Steve Morse makes no secret of it. He is struggling. Arthritis is causing him pain, forcing him to rethink how he addresses the electric guitar, the way he plays – and on occasion the things he plays, too.
If you have caught the Dixie Dregs and former Deep Purple guitarist live lately you might not have noticed. Triangulation, the new long-player from The Steve Morse Band, betrays little sign of it.
On record, in concert, Morse sounds for all the world like he always has, this player with a supernatural capacity for playing anything, with that high-aerobic alternate picking style that mortals like us blanche over at the thought of it.
But joining MusicRadar from his trio’s US tour, he admits that the advance of arthritis is causing him a lot of frustration, and he has had to adapt.
“I have had to come up with new way of picking – several new ways – because different bones in my joint have different pain levels when I change the angle,” he says. “So during the set, you’ll see me change. During the show tonight, I’ll be changing positions constantly.”
The condition has forced Morse to rethink the fundamentals of his playing, down to how he holds a guitar pick.
“I have to practise those different ways of holding the pick, and the different angles, and whether to bend my arm or pick from the elbow,” he continues. “It’s… it’s a lot. I mean, you have to really, really, really want to play, to deal with the advance of arthritis.”
Morse really wants to play. He says as soon as he hangs up he is going to take a shower and then sit down and practise a part that has just started giving him bother when two weeks ago it was fine.
I can’t suddenly push forward with my thumb. I used to be able to 10 days ago – so it’s a result of just pushing it too hard
“It’s because I can’t suddenly push forward with my thumb,” he says. “I used to be able to 10 days ago – so it’s a result of just pushing it too hard. Suddenly, I can’t do this motion holding a pick like this, so I’ve got to change. It’s hard.”
He holds up his hand. He has radiation burns from repeated treatments to reduce inflammation in his wrist. Six in total.
Again, if Morse had never mentioned it, or had not been playing with a mute positioned on the nut of his Ernie Ball Music Man signature guitar, we might never have noticed the difference. He still rips like few can.
Triangulation features guest appearances from Dream Theater’s John Petrucci – who is “perfect” on the title track. Eric Johnson appears on a track titled TexUs, written by Morse as a duet with Johnson, for both to play off each other on the melody.
The mute helps. Morse says he is working on a similar device that would work at the bridge but there is only so much real estate on his Ernie Ball Music Man, which pretty much comes factory modded with more than its fair share of pickups, but has been modded more over the years by Morse himself. He is not so sure he wants to give up the guitar synth for a mute. Not yet at least. But the mute is promising.
There are, however, some passages of music that he has to give up.
“I can’t play the C section of Too Many Notes,” he says. “I can’t go across the strings fast enough, so I can’t do it. It’s very frustrating.”
Some pieces of music have got more difficult to perform. Anything that was originally written on keys and is transposed to guitar can a tough stretch at the best of times.
I can’t play the C section of Too Many Notes. I can’t go across the strings fast enough, so I can’t do it. It’s very frustrating
“In the past, it was not so much of a problem, where I could cross-pick, like an upstroke on the G string, downstroke on the B string, very quickly, as I’m going across the strings,” says Morse. “And I don’t want to suddenly turn into a sweeping guitarist, so things involving big intervallic jumps are harder than they used to be.”
So too is touring. If the call came in with an offer to join a band, Morse is not sure that he would accept it. He's not sure his body would hold out.
“I don’t think I could. I’m not rock solid. When I say I’ll do something, I’m used to doing it, and doing it excellent. Right now, I don’t know,” he says. “I don’t know what’s going to happen. When I wake up, am I going to be able move my hand or not? I don’t know. So far I have been able to. So far I have been able to make every gig. But I dunno.
“I think my time of doing the performance grind is closing. That window is closing but my time for writing, and possibly performing with some help, with some other musicians, is very possible. I see a future but I don’t see me being a hired gun because I couldn’t stand up to the level of players you can get now. And guitarists are literally dime a dozen.”
Triangulation is the Steve Morse Band’s first studio album since 2009. It was recorded with long-time collaborator Dave LaRue (Dixie Dregs/Flying Colors) returning on bass guitar and Van Romaine on drums.
The band is currently touring it as a four-piece, with New Jersey virtuoso and Charvel signature artist Angel Vivaldi joining Morse on guitar. See the Steve Morse site for dates and ticket details. Tonight they play Sellersville, Pennsylvania, and arthritis or not Morse will not be holding back. Ask anyone who knows him.
“Yeah, it’s very, very, very frustrating at times, dealing with this stuff, but on the other hand, my friends that know me know me as a handyman and I will try to fix anything better than accept the fact that it’s broke,” he says. “I will take it apart and rewire it. I will change it. I will take a switch, I will replace it with a whatever, but I will make it work somehow. And that’s the way I feel about my playing. It’s broke, but I’m gonna find a way.”
Triangulation is available to preorder now via Music Theories Recordings, and is in record stores and streaming on 14 November.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.