Illinois Entertainer January 2017 | Page 38

ALTER BRIDGE

SOUNDTRACK OF OUR LIVES

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fter a decade of playing in Creed , guitarist Mark Tremonti , bassist Brian Marshall and drummer Scott Phillips formed Alter Bridge in 2004 with ex-The Mayfield Four singer Myles Kennedy . The band has gone on to create five albums , the latest being The Last Hero . Having just wrapped up a six week run in Europe , Alter Bridge is set for its first North American headline tour starting in January . The band is stoked for the new tour and is especially excited about playing some of its brand new tunes .
“ We were integrating a lot of the new material into the set ( in Europe ), which was a lot of fun ,” Kennedy said . “ Prior to that , we ’ d been in the States for a good part of the year but we didn ’ t play alot of new material because the record wasn ’ t out . So now that we ’ re coming back and doing this January / February run , we finally get to put those songs in for the American audience .” Speaking of the new tracks , Kennedy said they ’ ve been getting a great response live , especially to the new single “ Show Me A Leader .” “ We try to put in between four to six a night because we ’ ve got five records to pull from ,” he said . “ As far as the response goes , definitely with the singles they get equal response ( as the older tunes ) because people will be familiar with them .”
One thing fans might not know about Kennedy is that he ’ s a huge architecture buff . Getting to play in Chicago gives him plenty of unique buildings to study . “ I think it ’ s a beautiful city , one of the most beautiful cities in America ,” Kennedy enthused . “ Chicago certainly appeals to the architect geek in me because there ’ s a lot of really cool architectural history in that area , especially pertaining to modernism . If we have a day off , I ’ ll go out and look at some Frank Lloyd Wright houses or some
other buildings .”
In 2002 , after playing for years in bands such as Cosmic Dust , Citizen Swing and The Mayfield Four , Kennedy was offered an audition for the vocalist spot in Velvet Revolver . Ultimately declining , he joined Alter Bridge the following year . “ The first time they reached out were there were just other things going on in my life at that point and I didn ’ t really think I was up for the job ,” Kennedy said . “ It wasn ’ t that I didn ’ t want to join , as I was beyond honored that they called , but I just didn ’ t want to waste their time .”
After that initial offer from Slash to audtion for Velvet Revolver , Kennedy ’ s next Slash encounter was during the making of his 2010 eponymous solo album . “ The first time I officially met him face to face was right after we put “ Starlight ” together , essentially through the mail ,” Kennedy said . “ He reached out to me in the fall of 2009 and asked if I ’ d be interested in throwing something over the top of this riff he had . Then I sent it back and it became “ Starlight .”
In 2001 , Kennedy received another unique surprise – getting a call to appear in the film , Rock Star , starring Mark Wahlberg and Jennifer Aniston . “ I was just hanging out in my house in Spokane and my manager calls and said I might have this opportunity ,” Kennedy reflects . “ They were looking for somebody to come in and act and do the role of this “ Thor ” guy , and to also be able to sing . I never acted before , so that was kind of an intimidating adventure . And on top of that , wearing a wig with a leather outfit , because it was a period piece essentially . It was real fun , but it was something that I ’ d never experienced before .”
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By Kelley Simms
38 illinoisentertainer . com january 2017