Pulling double duty playing guitar and handling vocals for two projects, Kennedy released three albums in as many years. He discussed what that time was like and how a casual Jack and Coke with Lemmy of Motörhead summed up a hectic era in his accomplished career.
This week’s installment of the continued Disc Dive with the incomparable Myles Kennedy begins in 2010 and his work on the third Alter Bridge album.
After establishing the band with the debut album, and reaffirming their rank with the second, Kennedy shared that album number three offered an interesting dynamic in that it required a very balanced approach.
Citing a very specific example with the track “Slip To The Void,” Kennedy discussed how there was some instrumentation ideas that involved keyboards, something Alter Bridge had never done prior. While he didn’t know how that would be received, there was a desire to explore and develop different sounds and ideas that anchored the third album.
Myles would go on to explain that creative development always has to be tempered with the understanding of not abandoning the formula that got you there in the first place. The third studio effort from Alter Bridge was that delicate dance of evolution and consistency.
Shortly thereafter, Kennedy would be enlisted by rock royalty as the singer for guitar god Slash for the album Apocalyptic Love. Juggling the commitments with Alter Bridge and putting in double time with Slash, Kennedy was playing guitar and handling vocals for the project that ultimately saw Slash work with a consistent vocalist after doing the compilation type record of Slash’ Snakepit – certainly a testament to the talent and trust forged between the two.
Reiterating that point was the actual collaborative process that went into record that joint project. Kennedy confided that Slash really gave him the freedom to write without being micromanaged. Myles was able to freely develop song ideas, polish them, and present them with the kind of confidence that Slash wasn’t going to dissect them, but further develop them.
Between 2010 and the release of the fourth Alter Bridge record, Fortress, in 2013, Myles was burning the midnight oil, splitting his time between his work with Slash and his continued work with Alter Bridge. He shared that the three year stretch was a blur of written, record, tour, and repeat between the two projects.
Myles would go onto share an awesome story of a casual connection with Lemmy of Motörhead while backstage at a festival in Europe during that era. Detailing how Lemmy had his slot machine and his Jack Daniel’s, Kennedy shared that the legend poured him a drink and tried to wrap his head around Myles’ workload. Kennedy would go onto to tell Lemmy that he was pulling double duty with both Alter Bridge and with Slash. In between sips of his own Jack and Coke Lemmy assessed the situation and cautioned Kennedy with, “You’re gonna shorten your life mate.”
Stream the latest episode of the Disc Dive with Myles Kennedy and Ryan J. Downey below.
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