Glenn Hughes is announced as a special guest for the upcoming in late May / early June The Music of Cream tour of Australia and New Zealand. The Music of Cream is basically a Cream cover band with a twist or three — it consists of Ginger Baker’s son Kofi, Jack Bruce’s son Malcolm, and Eric Clapton’s nephew Will Jones.

Full details and ticket info in our calendar.

Thanks to Yvonne for the info.

earMusic/Edel will continue the series of Jon Lord reissues with the release of “Windows” on April 28, 2017.

The reissue was remastered by Rob Cass at Abbey Road Studios, using the original stereo tracks and will be released as a Digipak featuring a new artwork. A reissue of “Sarabande” will follow later this year.

I have just got home from watching “Deep Purple: From Here To inFinite” which premiered in Düsseldorf, Germany tonight. German radio/television WDR waited in front of the auditorium’s entrance for Ian Paice and Roger Glover to arrive and sign memorabilia for the fans. The auditorium itself was filled quite well although there were a couple of seats left. The movie was started with a still picture showing all band members in their polar outfits requesting the audience to not record the movie nor the three songs that were played afterwards.

In probably 90 minutes, the film highlighted some scenes of how the album was created. Starting with the last gig of the last world tour in London in 2015, traveling to Nashville were the songs were constructed in a rehearsal studio before going to the record studio which was located on the other side of the Nashville. Finally, the vocals were recorded in Toronto with only Ian Gillan and Roger Glover present. In between this overall story arc, the film explained how Steve and later on Don joined Deep Purple, that they were the best choice and what influence they had. Even Joe Satriani who replaced Blackmore when he quit the band in Japan was featured. In all the film was quite interesting and it shed a light to some of the new music allowing at least me to get a better feel of it. But above all there is one really sad thing that I would like to point out: I learned that Steve suffers from osteoarthritis in his hand which makes it painful for him to play guitar the way he played for years and which forces him to find a new technique. And that he wished to be “the last guitar player of Deep Purple”.

The worst moment of the whole evening was the time, when the three songs (All I Got Is You, The Surprising, Birds of Prey) were to be played. Not because of the music, which was really great, but because of the people that noticed that Ian and Roger had sneaked into the auditorium and went there to get some signatures. After the first song, the host had to interrupt the presentation and asked the people to get back to their seats. Having said that, let me come back to the songs: All I Got Is You which has already been released as video and single features a phrase from Ian Paice: “You have got me. But all I got is you”. The Surprising was at once my absolute favorite, maybe because Ian Gillan’s voice is left “pure”.

After applause from the crowd, a brief question and answer session took place. Most questions were to be expected and did not cause any new information for people who visit The Highwaystar regularly: “Is this really your last tour?”, “What is your favorite song of the album?”, “Who are your influences / Which drummer do you admire the most?”, “Time for bedlam is really dark, do you fell this way?”, “How can band today get famous?”…

Finally, the audience queued up to get some signatures and after leaving the auditorium there were free posters showing the cover of the new album.

Now, I can hardly wait to experience the whole album.

Review by Timo Teichert

Roger Glover and Ian Paice did several phone-in appearances on American classic rock radio in the morning of this Thursday, March 16th. They appeared (that we know of) on The Morning Buzz show that is on the air in New Hampshire on The Frank Show that airs on KLPX in Tucson, Arizona, and on KQ Morning Show in Minnesota.

Thanks to Nigel Young for the info and the clip.

Several interviews with Roger Glover have appeared in the Irish press.

He spoke to The Irish News, waxing more philosophic than poetic.

On Time For Bedlam:

It was going to be a song about insane institution of some kind, and then Ian and I talked about the thought of being locked away, not for something you did but for an opinion that differs from the government.

And not just locked away – you’re gone, forever. That’s happened, that’s happened in real life, not in ours fortunately.

It’s a disturbing world we live in.

One of the songs on the album is Get Me Out Of Here. I don’t want to know what’s going on, I just want to escape. That was the feeling I wanted to get across. You can’t run away from it, and it’s a scary future.

