In these two episodes, the banjo player talks about banjo strings and the genius of Jon Lord. Continue Reading »

A new instalment of Ritchie Blackmore reminiscing abut his early days. Continue Reading »

Here is a complete recording of the Deep Purple show in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on November 23, 2025. It is a decent quality audience recording, albeit with some audio distortion on the left channel. Continue Reading »

Graham Bonnet has appeared on the Different Stages Radio podcast. The occasion was an impending release of his new live album Lost in Hollywood Again, recorded in 2024 at the storied Los Angeles club Whisky A Go Go. The album is due out on December 12, 2025 via Frontiers, and Graham mentions a studio album also being in the works, with Bruce Dickinson making a guest appearance there. Continue Reading »

Steve Morse appears on the latest episode of the
Now Spinning Magazine podcast, talking with Phil Aston mostly about his latest album Triangulation.

In this episode of the Now Spinning Magazine podcast, I sit down with legendary guitarist Steve Morse to dive deep into his new instrumental album Triangulation.
Steve talks about the freedom of making a record with no industry expectations, the almost telepathic musical connection he shares with Dave LaRue, and how tracks like “Too Many Parts” grew into ambitious, multi-section odysseys.
He also opens up about the deeply personal closing piece “Taken by an Angel”, recorded with his son Kevin in memory of Steve’s late wife – a story of grief, love and hope told entirely through melody.
We discuss adapting his technique as his hands change with age, why melody now matters more than ever in his writing, and how guest appearances from John Petrucci and Eric Johnson came together.
If you’re a fan of Steve Morse, Deep Purple, Dixie Dregs, or you’re a guitarist who loves thoughtful, emotional instrumental music, this conversation is a must-listen.

Thanks to Mike Whiteley for the heads-up.

Music Radar has an interview with Steve Morse. It is apparently published on the occasion of the recent album, but deals with his Purple years. Steve particularly fondly talks about Jon Lord:

During one writing session for 1996’s Purpendicular, Morse’s debut on a Deep Purple record, a tea break was called, and Morse played on for a bit. Like the others, Lord sat down for tea – but he was listening.

“It came from me just noodling to a guitar part, as a guitar solo piece. We were during a break, and you know how it is in the UK, everybody stops and drinks tea after so many minutes of doing anything,” says Morse, the only American in the band. “Jon sat down his cup and says, ‘Ah, that’s something there.’”

Morse demurred but Lord was hearing none of it. They went back to it, and that’s how Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming came together.

“I said, ‘I wasn’t thinking that that would be a tune for Purple. I was just practising an idea I had.’ And he said, ‘Well, I like it. Let’s do it. Let’s try ending on the four chord here.’ And by the end of the day, we had the song mapped out on tape because of Jon,” says Morse.

Read more in Music Radar.

Steve Morse is the cover story of the Finnish magazine Riffi, issue 4/2025. The magazine is about all things for practicing musicians: advice, gear, and associated stuff. Inside is a three-page special on Steve, his band (and, we presume, probably their latest album). And it is all in Finnish, of course. Continue Reading »

According to the local promoters, three shows on Glenn Hughes’ South American tour will be rescheduled for March 2026, with new dates TBA. These are:

2025-11-23 Córdoba, Argentina
2025-11-25 Salta, Argentina
2025-11-25 Quilmes, Argentina
2025-11-27 Santiago, Chile

As Glenn explains himself, he has caught laryngitis and is unable to sing. The show in Córdoba on November 23 went ahead but had him playing bass only, whereas Salta Quilmes (the originally announced show in Salta on the same day was cancelled and rescheduled there) and Santiago were pulled altogether.

Here’s a short clip from Córdoba with audience doing the singing part:

Details of Santiago show postponement can be found on the promoter’s Instagram (their and the venue’s website have not been updated yet at the time of this writing).

The show on November 29 in Bogotá, Columbia, was cancelled earlier for unrelated reasons.

Thanks to Juan Flier and Daniel for the info.

[Updated Nov 27]: clearing up the confusion regarding the show on November 25, thanks to Daniel once again.

The following message from Ritchie Blackmore was posted today. November 23, 2025, on his Facebook page:

Ritchie would like to explain his reason for having to postpone the recent shows. “Very quick history, for those who have nothing better to do: I have a long history of lumbar and neck herniated discs. Consequently, I would have back injections before a tour to help me over the pain. Recently, I have acquired debilitating migraines. They come and go very quickly. When I see the visual disturbance of these ocular migraines, I know they are coming.
When we did the long drive from Pennsylvania to Newton, NJ, we were booked into a hotel that had a wedding party going all night in the corridors. There was no heat in the room and the sheets were still damp. Which I assume culminated in me having a severe migraine attack. I couldn’t stop vomiting. The room wouldn’t stop spinning, and I was extremely dizzy to the point of not being able to stand. Ambulance was called. I was taken to hospital, and they gave me CAT scans and other tests. They were very gracious. The doctors came to the conclusion that my official diagnosis was severe vertigo. The results of this went on for days on end. I am now following up how serious these migraines are with various doctors. When one tours, you have a lot of people who have to be healthy. Unfortunately, I was the one who got hit this time. Hope to see you all one day again when I’m healthy. All the best, Ritchie, a guitarist.”

Thanks to BraveWords for the heads-up.

Martin Popoff talks to the Now Spinning Magazine podcast host Phil Aston. The occasion is Martin’s new book Seven Decades of Deep Purple, but the conversation went way beyond that.

We discuss:
How Martin rebuilt and expanded his earlier Purple books
The emotional connection he has with the band
Why the Purpendicular–present era may be Purple’s strongest
The “walk in Portugal” that changed everything
How the band’s sound and spirit survived endless lineup changes
Slaves & Masters, Made in Japan, improvisation, album art, Simon McBride and more
What =1 represents — and whether it would be a fitting final chapter
This is one of the most insightful and passionate Deep Purple discussions you’ll ever hear — from two lifelong fans who could happily talk Purple for days.
If you love Deep Purple, this episode is unmissable.

We can attest that all of the above is true.

Thanks to Mike Whiteley for the heads-up.

PS. For the benefit of our Canadian readers, the book is currently on sale at Chapters: $17.99 for the hardcover edition (compared to $86 at Amazon.ca or $110 through martinpopoff.com). For a 640 full colour pages book on your favourite band, it’s a no-brainer. Just throw in a copy of Sensitive To Light: The Rainbow Story into the bag, and get free shipping.

[Update Dec 1]: Metal-Rules.com has a review of the book. The review is somewhat superficial (the reviewer admits to not reading the whole tome through), but the verdict stays the same:

SEVEN DECADES OF DEEP PURPLE is unlikely to be surpassed, not that it is a contest, but as the band and fan-base ages there is a law of diminishing returns, especially considered that while writing this very review, Ian Gillan publicly announced that, at age 80, he is almost blind and ready to retire.

We can probably expect a perhaps one more Deep Purple album, a Farewell World tour and this book may get one last updated chapter a few years down the road as an exclamation point on the career of one of the world’s greatest rock bands. Until then, dive into the deep with this magnificent and well-deserved retrospective of rock royalty.