On their new album, Walk the Sky, Kennedy said, “We started writing last year, separately. I started in August of 2018, and we got together as a band. Mark [Tremonti] put together what we had, and now we have a record.”
Regarding the song “Dying Light,” he said, “I was pleased with how that song turned out. It definitely has a hallmark Alter Bridge sound. It was one of the few tracks that we all pieced together once we all got together. We utilized a different song approach for that song.”
Kennedy listed “In the Deep” as his personal favorite song on the album, at the moment. “I really like that song. There is something about it that makes me feel good. I feel that it is a fun anthem,” he said.
He shared that that “Native Son” was the first idea that he stumbled across when he started writing last year. “I had to chase it down: I had the riff, the verse and the chorus for it, and I got together with the guys in the band and we finished it. ‘Native Son’ is going to be a fun one to play live,” he said.
Kennedy noted that “Godspeed” was a song that Tremonti wrote for a friend of his that passed away last year. “From what I understand, he demoed that with producer Elvis [Baskette] earlier this year, and it turned out great. It’s a great track. I love that one,” he admitted.
Alter Bridge
Dan Sturgess
Last week, on September 24, Alter Bridge performed at the PlayStation Theater in New York City’s Times Square. “It was good. Even though I was under the weather that night, we did the best that we could,” he said.
On September 20, Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators, released their DVD+2CD, Blu-ray+2 CD, 3LP black vinyl of “Living The Dream” Tour. “It was fun to get the ‘Living The Dream’ Tour documented,” Kennedy said.
He listed k.d. lang as his dream female duet choice in the music industry. “k.d. lang is great. Ingénue is one of my favorite albums. ‘Constant Craving’ is such a good song, and they are all good songs on there,” he said, prior to praising her version of “Hallelujah” that she did at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. “That was wonderful,” he exclaimed.
On the title of the current chapter of his life, Kennedy said, “How long can you continue to stay on the road?” “It has definitely been a busy time, but I’m not complaining,” he said.
When asked if there were any moments in his musical career that helped define him, the Alter Bridge frontman responded, “Each record continues to redefine and solidify where you are at this point in your life.”
Digital age of the music business
On being an artist in this digital age, Kennedy said, “It’s a different world. It’s a completely different realm from when I grew up listening to records, cassettes, and CDs. Now things have moved on to streaming and that platform is totally different. Times are changing and you need to go along with them and cater to that.”
Regarding the passage of the Music Modernization Act, which protects songwriters and creators in this digital age, he said, “That feels good. We definitely need to keep the songwriters and the creative folks protected in that sense, and hopefully, we will continue looking at things like that as things change.”
Kennedy added, “Somebody once told me, ‘it’s not a music industry, it’s a songwriting industry,’ and rightfully so.”
He defined the word success as “happiness.” “Being happy with what you are doing and following your dreams,” he said.
Walk the Sky by Alter Bridge is available for pre-order on Apple Music and on Amazon. “The album is coming out in a few weeks, so I hope everybody checks it out. We are very proud of this record, and I am really excited for it to come out. For me, personally, it ranks way up there with Blackbird,” he said.
To learn more about Alter Bridge and their music, check out their official website and their Facebook page.
