Steve Morse
September 28 1990, Center Stage, Atlanta, GA, USA
Morse happy that locals can understand his code
More than 21 years after he first opened for Bruce Hampton, guitarist Steve Morse has
decided it's OK to laugh at whatever the veteran Atlanta musician does during their
concert at Center Stage Theatre at 9 tonight ($12.50, 249-6400).
"Back then - 1969 - I was really amazed at how different and unusual his music was and
I really didn't know if it was proper to laugh while he played," Mr. Morse recalls.
He initially performed with Mr. Hampton (then playing with his notorious Grease Band)
in Mr. Morse's native Augusta, Ga. "That was really a different time and a different state
of mind for everyone," he adds from his home in the California mountains near Lake
Tahoe. "Things have changed."
Mr. Hampton is now creating what he calls "county" - as opposed to country - music with
his Aquarium Rescue Unit band, while Mr. Morse performs a variety of music solo, with
a trio and with Albert Lee's band Biff Baby's All-Stars, which has included rock guitarist
Eddie Van Halen.
Mr. Morse's career has also included high-profile stints with the jazz-oriented Dixie
Dregs and pop-rocking Kansas, and time as a pilot for a regional airline. However, he
expresses no desire to be flying that high again and says he's quite content to record
solo - MCA will release his next LP in January - and perform when and where he
pleases.
He's returning to Atlanta because the notion of a reunion with Mr. Hampton intrigues him
and the setting offers a chance to play music from all phases of his career for an
audience that knows him.
"I'll start off with some electrified classical music and go onto some things that haven't
even been recorded," Mr. Morse says. "There'll be some things I don't ordinarily play
when I'm with my band - stuff that's not quite normal."
- The Atlanta Journal and Constitution, 09-28-1990