In conversation with Alan Dearling
Alan: Thanks for taking time out for a chat, guys. So, who are the Steve Morrison Band, and what’s the ‘history’?
Steve: The Band came together organically. I was a regular visitor to Berwick as my parents had retired here. The Music Gallery music store was in many ways the heart of the town for musicians living in Berwick. As well as the store, Brian, the owner, ran a live venue upstairs from the shop – Café Kazmiranda. A lovely intimate room that gave a lot of local musicians the chance to perform. I was drawn to this scene, making friends and taking the opportunity to play at the Café myself. I got to know Brian and Martin, who worked at the shop, and they were happy to build a band around my music. With Brian on bass guitar, Martin on guitar and the addition of Jock Leathen on drums, we had a 4-piece Blues unit.
Having made the decision to move permanently to Berwick I now had a ‘Band’. Keen to gig and great fun to to play with.
Alan: I’ve seen both you, Steve, and Martin Yves in various bands around the Berwick and Scottish-English borderlands. Do you often join with other musical friends?
Steve: In the main I work under my own name. Solo, duo, trio and with the 4-piece band. Each give me different opportunities to explore and develop my music in ways that are varied and offer different challenges. Performing solo demands unique arrangements. Can be demanding but allows me the freedom to be spontaneous. Free to move around and respond organically to the live situation. When I’m playing with others I look to keep the arrangements loose, and although we are working with familiar songs they are constantly changing, moving around and allow us the chance to create something new and fresh with each performance. We don’t rehearse and I believe creating the music anew each time is exciting for us and our audience.
Martin: Yes, I’m always up for playing music and have a good time!
Alan: I saw you at The Barrels pub in Berwick very recently. It’s good that the basement area has re-opened for live music. Nice and busy and you were extremely popular with the audience. You put in a scorching R&B set, lots of original material, plenty of high energy slide guitar, guitar duels and incendiary drumming from a flashing drum kit! Tell me a bit about what you enjoy playing most…
Steve: As I mentioned earlier I’m always looking for opportunities to create. When the band comes together and our instruments blend into that one creative experience it can be a wonderful feeling and powerful. That said we are taking a chance on the night. We’re listening to each other, responding to the sounds each of us is creating turning the piece of music into a rhythmic groove with sweet melodic harmonies – It’s lovely and to share that with people. Simply great fun. That night at Barrels was a good one.
Martin: I enjoy being on stage playing spontaneous music and connecting with the band and hopefully the audience too…
Alan: This is for Steve. I watched the Sky Arts program, ‘Guitar Star’ from 2016 that featured you playing and joining in with many other guitar legends. What were your favourite moments?
Steve: I have to confess that having a Mercedes waiting outside my home to take me to that day’s shoot had its appeal. I’m often asked this question and I always respond by saying it was getting to hang out with 7 other wonderful guitarists. TV and filming mainly involves a lot of hanging around waiting for our opportunity to perform for the camera. The producers made a good decision not to run the competition as merely a knockout situation. Those who made it into the selected group of 8 were all included in five of the shows saving the knockout for the final three shows and an ultimate winner. Hanging around backstage allowed me to see these guys relaxed and happy off-camera. We got on really well together with little competitive atmosphere between us. I got to hear these guitarists warming up and having fun with their guitars. Sam Rodwell’s classical guitar was sublime. Jake Heaton’s rock guitar was driven by youthful enthusiasm. It was after the session when I played with Wilko Johnson in Camden that I got to hear the real Haythem Mohamed, another of the contestants. We were waiting backstage to be told when we could leave when Haythem dragged his guitar from the case and asked me what he should play. I said, “…play what you fancy my friend.” Wow! Relaxed and off camera I got to hear what that young man could do with guitar. He was the best among us. Fluid, creative and musical. Unforgettable for me. He should have won but was voted off in the 6th episode.
For myself, my favourite moment was playing for Miloš Karadaglić, the acclaimed classical guitarist. I was as nervous as hell as I knew I couldn’t fake anything classical on the guitar. Knowing he was from Montenegro I chose an original piece of mine with a World Music and Gypsy flavour. It went really good and I made him cry. Truly. I was absolutely delighted and waited eagerly for that particular episode to see the session on film. All that was shown is Milos leaning over my shoulder showing me how to hold the guitar properly. Those damn editors! Made me think of the lyrics from Sinatra’s ‘That’s Life’ – “Riding high in April, shot down in May”.