The bad times are there for a reason. You learn far more from failure than you do from success. It’s tough to take sometimes, but that’s how you learn.

With my children, they’re upset if they can’t get their way. It’s good to get upset, you’ll learn not to eventually.

Read more in The Irish News.

Independent.ie has a shorter blurb attributed to the Press Association (might be the same source as the interview above).

Belfast Telegraph published his answer to a question he’s not asked too often: what are the 3 songs he wishes he had written:

Thanks to Nigel Young for the info.

Two more events showing the documentary about making of the new album inFinite. Showing in Italy will be attended by Ian Paice and Roger Glover, who will do a Q&A session afterwards, while Cardiff event will be attended by the filmmaker Craig Hooper.

What: Deep Purple: From Here to Infinity
USW journalism lecturer Craig Hooper will show his documentary about the recording of Deep Purple’s new album, and take part in a Q&A.
When: Friday, 17 March 2017, 18:00 – 21:00 GMT
Where: University of South Wales, Cardiff Campus
86-88 Adam Street
Cardiff
CF24 2FN
Tickets: free admission, but prior registration is required

What: DEEP PURPLE From Here to Infinity with Ian Paice and Roger Glover
When: Tuesday, 28 March 2017, 20:15 to 23:30 CEST
Where: Santeria Social Club
Viale Toscana 31
20136 Milano
Italy
Tickets: free admission

Thanks to Nigel Young for the info.

Greg Smith, the bass player for the 1990s incarnation of Rainbow, was interviewed for Eternal Terror webzine out in Norway. Much of the interview revolved around Rainbow proper and Over the Rainbow project, as well as Greg’s work with Alice Cooper, Ted Nugent, and his stint on Broadway with Billy Joel’s musical Movin’ Out.

“Stranger in Us All” by Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow happens to be one of my all-time favorite albums. How do you feel about that album nowadays? Do you think it has stood the test of time well?

Thanks. I’m glad it’s one of your favorites! I certainly do think it’s stood the test of time. I think back fondly of the time doing pre-production and of the actual recording. It was the last time I did an album “old school”, meaning everyone together in the studio hashing out the tunes from beginning to end then recording it. I was in the studio from January 1995 to April 1995. Ritchie was mostly a pleasure to be around as were the rest of the band. We had many laughs, drank much wine and beer, and became very close. Doogie recently gave me some audio tapes of some of the jamming we did at the studio as well as a recording of the first time I came down to play with the band in September1994. Priceless stuff!

There are so many legendary tales and stories involving pranks and jokes played by Ritchie floating around. I was wondering if you were ever a victim of one of those or if you outsmarted him or simply steered clear of him?

By the time I joined Rainbow, I had already played with Alice Cooper, so Ritchie thought of me as a professional. I never let him know I was a fan. I had already toured and recorded with his ex-bandmates Joe Lynn Turner, Dave Rosenthal, and Chuck Burgi. I’d heard all their stories, so I was prepared for his potential pranks! He tried pranking me once when I first started with the band in pre-production. He rented a mansion in the Hudson Valley that we rehearsed at. He put his dirty soccer clothes in my pillowcase. I just thought it was a bumpy pillow. I didn’t smell any body odor or sweat. He asked me the next morning how I slept. I told him I slept great. Another time he put this huge industrial vacuum cleaner in my room. I thought the cleaners had left it or something. Turns out he had it on a remote control. About 4:30 AM he clicks it on from his room. He’d thought he’d be able to play that prank on me all night. I just unplugged it from the wall. His remote no longer worked. Again, he asked me how I’d slept. I again told him great! He wasn’t getting a rise out of me so he then moved on to easier prey!

Coincidentally, Greg’s attitude towards making living as a musician is exactly the same as another bass player that from time to time gets coverage here on THS — Roger Glover:

You have been recording and performing music for quite a few years now, so I was wondering; is it ever not fun to be a working musician? Where do you find the inspiration to keep going?

