Deep Purple's longest-served guitarist is Steve Morse, who held down the position for 28 years between 1994-2022, compared to Ritchie Blackmore's 16 years from 1968 to 1975 and 1984 to 1993. But when Morse found out that his wife, Janine, was seriously ill during a writing session with the band, he was forced to step away from the band.

Morse spoke to Ultimate Guitar about his subsequent reunion tour with the Dixie Dregs and modern day shredders, and in this part below, looked back on his time with Deep Purple and the circumstances surrounding his exit. Following is an excerpt from the chat.

UG: Are you familiar with (replacement) Simon McBride's guitar playing?

Morse: "He's very good, wonderfully professional, great guy. No big deal there. He's got it covered. And I think he's a better fit for them. They're going longer than I ever thought they would go. They're booking more and more gigs."

UG: Joe Satriani recently said how it would be harder to replace you in Deep Purple than Ritchie Blackmore. What are your thoughts on that?

Morse: "Right when they got Simon to play with them, they had already done some vintage Deep Purple tunes in a cavalcade of stars tour, Don (Airey / keyboards)  and Ian Gillan (vocals). So, they were used to working with him, and they knew he could play all the stuff really well. And when it came to the new stuff, he's a pro and he's a super good musician. So he picked it up and figured out what to do quickly. Maybe some things are more stylistically weird that I might do, but nothing's unreachable or really that hard."

Read more via Ultimate Guitar here.

Legendary American rock band, Dixie Dregs, will hit the road across the East Coast this spring.

The lineup of Steve Morse, Andy West, Rod Morgenstein, Allen Sloan will once again be joined by keyboardist Jordan Rudess for eight specials shows. An additional eight shows in May have now been added to the previously announced dates, along with a new show added on April 17 in Macon, GA.

Opening the shows will be the Steve Morse Band with Steve Morse, Dave LaRue, and Van Romaine.

Steve Morse had this to say about the shows: "This is a very special tour happening with the Dregs, featuring Jordan Rudess, and my trio, the Steve Morse Band opening up the shows.  We've done one tour long ago with Jordan and were thrilled when he was able to take over with Steve Davidowski being already committed to a project.  We'll be adding many different tunes than our Reunion some years back, so this is the best time to hear the original instrumental rock band in action!”

Tour dates:

April
17 - Macon, GA - Capitol Theatre
18 - Nashville, TN - CMA Theater
20 - Atlanta, GA - Variety
21 - Durham, NC - Carolina Theatre of Durham
22 - Charleston, SC - Charleston Music Hall
23 - Winston-Salem, NC - The Ramkat
25 - Ponte Vedra, FL - Ponte Vedra Concert Hall
26 - Fort Lauderdale, FL - Culture Room
27 - Clearwater, FL - Capitol Theatre

May
13 - Red Bank, NJ - The Vogel at Count Basie Center for the Arts
14 - Patchogue, NY - Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts
15 - New York, NY - The Town Hall
17 - Boston, MA - Somerville Theatre
18 - Ridgefield, CT - The Ridgefield Playhouse
19 - Albany, NY - Kitty Carlisle Hart Theatre
21 - Collingswood, NJ - Scottish Rite Auditorium
22 - Washington, DC - Warner Theatre

2018’s “Dawn of the Dregs” tour saw the original lineup return to the stage for the first time in well over a quarter of a century.  Six years later, in 2024, an amended lineup featuring original members Morse, West, Sloan and Morgenstein alongside familiar contemporary Jordan Rudess of Dream Theater, returns once again. A Grammy winner and Music Radar Magazine’s “Best Keyboardist of All Time”, the Juilliard School of Music-trained keyboard wizard will now rejoin some of his longest-tenured peers for a can’t-miss celebration of music. The “Anachronicity Tour 2024” brings some of music’s most legendary performers to intimate stages, offering an up close and personal opportunity for long-standing and new fans alike to revel in musical proficiency and history, night after night.

Over the course of 40 years, the Dixie Dregs have released eleven commercial albums of original material, and a number of compilations, reissues, and countless live bootlegs. Along the way, they have garnered six Grammy nominations, an acknowledgement of their elevated status among the musical community. The band has played with several well-known alumni and guests -- among others, Jerry Goodman (Mahavishnu Orchestra) Alex Ligertwood (Santana), as well as original band members playing and recording on well over 300 releases including Deep Purple/Kansas/Flying Colors/Steve Morse Band (Steve Morse) and Winger/Jelly Jam/Jazz is Dead (Rod Morgenstein).