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Win 2 tickets to See DEEP PURPLE!!!
Live at the Brandt Centre, February 16, 2012

You could win two tickets to see Deep Purple, Thursday, February 16 at the Brandt Centre. Just send a personal email (one only) with 'Deep Purple Contest' in the subject header to editorial@buzzcity.ca

A video of the draw will be posted on Buzzcity.ca on Friday February 10th.

Please indicate in your email that you do, or don’t, want to be added to the Buzzbuddy email list to receive notification of Buzzcity.ca’s posting of new events, interviews and features.

Entrants names, and email addresses, will be held in confidence and will not be distributed to other parties. Contest winners full names will not be announced.

DEEP PURPLE
by Steve McDonnell

Deep Purple began in Hertford, England, in 1968, with a lineup featuring guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, vocalist Rod Evans, bassist Nick Simper, keyboardist Jon Lord, and drummer Ian Paice. The band hit the top of the US charts with their first two albums, went through some line-up changes and with new members and the release of their 4th album “Deep Purple in Rock” assumed a heavier guitar-dominated approach that produced the sound and hit songs they are best known for like “Smoke On the Water” “Highway Star” and "Woman from Tokyo".

Deep Purples style and sound were and are a huge influence on other bands such as Judas Priest - early 70s Judas Priest in particular. People often credit Priest with creating "speed metal", but Purple laid the groundwork with "Fireball", "Highway Star", and "Stormbringer" Iron Maiden have readily admitted the influence of Deep Purple, and just add the entire power metal movement throughout the '70's to today that owe Deep Purple a huge debt. And for thousands of hard rock buffs, Ian Gillan is considered to be the ultimate rocksinger, On songs like 'Smoke On The Water', 'Highway Star', 'Space Truckin', 'Black Night' and 'Child In Time', he's impressed fans and fellow musicians alike with his soaring, banshee-like vocals.

My first introduction to their music was via the MK I version band and 2nd album ''The Book of Taliesyn', released in 1968, (I'm dating myself, ha, ha!) plus the 2 radio hits 'Hush' and 'Kentucky Woman'. I was a 'dyed (in Purple) in the wool fan of Deep Purple from that time on, and later when I picked up the guitar, I, like countless other aspiring teenage guitar heroes was greatly influenced by the pioneering lead work of Ritchie Blackmore, who first imbued rock guitar with classical scales and chord progressions, as well as medieval, baroque influences. Add to that classical influence a strong and very unique blues sense and it is easy to see why Blackmore is considered the founding father of the Neo-Classical guitar style.

40 years after they first started, Deep Purple is both iconic and contemporary. There have been many line-up changes over the years – the current line up includes 3 original members, drummer Ian Paice, vocalist Ian Gillan and bassist Roger Glover with newer members Don Airy on keyboards and Steve Morse on guitar - Morse's career has encompassed rock, country, funk, jazz, classical, and a fusion of these musical genres. Morse has revitalised the band creatively, and the band is still producing new material, earning international acclaim and may be one of the hardest touring bands in the world- all very convincing reasons to not miss them February 16 at the Brandt Centre!

www.deep-purple.com