The magazine sponsored an interview with Simon McBride for the upcoming October issue of Guitar Player. During the chat, Deep Purple’s new guitarist revealed insights about his early experiences performing with Ian Gillan and the other members. McBride revealed whether he felt pressured because of the band’s shows, saying: “Not right now.” But the first time I did it, I was terrified because I was performing in front of 10,000 people with Ian Gillan. But it’s a very easy riff. The important secret is simply finding the proper tempo. Then Don [Airey] comes in with the Hammond, and Roger [Glover] comes in with the bass, and it’s just a wall of power.” He went on to say of the guitar passages in ‘Smoke on the Water:’ “Some people overcomplicate the ‘Smoke’ riff by playing it like a guitar player, with vibrato and other effects, but the riff loses its essence.” All you have to do is keep things simple.
” The guitarist noted that he needed to be careful with certain songs: “There are plenty of other places on set where I can try new things.” ‘Do you have flexibility to improvise in Deep Purple?’ people always ask. Yes, the answer is yes. But there are some things you have to play exactly as they were recorded, such as Blackmore’s solo on ‘Highway Star.'” McBride went on to claim that it would be ‘arrogant of him’ to try to outdo the original versions of several Deep Purple songs. In previous interviews, the guitarist, on the other hand, stated that he had a plan for performing these tunes. In an interview with Louder Sound, he stated: “You won’t be able to play anything else.” But I don’t try to imitate Blackmore or Steve [Morse]. You simply take the concepts they used and add your own spin to them.”