Alan: Has the ‘Guitar Star’ series led to any more exciting opportunities?
Steve: Getting your face on the Tele is never a bad thing and enjoying the accolades of the likes of George Benson, Milos and Tony Visconti did wonders for my reputation and confidence.
As for furthering my career, not much really.
Steve Morrison on ‘Guitar Star’ compilation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJWZlMErovI
Alan: What are your individual and collective plans for 2023 onwards?
Steve: Gigs and the opportunity to perform and create with my musician friends. In my experience there is no, “…finally I’m good moment.” Rather it’s the growing and moving forward as a player and musician that is the greater achievement. My intention is to continue enjoying my music, my fellow band members and sharing it with others.
Alan: Any recordings in the offing? What is already available – recordings/videos – and how can folk find them?
Steve: I have put together a bunch of CDs. None available at the moment although I plan to move those recordings to the online streaming sites. For now, YouTube offers access to some live events. Always happier playing live than in the studio. I’m told my website is a pretty good place to get know me and my music.
Martin: I’ve quite a few things on Youtube but nothing official, we enjoy the moment and never had the urge to do anything too regimented to be registered. Steve on his own has an incredibly rich catalogue of his own music.
Alan: So far in your careers, what gigs or festies have you most enjoyed playing?
Martin: Personally with the band, the beer festivals are my favourite… No need to explain any further.
Steve: Performing at festivals and theatres on the continent has been fun and the opportunity to visit new places brings its own excitement. My favourite gigs include two contrasting events. The first was a festival in Haapsalu, Estonia. A ruined castle with couple of thousand folk distributed among the ruins. Big stage. Always keen to get the best sound I can I visit the Soundman running the desk to try to ingratiate myself. “Do you like Blues?” I say. “I have to” is his response. Yikes! I was playing solo and had to follow a 4-piece band. Well, it went great. It just came together for me. I filled that stage and I had them queuing around the stage to buy my CDs while the 6-piece band that followed me were playing.
The second was the roughest of pubs in East London. The Salmon & Ball situated on the corner of the street next to Bethnal Green Underground Station. Maybe 30 or 40 people of all persuasions. The tough guys strutting their stuff. The drunken men and women had clearly been drinking all day. The young French family, mum, dad and two youngsters visiting London. The two older guys at the bar dressed in silver suits and wearing fedoras and sporting immaculately manicured moustaches. They looked sharp and dangerous like characters from a Micky Spillane story. Well, just the two us. I’m with my drummer Alan Hughes that night. We set to work and got that room jumping. By 10 o’clock they were all on their feet dancing and rocking the night away. I’m looking across the room watching this amazing mix of characters having a ball. Without doubt one of my proudest moments when my drummer and I brought all these folk together under the umbrella of our music.
Alan: Which artists and recordings do you enjoy and rate?
Steve: Over the years I have collected and curated a wonderful collection of music from all over the world. My teachers were the early Blues men and women from Lightning Hopkins, Big Bill Broonzy, Memphis Minnie and Louis Jordan. I love Boogie-Woogie music and the Big Swing Bands of the fifties. But I’m keen to hear contemporary musicians…I went abroad in my search for current and modern music that didn’t fall into the western popular scene. I love World Music and have explored all the continents looking for great music to inspire and teach me. I have an avaricious appetite for new music and if I hear something that moves me have to own it. I will often record music from films and TV shows that have that something that I want. I found the music of Alexi Murdoch in the film ‘Away We Go’ and the soundtrack to the film ‘Hitman Redemption’ has some great music too. I have so much music around me it’s difficult for me to choose a favourite but I will happily recommend a band I discovered last year, ‘Poor Man’s Poison’. Great performances beautifully recorded.
Poor Man’s Poison website: https://poormanspoison.net/home
Martin: I could spend a whole week on that subject… I love good music in general but with a soft spot for instrumental and fusion.
Alan: What other plans for the future?
Martin: Carry on doing what we do, watching closely and learning all I can from Steve and having the best time!
Steve: Planning to just keep on keeping on…
Alan: Many thanks for sharing some time and your thoughts…appreciated.
Art of Blues website: https://www.artofblues.net/www.artofblues.net/Steve_Morrison-Welcome.html