Masters Of Shred's "Talking Shred" recently conducted an interview with ALTER BRIDGE frontman Myles Kennedy. You can watch the entire chat below. A few excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). On the writing process for ALTER BRIDGE's latest studio album, "Walk The Sky": Myles: "This was a unique record because Mark [Tremonti, guitar] and I wrote separately for a lot of this. Normally, we would get together — it was important to have each guy to feel like they were a part of the song. Mark and I were, like, 'I've got a chorus,' and, 'You've got a riff and a verse,' or vice versa, but we just didn't have time because we were both out touring in our various other bands. There was a fair amount of songs that we would demo on our own. Some of the stuff was just well on its way before we started pre-[production]. That was the difference in the evolution of how this record came together." On what he's learned from Tremonti as well as Slash, whose solo band, SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY AND THE CONSPIRATORS, is fronted by Kennedy: Myles: "I think the thing with both of them is the dedication to the craft. They both practice hours and hours a day, which is inspiring. It's great to see that. These are two who have achieved so much and they can be just, 'Give me my guitar for the show.' But they love the instrument, and it's what makes them happiest. That's a beautiful thing. I think playing with Mark has really helped me with my right hand and more of the metal approach; though I have an appreciation for it, it's not something I spent a lot of time to develop. I had to learn to incorporate that into my bag of tricks the best that I could in this band. And with Slash, a lot of it is just the feel, his emotional intensity. That's the thing he's got. There will be nights when he's playing a solo — it's interesting because he's a man of few words. He's quiet a lot, he's very introspective, but when he says stuff, it's usually really witty and funny and you know there's a shitload going up there [points to head]. It's awesome. But when he plays, when he starts expressing himself on the instrument, it's, like, 'Geez, there's so much emotion and passion in that guy.' It's really inspiring." On appearing in the 2001 movie "Rock Star", starring Mark Wahlberg, that was loosely based on the career of JUDAS PRIEST frontman Tim "Ripper" Owens: Myles: "That was a trip. That whole thing was a trip. It's funny because, it wasn't even like I was acting, because I was just, like, this dude from Spokane, Washington and I'm in Hollywood making a film with these heavy hitters. It's, like, 'Why am I here? This is crazy.' It was really easy to be this goofy guy who was all excited to be there standing up with this band because I'm a goofy guy who was excited to be up there standing with this band. It was crazy. It was totally natural. There wasn't an ounce of acting in it. That was me being a dork. [Laughs]" "Walk The Sky" was released on October 18 via Napalm Records. ALTER BRIDGE recently completed a co-headlining tour with SKILLET.
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