From spokane7.com dated 10/26/04 Alter ego Spokane's Myles Kennedy dishes on hitting the big time Isamu Jordan / Staff writer When the news dropped in June that Spokane's Myles Kennedy signed on as the front man for Alter Bridge – former members of Creed minus lead vocalist Scott Stapp – the question on everyone's mind was "Isn't this just Creed with a new singer?" "It's definitely three-fourths of the equation," Kennedy, of Mayfield Four fame, conceded during a telephone interview from the Bridge's home base in Orlando, Fla. "There are elements that are similar musically. But I don't sound much like Scott." Kennedy's soulful vocals and added rhythm guitar role are the obvious differences in Alter Bridge. But as it was with Creed, the melodies and the majority of the songwriting are supplied by lead guitarist and true bandleader Mark Tremonti. In fact, Tremonti had more than half of the album written – lyrics and all – before the band began searching for a lead singer. "Mark is always writing, so he had a bunch of stuff ready to go. Melodically he has been responsible for the group's success. That sense of melody is the same," Kennedy said. Whether the sound recalls Creed's spatial arena-rock, when Kennedy and his new band buddies roll through for a sold-out Halloween bash on Sunday night at the Big Easy Concert House, expect them to be received, ahem, with arms wide open. And that's pretty much the way it was for Kennedy when he was invited to join in late 2003. Tremonti, bassist Brian Marshall and drummer Scott Phillips hired him because they were impressed when Mayfield Four, a group of Mead High School graduates, opened shows for Creed in 1998 – that, plus Kennedy's humble attitude and passion for music. Creed – whose three albums sold a combined 24 million copies in the United States – imploded after differences between Stapp and Marshall led to the unceremonious removal of Marshall. The band began struggling through live shows. Eventually fans in Chicago sued Creed in 2002 because of Stapp's poor performance. Later, Tremonti and Phillips started jamming together, called up Marshall and rekindled the flame. All they needed was a lead singer, and the timing couldn't have been better for Kennedy. Mayfield Four split shortly after 2001's "Second Skin" because "it felt like the machine was pushing the band," Kennedy said. The next year Kennedy was going through rock withdrawals after he gave up music because of tinnitus, a constant ringing in the ears common in rock musicians. Kennedy's condition didn't worsen, nor did it get better, but he couldn't keep away from music for long. When Tremonti and company approached him about Alter Bridge, he already was hard at work on a solo album more in the vein of Massive Attack meets All That. Although he plans to finish the album, he gladly put it on the backburner to join them, that is, once he got to know them. "I wasn't sure what to expect. I thought I might be dealing with a bunch of rock-star egos and head trips, and I didn't want to put up with that if that was the case," Kennedy said. What he found instead was a well-grounded group of musicians with a relentless work ethic. "The way Mark responds to fans; he is very gracious. He never turns fans away," Kennedy said. So how is the new kid fitting in? Just fine ever since the acrophobic tenor was initiated into the band via a 300-foot-drop group bungee jump. "I'm terrified of heights," Kennedy said. "They were trying to get me to squirm. It worked." Kennedy also is getting more comfortable with being a famous face since the August release of the Bridge's hyped debut, "One Day Remains" on Wind Up Records. (The lead-off single, "Open Your Arms," peaked at No. 5 on Billboard's mainstream rock tracks chart.) Before Alter Bridge, Kennedy's 15 minutes were clocked in a cameo toward the end of the Mark Wahlberg/ Jennifer Aniston 2001 movie "Rock Star." Kennedy played Mike, aka "Thor, God of Thunder." "I see people staring at me, and I'm not sure if it's because they've seen me on TV or if there is something hanging out of my nose," he said. What's taken the most getting used to, he said, is singing someone else's lyrics, especially with so many personal tracks on "Remains," such as "In Loving Memory," written about Tremonti's mother who recently died. "I have to try to live the lyrics and get inside (Tremonti's) head," Kennedy said. "That's a cathartic song about the loss of his mother. I lost my father at a young age. You never get over that. I tried to put myself there. It's like acting in a way." It doesn't hurt that Kennedy found in Tremonti a kindred spirit in lyric writing, even if they have different styles. "We're both so obsessed. He's as freaky as I am. The writing process can go on for months," Kennedy said. "Stylistically I tend to be more direct, lyrically. Mark uses a lot of clever metaphors, visual imagery and general mood." Kennedy wrote the lyrics to "Down To My Last," the verses for "Find the Real" and co-wrote "Open You're Eyes" with Tremonti, who wrote pretty much everything else. In Creed, Tremonti partnered with Stapp on songwriting. Stapp is working on a solo debut with The Tea Party, from Canada. Former Mayfield Four bassist Marty Meisner is now running with Seattle-by-way-of-Spokane band Holfiller, formerly Tommy Holfiller, originally a white boy porn rap outfit that has now cleaned up its act and plays more conventional rock. As Tommy Holfiller, it was all but banned from playing locally after two strippers the band hired put on a live sex show onstage at Fat Tuesday's in 2002. Holfiller headlines at the Big Easy on Nov. 6. Mayfield Four became one of the few bands from Spokane to hit the big time when it signed a multimillion dollar deal with Epic Records in 1997. "I had great expectations for Mayfield Four. I was sad when it was over, but this is like getting a second chance," Kennedy said.