British hard rock legends Deep Purple released their twentieth studio album, Infinite, last Friday (7). Coincidentally, it was released on the same day as the 32nd annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Teenage radio host Miles “The Shoe” Schuman of the rock station WMOS-FM 102.3 The Wolf noticed these similarities and conducted an interview with the band’s iconic drummer Ian Paice.

The conversation kicked off asking about the new album as Paice expressed:

“The hardest part when you make so many records, is to not copy yourself. You try to keep the identity and spirit of the band without doing what you did before.”

Later, he was asked if being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is “as a prestigious of an honor as it is sometimes made out to be.”

“For the musicians, I don’t think it really makes much difference. I think for the fans of those musicians, it’s a very important thing. It reinforces their belief that the people they like and the music they enjoy is worthy of a mention. And I think on that level, it’s a very, very nice thing to happen.

Rock and Roll is not Hollywood. Hollywood’s awards every year, slapping each other on the back for just doing a good job. It’s a bit schmaltzy, really, isn’t it? And rock and roll is everything that that’s not. And just ’cause we’ve been around for a while and made some records that have been successful, I don’t need a slap on the back from anybody. I know what we’ve done, I’m proud of a lot of it, and our fans let us know what we’ve done. So that’s it; I can’t put it any better than that.”

Check out the full interview below: