Hi Peter,

Thank you. We are not very involved in the sound production during a live performance; we rely on a good sound engineer. You can't really tell what the sound is like from the stage; you have to be out in the audience. The best way to judge the sound is by gauging the audience reaction.

RG

Hi Brad,

After many years of travelling and seeing so many countries it is always a wonderful feeling to experience a new one, especially such an intriguing place as China.

RG

Hi Steve,

Thank you. Judging by the fact that we spent a lot of time perfecting Never Before as a single and completely ignored Smoke On the Water, no we are not aware.

RG

Hi Patrick,

Yes, that happens. There is nothing you can do about it, assuming there's nothing wrong with your gear, it's just the acoustics of the venue. Get your head down, do the best you can, and look forward to moaning about it in the dressing room afterwards. Every job has good days and bad days.

RG

Actually they are both our dressing rooms, it’s just that IG needs peace before a show and the rest of us need peace afterwards.

RG

Hi Dan,

Sometimes, a given solo will be of a certain length and the improvisation is within that length, other times it is open-ended and the signal usually comes from the soloist. There is no leader on stage and whenever there are mistakes, or what we call train wrecks, there are a lot of desperate glances around the stage. On those occasions it's usually down to myself or Paicey to count the band back in.

Rehearsing is not something we do a lot of, the least the better. Getting on tape what is in your head is one of the great mysteries of the universe. The best advice I could give is not to have a predetermined result in mind otherwise you are fighting one battle too many. Be open to the moment and relish accidents and spontaneity. In other words, use your heart and not your head.

RG

Hi Scott,

Thank you. The road is a strange place to live and it can drive you crazy. By mental exercise I mean that you have to keep your brain from wasting away with the constant repetition of traveling from hotel room to hotel room. I read a lot and attempt cryptic crosswords, among other things.

RG

Hi PD,

Whenever we are advertised to play somewhere and then it is cancelled, it is hardly ever anything to do with the band ? it?s usually promoter or agent maneuverings. We find these things out much like you do. There are some artists/bands who will cancel stuff on a whim but we are not like that. We have, I believe, a very good reputation with both the fans and the business. Unfortunately, it?s always the band that gets blamed. Oh, yes, I nearly forgot ? I cancelled a show once because there was no beer in the dressing room, I mean... enough is enough!

RG

Hi Simon,

Thanks for the kind word about the site. Andi thanks you too. There are many songs and stories about life on the road, some of them are even true. Most of the time it?s mind numbing, if you let it get to you. I read of course, watch some TV (usually CNN or BBC World, both of which bore), go for walks, work on my computer (writing this kind of thing) and occasionally do a bit of painting (I carry a small watercolour set). As for the rest of the time, there?s always the bar!

RG

Hi Rick,

I?m afraid I am not blessed with clairvoyance so I can?t really answer the first question. It may be possible one day, who knows? But I very much doubt that it would be on any kind of permanent basis. What would be the reason other than nostalgia?
One of the problems of a US summer ?sheds? tour is that with three acts on the bill, every band has to compromise regarding time on stage, it?s just a fact of life. The two headliners get the same amount of time, by contract.

RG

Hi Bill,

Thanks for your kind words about the Mark ll anniversary series. You will probably know by now that I am not going to be involved with the Mark lll albums. I did investigate what I could bring to Burn but ultimately I thought it wasn?t for me. I don?t know what EMI have planned.

We all have different thoughts about old songs. However, getting us to agree on them is another matter. I'd love to do Demon's Eye and Hard Loving Man.

RG

Congratulations again on the book, it really was an achievement. I have
some stuff, of course, loads of photographs, some posters, magazines,
clippings, paraphernalia, etc. but I'm not like Bill Wyman, who kept
absolutely everything. Having said that I would probably surprise myself if
I actually went through all the boxes, drawers, files and cupboards in my
house. One day...

RG

Hi Fabian,

Thanks for good thoughts about Snapshot. The set list is probably close to religion as far as causing a fight is concerned; everyone wants to hear something different. I favour looking at new ideas and I can assure you that there will be a lot of Bananas played on the next tour. (If you didn?t know the name of the album you?d read that twice, wouldn?t you?) I can?t predict what exactly will be played as we don?t know until a day before the tour, or ten minutes before we hit the stage, whichever comes first!

RG

Hi Joel,

The answer is Wednesday evening, 2004. At least that's what the plan is. Thanks for the good thoughts.

RG

Hi frustrazated fan!

This is a bone of contention amongst fans and band alike. The unfortunate fact of life is that the more sophisticated fans will always want to hear the more obscure or the most recent songs whilst the summer tours in America and the festival tours of Europe demanded that we play the most recognizable songs. We even tried to incorporate what might be called the "B list" songs, like Mary Long, but it didn?t work. The hard fact of the matter is that the last two albums, regardless of their lasting value to a fan, did not generate the higher profile needed to make their songs recognizable to the general public. They weren?t hits! Now, with a new album, Bananas, there is a chance that we might break through that acceptance barrier and have some new classics. Personally I would still like to explore a few of the songs from the previous two albums as well, but I have to get the rest of the band to agree. Not always an easy task.

