“Nobody can play better than that guy, man!”: In a new in-depth interview, guitar virtuoso Steve Morse discusses the supernatural powers of John Petrucci, Eric Johnson, Angel Vivaldi and Deep Purple legends Jon Lord and Ritchie Blackmore

Steve Morse poses in the studio with his Ernie Ball Music Man signature model – not the guitar synth at the bridge.

At one point in our conversation with Steve Morse he pauses in awe at the abilities of Angel Vivaldi, who has been recently drafted into his live band, and wonders whether he’s an “alien”.

It’s not just that Vivaldi can recreate the parts Eric Johnson played on the Steve Morse Band’s new album, Triangulation, and the parts John Petrucci played – it’s that he can also dig into the Dixie Dregs back catalogue and reinterpret an electric piano part for electric guitar like it was no big deal.