Steve would join Joe and Steve Vai on a G3 tour.

Of course Steve and Yngwie on a G3 tour would be interesting given the history there.

 

[kbaim]

G3 news.

Somebody asked about it saying steve would be perfect for that.

His face really lit up for this one. He said it's something he really wants to do, but it's been impossible because DP is ALWAYS touring. He called Joe a thinking man's guitarist.

It left me with the strong impression this could actually happen in the next year or two.

Then he joked maybe he and Yngwie should tour together

KEITH

 

[peter71]

Hey Great thread! I love Steve Morse and the thought of him on a G3 concert would be great! I would love to see one of his clinics, mostly because you couldn't fit the amount I don't know about playing, gear and getting tone into a box the size of Saturn. Not the car either...

 

[NorM]

The Satch Morse Duo didn't happen in Phoenix. I didn't see it.