MYLES KENNEDY Says SLASH And ALTER BRIDGE Are 'Very Different Mindsets' For Him Musically

ALTER BRIDGE singer Myles Kennedy, who is currently pulling double duty, playing and touring with that group while also fronting the backing band for VELVET REVOLVER/ex-GUNS N' ROSES guitarist Slash, was asked by Lisa Martineau of NewHampshire.com if he sometimes forgets whom he is on stage with. "I definitely forget what month it is," Myles laughed. "That happens all the time! But, no, not really. I think that both bands are so different. That's part of what keeps it exciting for me, is that they are very different mindsets for me, musically. That keeps it from getting redundant. By the time I feel like I'm firing on all cylinders and trying to raise to the challenge on the specific tour, then that tour ends up winding down, and I'm with the other band and I have to turn the dial a different direction. There's a certain amount of work and a certain thought process that has to happen for me to get on the stage, to get up there. And it's a challenge, which is good."

Kennedy also outlined the differences in the writing approaches between the two bands. He said: "It's a different process. The songwriting with Mark [Tremonti] and ALTER BRIDGE is… It's more like making a puzzle, where we stockpile a lot of different riffs and melodies and chord progressions, and we kind of set those aside and we go, 'Okay, I've got this riff. Do you have a chorus that goes with this or a riff that goes with this chorus? Whereas with Slash, he'll come in with a music bed and say, 'Okay, now put your melody and your lyric to this.' It's like you're handed a canvas to paint on. They are just totally different approaches, which I love."

Slash recently told Rocksverige.se that he was blown away with Myles Kennedy the first time he ever heard his voice, saying, "I had never met him before, I had just heard about him. I didn't even know what he sang like. I asked him to sing a song on my (first) solo record with all the different singers, and he was fucking great. Then we met, he came to L.A. and we recorded the studio version of 'Starlight'."

Slash added, "I just really liked him, he's very laid back and cool. At that point I asked him if he wanted to do a tour with me to support that album. I guess it was obvious to me somehow that he could sing the bulk of the material from that solo record and it was just a gut feeling he could sing all the GUNS N' ROSES, VELVET REVOLVER and SNAKEPIT stuff."

Slash told The Pulse Of Radio that his singer is one of the most dedicated musicians he's ever worked with: "You know, Myles is pretty interesting. I mean, he sings great, he's a great lyricist, all he does is work, he loves to tour. He works constantly, but when he's not working onstage, he's working in his room, writing stuff and, you know, in the studio he's always there. So he's sort of odd. [laughs]"