The inspiration for me is I still love it as much as I did when I was a teenager. I always tell people that when I’m on tour, I get paid for the long days of travel and for being away from my family. The playing is free! The only time it was ever “not fun” was the very, very short amount of time I played in a wedding band. It was depressing. You’d be treated like crap by waiters and kitchen staff. Not at all fun. That felt like work and I never want playing to FEEL like work.

Read more in Eternal Terror.

Thanks to Jens Nepper for the info.

Roger Glover appeared on BBC Radio Wales Alan Thompson’s show this past Sunday, March 12. The segment lasted for around 35 minutes, and they spoke about the new album, the band’s songwriting process, Spinal Tap, Ian Paice, Steve Morse, Jon Lord, Ronnie Dio, Ritchie Blackmore, Frank Sinatra, and many other things. Time for Bedlam, Johnnie’s Band, Since You Been Gone and Smoke on the Water have been played on the show.

You can listen to in on the BBC Player, where the episode will be available until April 10. Roger’s segment starts at around 24 minute mark into the show.

Thanks to Nigel Young for the info.

Just a quick public service announcement that Don Airey Band starts European tour tomorrow, March 11. If you’re in the neighbourhood — go and see them. The venues are intimate, the tickets are not that expensive, the musicians are top notch, and they are playing the music we all love. Just go.

A snippet from the last year performances, Lost in Hollywood live at the Locomotiv Club di Bologna, March 8 2016:

Swiss magazine Tracks has a cover story on the new Deep Purple album in its 2017 issue #2. A 6 page story inside includes an interview with Roger Glover, from where we present you with selected quotes. Usual caveats about reverse translation apply.

On Johnny’s Band lyrics:

It is not about a particular band. It was clear to me that this question would come when I wrote the lyrics. If you look at the stories of bands they are almost all the same. They start with nothing, alone against the rest of the world, they struggle to survive, they create the breakthrough, success brings money, money brings women and drugs, they end in rehab or die or anything else and 20 years later they reform and play again in the small clubs where they had begun. It is a universal story. I called it ‘Johnny’ because John is a very commonplace name.

On why the band have recorded a cover of Roadhouse Blues for the new album:

Just out of a whim. On the last album, we had the fun of Jerry Lee Lewis ‘It’ll Be Me’ and Bob asked, ‘Do we want to do that again?’ There were a few songs to choose from, but I no longer remember who called ‘Roadhouse Blues’. We are a band who likes to choose the path of least resistance. If we have to learn something first – forget it! (Laughs). ‘Roadhouse Blues’ is a song that we can play without having to listen to the original. So we played that in the studio, quite spontaneously and only once. The whole thing was done in half an hour. All live, no overdubs – even the singing is sung directly live with the band, since nothing was changed afterwards. That was fun. I was just a bit uncertain because the song was already covered a lot. Gillan has his roots and influences more at Elvis in the early rock ‘n’ roll time. But he did a great job here.

On Ritchie’s absence from the RnRHoF induction and Celebrating Jon Lord gala at the RAH:

It is not that we do not like each other. He has isolated himself. I would be happy if we still had contact and would talk with each other. This Hall of Fame thing would have been great if he had come. But he had already said months before: ‘I’m not interested.’ But afterwards he said naturally, ‘I was not invited’ or ‘they told me I should not come!’ I’ve sent Ritchie Christmas cards for years, but never got an answer. Somehow I gave up. Of course I know how important Ritchie was to the band. He pushed us in the right direction, he and Jon Lord had this push/pull effect for the band. Ritchie was more the purple architect than anyone else. But it was his choice to get out, just as I thought the band was back on a healthy path. All he did was always his own choice. I would welcome him as a friend. But it is not an option to return to Purple as a guitarist. We’ve been with Steve for 22 years and he’s our guitarist. Basically, all this is a soap opera.

If you can understand German, the magazine is available for your online perusal free of charge.

Thanks to Nigel Young for the info.