Don Airey interview

[Waterfall-K]

 

Don Airey: "Expect the Unexpected"

 

Dear Don, here're some questions that the Deep Purple Community facebook page followers have with you. Let's speak about summer festivals. Deep Purple have headlined some of the world's biggest music festivals, as well as the smaller ones. What's the general difference between Purple's sole and festival shows? What's your general feeling about festivals?

 

Festival shows are shorter often by as much as 45 minutes as the maximum we are given is an hour 15. However for me personally playing a summer rock festival is one of the best things in life. 

 

Once in an interview you stated it's your dream to play New York's Madison Square Garden again. Is there any dream festival that you'd like to headline with Purple?

 

About 9 years ago we played a festival in Carhaix Brittany, France, called Les Vielles Charrues that had 180,000 people there. It was an amazing experience and one that broke DP big in France - if the chance came would love to play it again.

 

Deep Purple at Vieilles Charrues Festival, France, 2005

 

Glastonbury festival, cited by many as the world's greatest music attraction, had a heavy metal headliner for the first time in history, Metallica this year. Strangely enough, DP has never done Glasto. Would you accept if invited? Have you ever attended Glasto and what's your general feeling towards it?

 

Not my cup of tea or the band’s. Too much posing going on, with the audience seemingly worse than the musos. Thought Metallica did very well though..

 

Deep Purple has never been quite interested in a huge stage shows, light rigs etc. It always was only pure music that the band really cared. But at the "NOW What?!" World tour the stage set seems really huge, rocking and fascinating. How did this idea came about? Was the band involved or was it just management's decision? Generally, what's your feeling about using visual arts onstage, like Pink Floyd or Rolling Stones always did?

 

These days you have to have a visual element to the show especially if you are playing to 5000 people or more a night. The decision to expand the visual side actually was taken by our management in conjunction with the lighting company TDA and under advice from our wonderful light designer Louis Ball. Would not like to use as much as the Stones or Floyd however. The music speaks for itself to a great extent.

 

In 2010 Deep Purple played one show in Hamburg with the son of man with whom the band has not so good tensions - Jurgen Blackmore, Ritchie's son. Whose idea it was and how it all happened?

 

Jurgen turned up with his mother Margaret, whom we all know, and it just seemed an obvious thing to happen. He’s a pretty good player in actual fact.

 

Deep Purple with Jurgen Blackmore

 

In an interview, published in 2005, Ritchie himself expressed a desire to play a one-off gig with DP. Would you personally be up for it? Like, doing an one off gig with him as a special guest at least?

 

It’s not going to happen – we are too busy.

 

The success of "NOW What?!" album was overwhelming, the album is still in the TOP50 of Amazon Germany's music charts, sitting at #2 in the Hard Rock charts right today. Did it came as a big surprise for you? Are you expecting the same, or, probably even better reception for a follow up next year? Fans are joking that Deep Purple returned in mainstream fashion for the third time with "NOW What?!"

 

The success of "NOW What?!" was a real big surprise in every way, and one of the nicest too! When you make a record you don’t actually expect anything. Just hope you can get it finished, mixed, mastered, and delivered somewhere near the deadline. So at the moment we are entertaining no hopes of the ambitious kind for the next record, if and when we get it finished, but obviously our fingers are crossed.

 

You did a writing session in Portugal. Roger says There's the second one planned for late 2014. Are you satisfied with the last studio jam? What can we expect? Deep Purple always had something new to offer to the fans.

 

Expect the unexpected!

 

 

There still are several marvelous songs from "NOW What?!" that you haven't played live, like the fan favorites "A Simple Song" and "Out Of Hand". I remember you rehearsing "Out Of Hand" in Tbilisi, during the soundcheck. Is there any talks in the band to play those songs live?

 

We stuck with the same set in USA as it seemed to work so well. But nevertheless I would like to play more material from "NOW What?!" than we do.

 

We know that there was some talks to do a package tour of NA with Aerosmith in the early 00's, but it never happened. What's your general feeling towards the package tours? Some bands enjoy it, some - not.

 

It can be great if the chemistry between the bands, and the two sets of fans is right. The band actually has very little control over who it plays with – these things are left to promoters and agents.

 

Deep Purple has toured literally everywhere on planet earth. Every continents (excluding Antarctica, of course), playing on the seasides, mountains, desert-neighborhoods, big cities and small villages. Is there still any place on earth that you've not played but would love to play?

 

Greenland, before global warming wreaks too much havoc on it’s environment, and strangely enough in the only American state I personally haven’t played – Wyoming – it looks a wondrous place.

 

 

Is there any song that you'd love to play from the albums that DP never does on tour? For example, something from "The House Of Blue Light" or whatever?

 

Mitzi Dupree!!

 

Many fans would love to attend DP’s one‐off show at least, with Morse era only songs being played. Have you ever considered thing like that?

 

Personally, no.

 

And finally, feel free to leave a short message for Deep Purple Community followers worldwide and all the Purple people. Would be highly appreciated.

 

Thanks to you all for making so much music-making possible. Keep on rockin'.

 

Giorgi Kikonishvili

September 24, 2014