“He played a gig with a nub”: Steve Morse remembers watching a one-armed bassist perform – and how it inspires him to keep playing despite arthritis struggles
Virtuoso and former Deep Purple guitarist Steve Morse has opened up about his struggles with arthritis in recent years, and how he remains determined to continue playing despite the pain.
In 2024, Morse explained how “10,000 notes a day” of practice for “decades” – combined with a genetic history of arthritis – means his fingers “don’t have the cartilage anymore”, leading to pain while playing guitar.
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Now, in a new interview with American Musical Supply, the 71-year-old guitarist tells the story of how he once watched a bassist with one arm perform live, and how the memory keeps him inspired despite his own health issues.
“I thought at one point, ‘Dude, you’re done,’” Morse says [via Blabbermouth]. “And I thought, when I was a kid going to see bands in Atlanta, it was a three-hour drive, a band called Hydra came out. The bass player, his arm was cut off here. And he was playing the gig and he was getting into it, and it was great…
“Every time I’m feeling bad about, ‘This hurts…’ he played a gig with a nub. And you think about [jazz guitarist] Jeff Healey [being] blind and making his own technique.”
Morse continues: “Humans adapt. And I’ve learned a lot from watching things on the farm, watching the ants, for instance… I’m like Bill Murray with the groundhogs. The persistence of the animals counts. They keep on and on and they find a way. But they never stop. I guess that’s one of my big lessons, is don’t give up while you’ve still got a breath.”
Steve Morse adds that he’s tried “every treatment” he can find in a bid to help his arthritis condition.
“The reason why I wanna keep playing is because it really is a part of me – I mean, it’s a big part of me…” he explains.
“I’ve tried every treatment I can find. In fact, I’ve got another trip a thousand miles away to try something else. So, yeah, I changed my technique, changed my picking pattern, changed everything that I can to make it through whatever the challenge is.”
The post “He played a gig with a nub”: Steve Morse remembers watching a one-armed bassist perform – and how it inspires him to keep playing despite arthritis struggles appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Source: www.guitar-bass.net
