Reflections on Deep Purple Tour PLUS an Encore of Simon McBride’s 2022 Interview

Simon McBride is one of the most exciting guitarists in the arena rock realm. As guitarist for Deep Purple (taking over after Steve Morse wrapped up his astounding 28-year tenure with the band in early 2022), Simon has given the British rock legends a fiery new guitar voice on everything from classic hits such as “Hush” and “Highway Star” to brand-new singles including “Arrogant Boy” and “Diablo.” In this episode I first relive the recent Canada/U.S. tour that I, as a member of Jefferson Starship, was lucky to be on with Deep Purple — my third in five years! — including playing for you a recent live recording I made of Simon’s astounding guitar cadenza in Calgary, Alberta on August 31. Then, I power up the time machine and take you back to a big backstage room at Rudolf Weber Arena in Oberhausen, Germany, to hear an encore of the great interview we did there on November 2, 2022. Catch Deep Purple on tour all over Europe starting late September! Huge thanks to GuitarPlayer.com for making this episode happen. To play better and sound better, follow Guitar Player! — JUDE GOLD, host and creator, No Guitar Is Safe