Filmmaker James Foley, who directed the King of Dreams video off Slaves and Masters, has passed away at the age of 71 following a year-long battle with brain cancer. His work included acclaimed films and shows, such as Glengarry Glen Ross, House of Cards, Billions, Twin Peaks, as well as numerous music videos — mostly for Madonna, but Deep Purple among them as well. Continue Reading »

Them restored classic Gillan clips, they’re still coming! Here is Mr. Universe as performed on the BBC show Rock Goes To College on February 23, 1981, and complete with Bernie Tormé’s guitar solo. Now all cleaned up and restored by the latest wonders of technology. Continue Reading »

The band has broken the lull in public appearances by speaking to Brazil’s 89FM A Radio Rock. Enjoy some out of the left field questions and equally quirky answers. Continue Reading »

Ritchie Blackmore and Candice Night will be inducted into the Long Island Music And Entertainment Hall Of Fame. The induction event will take place on Tuesday, May 13, 2025, at 7 PM. Location is the LIMEHOF museum, 97 Main Street in Stony Brook, NY. Candice will perform 3 songs from her new solo album Sea Glass and will accept the honours on behalf of Blackmore’s Night as Ritchie “will not be able to attend”. The event doubles as a release party for the Sea Glass.

“I am so honored to be inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame,” Night said. “Being surrounded by some of the greatest musicians, knowing we all have the same roots here is an incredible feeling. I’ve lived on Long Island my whole life and am constantly inspired by the energy here and the beauty of our nature. The imagery is a constant focus in my songs. I’m looking forward to a special night celebrating my new solo CD, Sea Glass, and also to inducting our band, Blackmore’s Night, into the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame. So grateful for this opportunity.”

The two inductees met on Long Island and have strong Long Island community ties. Legendary guitarist Ritchie Blackmore (Deep Purple and Rainbow) grew up in the UK and moved to the USA in 1974, moving to Huntington, Long Island in the 1980s.

Candice Night grew up in Hauppauge and is a lifetime Long Island resident and a graduate of NYIT in Old Westbury. While interning at WBAB in 1989, she met Ritchie Blackmore at a charity soccer game where Deep Purple played against the station’s DJ’s and Staff. After the game, Candice asked Ritchie for his autograph and the two became friends, later developing into more. They started living together in 1993 and co-founded Blackmore’s Night in 1997. They have been very involved in many local charity efforts and community events across Long Island where they continue to live on the North Shore while raising their family.

There is a limited number of tickets for the event available.

Thanks to BraveWords for the info.

Get My Guitar blog profiles Ritchie Blackmore, including his sound, influences, top 5 tracks, technique, and historical equipment. While our regulars probably won’t find anything new there, it can be recommended as a well written introduction for the uninitiated.

Fans often note that Blackmore’s playing is not just about technical prowess—it’s about emotion, storytelling, and creating an atmosphere. His solos are often described as journeys, with each note carefully chosen to contribute to the overall feel of the song. This focus on musicality over flashiness is something that resonates with many guitarists, and it’s a key part of why Blackmore’s work continues to inspire.

Read more in Get My Guitar.

Thanks to Uwe Hornung for the heads-up.

In a true family tradition, Joe Satriani and Steve Vai started a new project called the SatchVai Band. Today, May 6, 2025, they have released a single called I Wanna Play My Guitar. And just to keep thing in the family, they got Glenn Hughes to sing on it. Continue Reading »

Bass Player magazine has an interview with session player extraordinaire Lee Sklar. And he thinks that working on Billy Cobham’s album Spectrum with Tommy Bolin, among others, was a highlight of his 2,000-album (by the latest count) career.

What are some of the moments in your career that you think of as outstanding?

“Stratus with Billy Cobham – bass players always want me to talk about that. I got to know Billy when The Section went out on a tour opening for the Mahavishnu Orchestra. When he had the opportunity to do a record of his own, I think he had Stanley Clarke in mind for the bass, but for some reason it didn’t work out.

“I had never really considered myself a chops monster, and those guys didn’t need one. They needed someone who could hold down the bottom, and that bassline just fell into place. We finished the whole album in three days; I did two days, and then Ron Carter played on some big band tracks.”

“What you hear on the album is pretty much the first take of every song, all done live without overdubs. Jan Hammer is one of the most gifted synth players, and Tommy Bolin’s guitar playing is some of the best that ever was. For them, that bass part just ended up being a foundation that holds things in place while they went off.

The whole interview can be found in the GuitarWorld.com, albeit there is nothing more Purple related in there.

Thanks to Uwe for the heads-up.

Louder Sound reprints online a Classic Rock interview with the members of Black Country Communion, conducted on the occasion of their second album release. The interview was originally published in the Classic Rock magazine issue #160, dated June 2011.

What began as a brief side-project for Glenn Hughes, Joe Bonamassa, Jason Bonham and Derek Sherinian has grown into something closely resembling the real deal: a contemporary classic rock group comprised of four musical over-achievers with their collective artistic compass pointing to some time in the early 1970s.

There is also another component to the group: the man whose vision it was the persuaded them to work together, producer (“don’t call me ‘svengali”) and co-songwriter Kevin Shirley. Like the band, whose combined CV includes time with Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath and Dream Theater, Shirley’s resumé also includes some of the biggest names in rock: Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden, the Black Crowes, Journey… The full list is huge and impressive.

According to Shirley, “The master plan was begun before we even started. To the point where we scripted the ‘no touring until we had enough for a two-album set’. We had a little hiccup at the beginning of the second record, which was the result of many managers in the room, but other than that it’s been pretty much like clockwork.” Well, almost. With so many super-egos involved, ‘clockwork’ was never going to be an accurate description of how things work in Black Country Communion. But, as we learn, it’s been amazingly close – so far, anyway.

Continue reading in Louder Sound.

Classic Rock online has a short, but informative interview with Simon McBride. From the first music he remembers, to the song he’d want to play at his funeral, it’s all there.

The best record I’ve made

The Deep Purple record [2024’s =1]. It’s not every day you get to be a part of history. For me, doing that record was incredible, because at the minute with the guys in the band they’re just mates. But these guys are icons. I stand back in awe and go: “That’s me, that’s Ian Gillan, that’s Ian Paice… Jesus, why is my name in there?!”

Read more in Louder Sound

In other Simon news, he will be playing a string of European dates as a solo artist this summer. They are a combination of festival appearances and support slots for Lynyrd Skynyrd. The dates are so far unconfirmed on the artist side, but whatever we managed to collect from promoters and ticket vendors is in our calendar.

Vintage Guitar magazine publishes online a short interview with Simon McBride that originally appeared in the September 2024 print issue.

Did you adapt your style to Deep Purple, or was it already a good fit?
I think part of the beauty of Deep Purple over the years is they never really had a fixed “sign.” They have that ability to adapt. It was, “Let’s just play and see what happens.” I had ideas, which I pre-constructed in my studio; we all are always writing stuff. There’s a track called “Sharp Shooter,” which is from a riff I had. I thought, “That’s too heavy, they’re never going to use it.” But here we are. They’re using it! There are no rules.

Read more in Vintage Guitar