ALTER BRIDGE Frontman Talks Working With SLASH, Upcoming Solo Album

Rick Landers of Guitar International recently conducted an interview with Myles Kennedy (ALTER BRIDGE, SLASH). A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Guitar International: Has ALTER BRIDGE ever had a down period when things weren't happening for you guys, and you questioned whether you should continue or things weren't really gonna break for you? I know that your first album went gold, but did you ever have a down period where you thought, "You know, this isn't working," and you really had to hold together the inner strength of the band to keep moving forward.

Myles: Sure. There have certainly been ups and downs over the course of the last seven years and I think that for me personally, I question things because it's such a tough business. But, when we go out and play, it was a lot of our diehard supporters, the people that would keep coming to the shows. They would keep me energized and make me realize this is something we can't turn our backs on, because these people still like what we do. And as long as they're there, we've got to keep making records and touring. Until we're showing up to the venue and it's the sound of crickets and no one's in the building, we'll keep trying to push forward.

Guitar International: Did you know [Slash] before you got on the road with him?

Myles: I actually met him, I guess it was late 2009. He asked me to be part of his solo record. It worked out well and he basically brought up the idea of touring together, so we started doing that last year. Yeah, it's been a very cool thing and we're definitely gonna do more in the future.

Guitar International: How do you guys mesh creatively? What do you bring to the mix?

Myles: It's cool because he's definitely got a certain groove and a certain kind of funkiness, for lack of a better word, and that's something that I really love. As a singer, since I started singing based off that feel, it's really easy for me to make that transition going from ALTER BRIDGE. It's definitely more hard rock metal, very straight and mechanical with some of the guitar parts and whatnot. You juxtapose Slash, it's definitely more groove-oriented. There's just a certain vibe that I really enjoy getting to sing over. It's been good.

Guitar International: Do you have any plans for a solo album?

Myles: It's funny. When they did the CREED reunion, that was what I planned and I spent all of 2009 putting together this solo record. It's pretty much recorded. I have to finish the vocals on it, but then I got the call from Slash and so now it's just a matter of trying to find a window to release it. Actually the other day Slash and I were talking and he was like, "So, when are you gonna release that solo record?" and I looked at him and said, "I don't know." Everything's just filling up, between Slash and ALTER BRIDGE touring schedules and recordings and whatnot, there's only so much time.

Guitar International: Sure. Is it an acoustic album or is it electric?

Myles: It's a little bit of both, but definitely the foundation of it is more singer-songwriter than anything I've done in the past or been a part of. Most of the songs are borne out of me sitting with an acoustic guitar. But, once we got in the studio and put the arrangements together, then we, just for the sake of dynamics and whatnot, found that electric just fit in nicely. Hopefully, one day we'll get it out there and people can hear it.

Read the entire interview from Guitar International.