Interview: Myles Kennedy
Photo Credit: Chuck Brueckmann
When he’s not making music with Alter Bridge or touring the world with Guns N Roses' guitarist Slash, he’s making his mark on a more personal note with his solo works. One of the most prolific singer/songwriters of our time, Myles Kennedy, has been working hard as of late filing his time up with crafting new music and discovering new ways to enhance his personal sound.
What else do you expect from such a genuine artist, other than perfecting what we already think is perfect? Myles Kennedy has spent his time during the pandemic writing material that you are going to want to put on repeat. Time and time again, more often than not, we find ourselves asking questions and challenging the status-quo.
This record, ‘The Ides Of March’, really seems to have challenged Mr. Kennedy in a way that so reflects the intrinsic and personal experiences all of us have been facing during these recent hard times. Luckily for us we have a personal guide through them in Myles Kennedy. Pulling from his own moments and fires in his life, projecting out loud into an anthemic, bluesy rollercoaster of emotions. Kennedy asks us all “why can’t we all just get along” during the “war that is raging between the hearts of men”. A poignant question for a confusing time for the world we are living in today!
Sifting through all the bullshit this world throws at us personally or professionally, we always have music to rely on. “We’re only getting weaker ‘cause we’re too headstrong”. Wise words we should all heed. We hope that you listen to this fun and exciting interview from one of music's most important voices.
Brandon: everything you’ve written has felt very close to the chest, so tell us about that.
Myles: "Yeah, I mean I think with this one and the last record, the ‘Year Of The Tiger’ record, when it’s a solo thing, it’s...looks it’s your chance to say what you need to say as a solo artist. You know there’s not, you know there’s no...you know in a band realm there’s a certain amount of compromise and so when you have a chance to make a record on your own, it’s very personal. And I think that the difference between this record and ‘Year Of The Tiger’ (the previous one) is that, the previous one is informed by situations that had happened when I was growing up, and this record was informed by the world now, and kind of real-time and how it was affecting my family and I."
Check out the full interview below:
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You can also check out Myles Kennedy's latest video for "The Ides of March" here:
About Myles Kennedy:
At this point, Myles Kennedy’s voice precedes him. Certainly, it courses through six chart-topping albums from gold-selling rock juggernaut Alter Bridge, three records with Slash and The Conspirators, two albums from The Mayfield Four, his 2018 solo debut Year of the Tiger, and guest appearances for everyone from Disturbed and Halestorm to Gov’t Mule, Sevendust, Mark Morton and Darryl “DMC” McDaniels. For as much as he remains renowned for his skyscraping timbre and earth-quaking bluesy wail, his musicianship also encompasses eloquent songcraft, thoughtful cinematic arrangements, and, of course, dynamic guitar fireworks as explosive as his astounding vocal range. Myles Kennedy burst on the music scene in 1990, but it wasn¹t until 1995, through his band The Mayfield Four, that he gained some notoriety. It was when the Mayfield Four toured opening for hitmakers Creed that Myles Kennedy would meet Mark Tremonti, Brian Marshall and Scott Phillips. This meeting would eventually lead to the formation of Alter Bridge, the band that would become Myles’ calling card to the world. In 2008, the legacy of Myles Kennedywas circling the music industry and eventually found its way to members of Led Zeppelin. A now legendary story, Myles was asked to jam with Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and Jason Bonham for a potential project that never materialized. In 2009, Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash was working on a solo project and tapped Myles Kennedy to do vocals on two songs on that release. That partnership would lead to Myles becoming the vocalist for his other rock band, Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators. This relationship would also lead to Myles Kennedy singing for the iconic Guns N’ Roses at their Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame induction in 2012 after band founder Axl Rose was unable to attend. Through Myles’ various projects, he has appeared on The Tonight Show; Jimmy Kimmel Live; Conan; has had music used by the WWE, Major League Baseball and NASCAR to name a few; and appeared in the motion picture Rock Star. 2018 marked a new chapter in Myles’ career when he released his long-awaited debut solo album, Year Of The Tiger, to critical and commercial success. With his new solo album, The Ides Of March, Myles Kennedy showcases the talent that has made him one of the premier frontmen of modern music today.
