Alter Bridge Facing The Heat (By Todd Logan) The members of Alter Bridge had gathered together in the dark recesses of an upscale New York City restaurant. Surrounded by a select group of media hounds, personal and record label minions, guitarist Mark Tremonti, drummer Scott Phillips, bassist Brian Marshall and vocalist Myles Kennedy had every reason to act like quintessential Rock Stars. After all, their debut disc, One Day Remains, sat at the pinnacle of chart success and the album's reviews pegged it as one of the best out-of-the-box hard rock showcases of the year. But rather than putting on their pretensions, these guys seemed to go out their way to reveal their down-to-earth humility. Dressed in T-shirts and jeans, big smiles adoring their faces, it was clear that the members of this high-profile unit (featuring three former members of the multi-platinum band Creed) were determined to enjoy every second of their latest round of success. So as our conversation began-over steaming plates of pasta-the band's enthusiasm towards their current lot in rock and roll life was almost infectious. Hit Parader: How have the experiences that the three of you had with Creed impacted upon your approach to Alter Bridge? Mark Tremonti: You learn things from everything you do. Hopefully, the success we had with Creed has taught us what to do, and what not to do, this time around. I'm not going to speculate that Alter Bridge is ever going to be as commercially successful as Creed. That was truly a phenomenon. But I do feel confident that our music is every bit as good--if not a bit better. But I want to make sure I enjoy all of this and not get swept up in any kind of media hype. I think we all want to keep fan expectations to a minimum so that we can go out and play smaller places instead of feeling the pressure of jumping on someone else's arena tour. Scott Phillips: To me it's all a matter of perspective. You've got to keep you friends and family at the top of the list, no matter how busy you might get. It's that simple for me. There were times in Creed when I think we all ran the risk of losing ourselves a bit. I don't want to see that happen this time. HP: If you had to compare the musical approaches of Alter Bridge and Creed, how would you do so? MT: Obviously, in Creed Scott (Stapp) played a major role. I'd come up with song structures and then turn those over to him for more work and for the lyrics. Thus, the finished product reflected a lot of his beliefs and his personality. This time, I've been able to reflect more of my own musical philosophies--with Myles adding a great deal with his words and vocals. Some of the song ideas that are on One Day Remains are things that I've had sitting around for years just waiting for the right opportunity to be used. This is it! Brian Marshall: Being able to observe the way both bands worked, to me the whole creative process in Alter Bridge is much more exciting and much more dynamic. That's not taking anything away from Creed. It's more of a compliment to Mark and the work he's done. HP: And how would you compare the musical results you've achieved? MT: There will always be comparison with Creed, and I both understand and welcome that. We're not running away from our past. But this music is different; we've crossed a lot of boundaries that we may have avoided in the past. With this album we're trying to learn from our past but we begin that process with a different perspective. There are a lot of themes on this record that are very personal, but at the same time they all touch on universal themes that everyone can relate to on some level. SP: One of the things we set out to do was make a great rock and roll album. At our heart that's what we all are--rock and roll musicians who love great songs and playing loud, hard rock. There's plenty of room in there for all different kinds of expression. HP: The three of you have know each other-- and worked with each other--for a long time. How strange was it working with a new vocalist? MT: Obviously it was different, bit it was also very liberating. As soon as I began to realize that Creed was coming to an end back in 2003, I started to think about the kind of person I wanted to work with, both in terms of talent and approach. Myles just fit the bill in all accounts. I remember when I first heard his take on some of the songs I had been working on. I was blown away. Myles Kennedy: I was shocked when Mark first contacted me. I was in a band that had opened for Creed six or seven years ago, and we really hadn't stayed in touch over the years. It's strange how some things just stick with people--and I'm certianly glad they do! I was in Seattle working on a solo album, when his call came. I knew right away that this was something I had to do. HP: After having reached the pinnacle of commercial success before, are you concerned about having the reach the proverbial mountain top again? MT: That's something that has crossed my mind, but it's not something I really worry about. One of the great things about having success with Creed is that it's taken a lot of the financial pressures off of us. We can really follow our hearts and do what we want musically. What I'm feeling is kind of strange--it's almost a combined level of excitement and fear about starting over. On a personal level, it does feel like it did when Creed's first album came out. But for me it's no longer about the past, it's totally about the future. MK: One of the things we discussed before I joined that band was that I was the guy who hasn't had a lot of success. Thankfully, I quickly discovered that everyone involved in this project is just as hungry as I am. In each of our ways, we feel we have something to prove, and that's been a great motivational factor. HP: Some fans will expect you to go out there and play a few Creed songs to round out your set. Is that in the plan? MT: No, that's not what we want to do. We love those songs, but this isn't Creed. This band won't go out there