RG

Hi Mark,

Thanks for the good thoughts. The band has as much input with regard to the stage set as it wants, which is, certainly over the last few years, not a lot. This is partly because back in the 80s and into the 90s, bands of a lesser musical nature tended to rely on stage sets to bolster their lack of talent. It became ludicrous; who could have the bigger, better, or more outrageous set. We decided to concentrate on the music and present it in as uncluttered a way as possible, and that has been our practice of late. The Bananas Tour may hold a few changes though, we?ll see.

RG

Hi Greg,

Thanks for the kind words. Brazil? The answer is?. very soon! September, in fact. I haven?t got the dates in front of me but I?m sure you will have no difficulty in finding them, try http://www.deep-purple.com. I hope you catch the tour, I?m looking forward to it.

RG

Hi Danny,

No I don't get bored with anything that we do, it's a happy event just to be on the stage. As to the argument about doing the newer stuff, I am sympathetic but refer you to the answer I gave to Oleg.

RG

Hi Oleg,

Thank you for the kind thoughts. I think that there are some great songs on HOBL but not many of them ever made it live. Bad Attitude is a song that Don Airey said he would like to have a go at, and that may happen sometime. I personally like Spanish Archer and Black And White (I know a lot of people don?t care for this song but I love it). There are some songs that will never be attempted live because they just don?t turn us on as live material. The choice of songs to play live is a hot topic and we can never please everyone, even those in the band! However, on tours like we?ve been doing the last few years it has been necessary to do more recognizable material. Our fans are the best in the world but don?t always understand that the majority of our audiences these last few years (summer gigs and festivals) want to hear music that they are familiar with. We are also on a bill that includes bands who are doing just that and although I like to play the more the obscure songs, as does the band - at least some of us - it?s a tough sell to the management, agents and promoters. Also, there are a lot of young people coming to see us that have never heard us before.

RG

Hi Scott,

Thank you for the kind words. ?The road? is a mythical place that to most people means crazy parties and outrageous behavior. Of course these sometimes occur but it is not a regular part of life. As Paul McCartney says, everyone thinks that The Beatles were having a hard time making Let It Be because that album marked the end of the band and there were some well documented struggles in the studio but in fact, most of the time, they were still having lots of fun ? others naturally focus on the bad stuff. DP has had its share of bad times but like-wise; there were many good times as well.

Most of the touring stories are exaggerated by the continuous retelling but in reality, touring is a bit like police work; grueling boredom. One of the stories that is not exaggerated took place in 1971 when we were touring with Rod Stewart and The Faces. Both bands were staying in a Holiday Inn somewhere in the States and a party was going on in two adjoining bedrooms. The Faces got tired of constantly having to walk out in the corridor in order to get to the other room so they decided that the architect had got it wrong and another door was needed. To that end they created one by knocking a hole in the wall between the two rooms. It may not have looked too tidy but it worked - at least until morning! They got banned from the whole Holiday Inn chain for that. (Some would say that was not such a bad thing.)

The constant travel can take its toll, which is why bands sometimes let off steam by getting crazy or drunk in some hotel bar and then getting into trouble when the staff start to object. The other strange phenomenon as that with repetition comes a sense of unreality and a loss of awareness about where exactly in the world one is. I have found this on occasion and over breakfast have had to ask the waitress not for more coffee or toast, but where am I? Ian Gillan once famously said to the crowd in Glasgow, ?It?s great to be in Edinborough,? which was duly greeted with an ominous hush and an almost audible clenching of fists. Quickly realizing his mistake he went on, ??but it?s even better to be in Glasgow,? to a huge roar of approval (some of which was from the band). These days I am not so alarmed at forgetting where I am, it?s who I am that bothers me!

My headscarves are cotton, not silk, and are usually Indian. They can be found in hippy markets in various places. Oddly enough, Carmarthen in Wales is where I?ve bought quite a few (there?s a large hippy commune outside the town).

RG

Hi Adir,

Thanks for your message. You told me how you feel with a great deal of eloquence. I would love to come to Israel again - it's all down to promoters and agents. We received a lovely welcome the last time we were there, despite the fact that it wasn't such a great time in the band's career.

As for the new album, I don't think there will be a concept as such, just a feeling of renewal and courage to do something different. Maybe that's a concept in itself. It's difficult to say much about the album until it's done because it changes and grows all the time, no one knows what it will turn out like.

RG

Hi Dave,

Thanks for the kind thoughts. I love playing music. True, the travel can get to one from time to time, but for me, those moments on stage more than make up for it. How many other jobs have world travel as one of the perquisites? My friends think I've got the best job, I agree with them. You'd have to ask Jon the other question but I suspect that the answer would not be quite as simple as you might think. I'll mark down your vote for Pictures.

