Ready to “fly the ‘copter” all the way to Germany? Well, being that I was just on tour opening shows for Deep Purple all over Europe (so cool!), you know there was NO WAY I was not going to land an interview with their brilliant new guitarist, Simon McBride.

This exciting episode takes us all the way to the KP Arena in Oberhausen, for an inspiring backstage guitar hang with the Irish 6-string virtuoso, who plugs in his custom Paul Reed Smith and demonstrates for you many of the captivating guitar approaches he employs each night on stage with his legendary bandmates — Ian Gillan, Ian Paice, Roger Glover, and Don Airey. (Bonus: Concert clips from the show later that night!)

Simon also reflects on what it means to take over the guitar chair from longtime Deep Purple guitarist Steve Morse — who, after 28 years in the band, stepped down earlier this year — as well as what it’s like follow in the footsteps of Deep Purple’s founding guitarist, Ritchie Blackmore; trade licks each night with the band’s formidable keyboardist, his good friend Don Airey; and start off one of the world's most iconic rock songs each night by playing the mega famous riff that opens "Smoke on the Water."

Thank you for listening!

— Jude Gold, Host and Creator, No Guitar Is Safe, "The guitar show where guitar heroes plug in."

This episode is brought to you by Guitar Player magazine and guitarpleyer.com. Guitar Player: Play better, sound better.