and play Creed songs because our way of thinking that wouldn't be fair to the fans. Hopefully, they'll grow to love this band as much as they loved Creed. (article #2 in magazine) Lyrically Speaking: the story behind the song --The Real Deal (by Renee Daigle) Creed was one of those bands, which will always be remembered as a fan favorite. With this being said, Mark Tremonti, Scott Phillips, and Brian Marshall hooked up with Mayfield Four's singer, Myles Kennedy to form their latest project, Alter Bridge. Their recent album, One Day Remains will definintely give listeners their monies worth! As you know, we're in the word business; Lyrically Speaking found and conquered "the real deal" with reference to lyrists. We recently sat down with primary songwriters from the band, Alter Bridge, Mark Tremonti (guitar, vocals) and Myles Kennedy (vocals, guitar) to discuss their secrets of songwriting success as well as the story behind their latest release, Find The Real. "Find The Real, I worked on that chorus a while back, and when we pieced these two parts together-- it was one of the later songs; we were working on when Myles came down," discloses Mark. "I was telling him what the chorus is about and I remember telling Myles, if he had nothing to do that night, why don't you try to work on some lyrics for these versus, and he came back the next day and had them all done-- the very next day! You know, we tied them into the chorus all meaning of the song. But the overall song is, 'Someone who is lost and is trying to find themselves. Somebody who doesn't think they're the best person in the world. Somebody who is down on themselves, but they're trying to find peace inside and trying to find what they're really about." There are pretty deep emotions, Myles, what were you thinking when you wrote these lyrics? "Actually, I was sitting around with Mark and listened to him kind of talk about some of the situations, he was coming from, when he put the chorus together--just to repeat what he said: 'about someone who has lost themselves.' Essentially, we all want to find something real and something pure, you know, to get through this life. It can be a difficult thing at times and some of us get lost and get wrapped up in ourselves--that's where that is coming from lyrically!" So, Mark how have you grown as an artist? "I saw my previous band fall apart and I needed to pick up the pieces as quicly as possible. I didn't want to rely on anybody else at the time for any kind of songwriting, so I started whipping out as many lyrics as I could traveling on planes. I got a lot of lyric writing done on a plane. When you're on a six-hour flight, you can just sit and think for a long time. So, I just had to tighten up my writing. Thank God, I found enough to write about at that time, and when Myles came down, he helped me finish off the second half of the album-- lyrically! But, yeah, the time between Creed and Alter Bridge, I was just kind of fighting for survival and I had no idea that I had to work as hard as I could, songwriting wise, lyrical wise writing, guitar playing wise, I just spent as much time as I could to prepare for the next step." Myles, do you write with a specific format in mind, if so, what does it entail? "I think the only formula so-to-speak was just kind of the outline Mark had already established was staying within that context and making sure that it worked. I just tried to take the versus and try to illustrate more going on inside that persons head and heart, so that was the formula there. I tried to become that person. You know, it's funny, because a lot of people will misinterpret that, and go, 'Oh, that's you, you're talking about.' No, it's not; you're putting it from that person's persperctive and becoming that person." So, Myles, is there a secret on making the words sound right? "First of all, if you want them to rhyme somewhat, but not to the point where its, you know, "the cat in the hat and I was fat.'-- You kind of play with the vowels. A lot of times, if the vowel has a long 'A' you don't have to have the consonants match up exactly at the end of that. That's what I try to do; I play with those--mix and match those. As long as the vowel sound is pretty similar, I take license with the consonants." Mark, how do you come up with a song? "Myles and myself are kind of the same way. I like to be completely alone. I can't even really write not even with the closest people around me just because I sing in my falsetto and I make mistakes. I'm just fishing for melodies--that are what I'm really doing when I am by myself. I will strum through chords and progressions without making any real sense of it, and i'll just hit notes in my head have one of those chord progressions hitting with that note in my head. Sometimes it will spawn. For me, when I hear a couple of notes that I dig in a row it will spawn all kinds of new ideas and I can hear where it needs to go and I'll just sit there and iron it out, if it takes five to 10 minutes to iron out the music behind it. It kind of creates itself, when you stumble upon a couple of key notes." Songwriting can be a real rollercoaster ride, what advice would you give to our readers, Mark, on surviving the ride? "Don't put anything off and try to write as much as possible. The most horrifying writing experience for me is not to have any material and keep putting it off to the last minute. I have never done that in my life, but I can only imagine, if you're going into the studio with no material, I could never write under pressure. So, I would say, every chance you get even if you don't feel like it there's been many times where I had felt like nothing is coming out good at all, if I had stuck with it until the end of that session I would come up with one cool idea." On a personal note: 'The most important thing I would say to our fans is to understand Alter Bridge is to come see a live show; hopefully, you will leave a fan. Every one of our shows is a great time." reveals Mark.