wiebe@uw-june (Doug Wiebe) (10/14/83)
Steve Morse and the Dregs (they dropped the "Dixie" a few years back) are certainly one of the finest fusion bands around. I accidently saw one of their concerts in Tucson about three years ago during their Unsung Heroes tour and have been an ardent fan since. Here's a little more about the band. Steve Morse and Andy West met up in high school, both eventually wound up in the Music Department at the University of Miami. At the time, the U of M had on its faculty (among others) Pat Methany and Jaco Pastorius(!). During their stay they formed the first rock band for credit at the U of Miami and likely anywhere. Some of the band members eventually left; this left Steve and Andy as the "dregs" of that band and you know the rest. Steve Morse's playing is marked by both his formidable technique and by his ability to play many styles of music, from classical guitar to driving rock to chicken pickin' to haunting electric melodies (cf "Conversation Piece" on the album Industry Standard). Steve's playing is unusual in that unlike most rock guitarists he uses no hammer-ons and pull-offs, he individually picks every note. Yet his speed is simply awesome and his enunciation is impeccable. Steve is an accomplished composer and has written virtually every song on the Dregs' six albums. Steve last year was voted Best Overall Guitar Player by the readers' poll in Guitar Player magazine, beating out all those other guitar luminaries (including McGloughlin, DiMeola, Van Halen etc). It would definitely be worth your $12.50 to see Morse solo, and with the other three it should be outrageous. Andy West, the Dregs' bassist, can play note for note with Steve. Need I say more? In the same readers' poll he was voted second best jazz bassist (after Jaco) AND second best rock bassist (after ?Geddy?). P.S., Andy is another satisfied Steinberger bass user. Rod and T (drums and keyboards) have the skills to play with any band, any where, any time. Period. The remarkable thing is that on the Dregs' most recent album Industry Standard (which won Best Album of the Year) I may not have even mentioned yet the most talented player, namely Mark O'Connor. Mark plays fiddle/violin and guitar. He has won several national championships for fiddle playing and flatpick guitar, and is widely proclaimed by many as simply the best fiddle player anywhere. Mark has since moved on. As I hear it, this is the reported "breakup" of the band. In an interview a couple or three months back, Morse claims that the band remains a band and will continue to record and to tour. I have not heard what their recent plans are. Anybody out there know more? Doug Wiebe CSci Dept. FR-35 University of Washington Seattle, WA 98195