Steve Morse Band
Steve Morse
Dave LaRue
Van Romaine
November 5 1989, The Winners, Saratoga, NY, USA
The Introduction
Take It Off The Top
Rock & Roll Park
Pride O' The Farm
Twiggs Approved
Vista Grande
Bloodsucking Leeches
Simple Simon
Highland Wedding
On The Pipe
Tumeni Notes
Modoc
General Lee
Weekend Overdrive
Ice Cakes
Cruise Missile
Cruise Control
January 31 1990, Roxy's Downtown, Wichita, KS, USA
A GUITAR PLAYER'S GUITARIST MUSICIAN BEGAN HIS CAREER ON KEYBOARDS
Susan L. Rife, THE WICHITA EAGLE
Of all the musical instruments in the world, why would Steve Morse choose the guitar? It
would seem practically impossible to make a name for oneself as a guitarist when so many
others have gone before.
"Think about somebody like Chet Atkins and Eric Clapton and (Andres) Segovia," said
Morse. "They all play the same six strings, but the styles and tones and colors are totally
different. And Van Halen how 'bout that? It's all guitar. That's a huge difference in there."
Morse's name may not be as well-known as those of Atkins, Clapton and Segovia, but his
reputation as a guitarist has landed him on Guitar Player magazine's best guitarist list five years
running. He is regarded as a guitar player's guitarist.
Morse will bring his guitar virtuosity to Roxy's Downtown for a single performance Wednesday
night.
The Georgia resident began his musical career on keyboards, then woodwinds, before switching to
the guitar.
"I felt like the guitar has the advantage of expression that the horns and strings have but also the
ability to do more than one note at a time, like the keyboard," he said.
He likes to experiment with the guitar, as evidenced by his first solo album, "High Tension Wires."
It covers the stylistic ground from Southern twang to jazz, classical to a bit of a Highland fling.
There's even some actual hard rock guitar in there.
Morse obviously is a man who likes to experiment. His band memberships have included the Dixie
Dregs (keyboardist T Lavitz and drummer Rod Morgenstein are touring with Morse), the Steve
Morse Band and arena-rockers Kansas, but he dropped out of the band scene a couple of years
ago to become an airline pilot. Natural progression, wouldn't you say?
"The airline pilot has the best of both worlds the opportunity to have a great job and be at home at
the same time," Morse explained.
It was the lack of control over his own life that drove Morse from the music business in 1987. He
simply wanted to be at his home outside Atlanta on a regular basis. But surprise, surprise he
missed the music, if not the business.
"I discovered that if I put as much effort into my music as I did into my flying job, my theory was
that I would have a lot more control over when, where and why and would do better," he said.
So he quit the airline pilot's job and went back to performing and touring, albeit at a more
comfortable level.
"We've been almost regularly going out since early summer," Morse said. "Some people would call
it non-stop, some would call it sporadic. We try to keep to two weeks on, at the maximum, then
come back for at least two."
He spends his time off the road tending his rural lifestyle and working on his music.
"For writing I try to alternate, one tune on guitar, one tune on keyboard," he said. "You come from a
totally different direction on the keyboards, very much driven by harmony and chords. With the
guitar you have melody and rhythm as your strong points."
Steve Morse will perform at 9 p.m. Wednesday at Roxy's Downtown, 412 1/2 E. Douglas. Tickets are
$10 in advance, $12 at the door.
- The Wichita Eagle, January 29, 1990
Febraury 4 1990, Cameo Theatre, San Antonio, TX, USA
February 5 1990, Back Room, Austin, TX, USA
On the town
....Guitarist Steve Morse, nominated for Grammy in the rock instrumental category for High
Tension Wires, is at the Back Room with opening act David Spann. Admission is $6.
- The Austin American-Statesman, 02-05-1990