RG

Thanks for the good advice. I don't know when we will be coming to Australia, we've just stopped touring after four years or so without much of a break. Always good to be there though. Funny accents, good beer.

RG

Hi Andy,

Glad you enjoyed the show. I don't think about movements as any kind of technique. I feel (relatively) comfortable on stage, especially after so many years, and therefore more relaxed. I look at old videos and see an odd sort of forwards/backwards walk that must have been de riguer at the time, I've observed others doing it as well - it must have been a continuation of something from the 60s - a disease, maybe? I also suspect that I was fairly static in the old days because I had so little room, sandwiched between the drums and the organ. I've been allowed out since then.

RG

Hi Marianne,

Thank you for the Snapshot thoughts. J The site is coming along, there'll be a lot of changes along the way. I'd love to tour the world, arenas everywhere, but reality hurts. It probably would be clubs and smaller venues but finance is the thing; all the musicians on the album live in the States, so much less expensive to do, at least at first. If there is a good reason, ie. a hit album, then Europe, or anywhere else, could be a possibility. I would like that a lot and I know I'd see plenty of old friends in the audience.

RG

Hi Charlie,

The simple answer is, yes. I don't like percentages, it just reminds me of agents, managers, publishers, taxes, expences, contracts. I always want to do new material but sometimes I don?t always get what I want. Strange, that.

RG (the sincere, odd-looking chap with the Hatch End connection)

Hi Serg,

Thanks for the good thoughts. I have no idea of our touring plans for next year other than we will probably be in Europe around May. There is a rumour of a large tour to your part of the world some time later on but no dates are set yet. I?d like to see you again as well, a great welcome we had. J

RG

Hi Reinaldo,

I’m doin’ fine thanks.

There are songs that work well live and there are song songs that don’t. We kind of have a sixth sense about which is which, based on experience. However there are surprises – Fools is one, also Watching The Sky, Blind Man, No One Came. Most of those were overlooked in the past and yet have now become regulars.
No song is just plain difficult to play, after all we played it in the first place, but if they are intricate, or rely on a delicate feel, they tend not to be the ones we would gravitate to on stage. The best songs are usually those where a certain amount of freedom allows us to stretch out a bit. One of the strengths (and maybe weakesses) of this band is that it has always had great players who are not interested in playing the same thing twice. In fact most cover bands play our material closer to the recorded version that we could ever do, we just don’t listen to our own music much.

RG

Hi Sasha,

Possibilities and probabilities are endlessy intertwined. I know that there are tapes somewhere and someone, probably Louie Austin, must have even mix ed them for the film way back then. I’m not sure of the quality though, the whole thing was done on a shoe string (just look at that appalling video..... on second thoughts, don’t!). It all boils down to what a sales projection it might have and whether anyone cares enough to finace the project and do the work, either record company or individual. I know I don’t have the time or inclination right now. Maybe I’ll get to it when I retire, which is planned for 2045. 😉

RG

Hi Smudge,

We will be back on the road but in Portsmouth, no idea. Not for a while I should imagine. Take a (hopefully much deserved) summer trip yourself and come to see us in Europe next year.

RG

Hi Chris,

> 1) Why is it taking so long to record the next DP cd? Are you guys in the studio and when is the expected release date?

We haven't started yet so I don't know how long it's going to take. I assume though, that you're referring to the length of time between albums. Good question. After the Concerto we got tied up with touring with orchestras for a while and that put us back. There was also the bigger question of whether Jon was going to be in the band or not, I don't think it would have very wise to have recorded an album with Jon and then have him retire and us go out with Don or whomever just playing Jon's part. That wouldn’t have been fair. The essence of this band is what happens when we play together. On the other hand, no one but Jon could have reached that decision, and it took some time for him to finally face what he didn't want to face; he loves playing with this band, a band that he helped to create, but he had other avenues to explore and eventually he put himself in a position to do just that. We are now ready to explore our own avenues. I believe it will be all to the better for this delay.

> 2) Will there be a major change in the setlist the next time DP tours here in the US? DP is not a nostalga band in my book.

Yes, I believe there will, but don't forget that with the audience getting younger, more and more people are coming to our shows who haven't heard us before. Like it or not, they are the songs most associated with us. It would be nice to have newer material be so well known but right now it isn't. I know all the arguments, believe me, I have them with various people in our organization all the time, and I'm all in favour for newer songs, or even rarely played older ones, but I also know the realities of the band, both from a media point of view and a personal one. However, having said that, I will be fighting for as much new material as possible.

> Please no more coheadlining shows!!!!

Talk to our agent and see how difficult it is get any kind of tour these days. Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do!

> 3) Why no songs off of Abandon?

On the Abandon tour we did seven new songs from that album. Seven! We've never done so much new material before or since. Personally, I think some worked better than others, but I really enjoy playing Seventh Heaven and I'd love to do it again. I liked Any Fule too but that's a tough one for IG to sing night after night. We'll see.

> 4) Who are your favorite professional football, baseball and basaketball teams?

Bristol Wednesday, The New York Wankers, and The Knickers.

RG