Flashback to the mid-90s, and Mark Tremonti was an aspiring guitarist with only dreams of pursuing music. In a time of uncertainty, with immense talent and passion, he soon manifested his hopes into a reality, becoming the lead guitarist and key songwriter for the massively successful Creed. This monumental rise to stardom made him and Creed one of the hottest bands of the late ’90s and early 2000s. Amazing within itself, since then, Tremonti has only moved forward and solidified himself as one of the most acclaimed Rock-n-Roll guitarists around.
An inspiring musician’s story, thirty-something years later, Tremonti finds all stars aligned as Creed remains active, Alter Bridge sustains a status as a powerhouse on the Hard Rock scene, all while he keeps the fire burning with his solo project, Tremonti.
Truly a man who leaves little time for rest, with Tremonti, he put out the new album The End Will Show Us How in January 2025, is actively working on new songs for the next Alter Bridge album, and sets to hit the road for a busy summer with Creed. Humble and gracious, Mark Tremonti took time out of his busy schedule to chat about the past, present, and future yet to come.
Cryptic Rock – You have kept extremely busy in recent years. To recap, you have things going with Alter Bridge, have released solo albums, worked with your band Tremonti, and toured with Creed heavily in 2024. So, what have the past five years been like for you?
Mark Tremonti – Yeah, it’s been a whirlwind. This year, in particular, has been probably the busiest year professionally that I’ve ever had. When Creed got back together, none of us knew just the extent of how well-received it was going to be. So we kept on extending tours, and already balancing Alter Bridge, Tremonti, and the Sinatra band was busy. It’s just been absolutely one thing to the next, which is great. I’m blessed to have all these things. There’s definitely been no rest, just a lot of doing what I love.
Cryptic Rock – Absolutely. Even more fascinating is that everything is going on at once three decades into your professional career. It seems like the perfect storm that your past and present have come together like this.
Mark Tremonti – Absolutely. I’m very thankful, and I don’t take anything for granted. I remember when I was younger, just holding on for dear life to this career and just thinking how horrible it would be not to be creative and not be able to write music. That is all I had ever dreamed of doing. So I’ve been really lucky to be able to do this this long.
Cryptic Rock – It is extraordinary. Looking at Tremonti, the project was created to show more of your Metal side, correct?
Mark Tremonti – It’s definitely more Heavy Metal-orientated, yeah. It was something I grew up with. I grew up loving Speed Metal and everything Metal. In any kind of band you get in, you always have to find that commonality, and the Speed Metal never fit in my other bands. So, it was something I always wanted to get out there. So, this band was that avenue.
Cryptic Rock – You have done a great job with that. You have remained prolific, too. The first Tremonti record came out in 2012, so it has been thirteen years and counting. During that time, you have released several records with Tremonti, including the most recent, The End Will Show Us How.
Mark Tremonti – Yes. The latest Tremonti album is my nineteenth overall release, and we are working on my twentieth record now as we are actively working on the new Alter Bridge. It’s unbelievable.
Cryptic Rock – It truly is. Let’s talk about The End Will Show Us How. It is a fantastic album with some excellent riffs. So, what was it like putting this album together?
Mark Tremonti – Oh, it was great. I had the benefit of having Ryan, my drummer, staying with me at the time. So we’d stay up all hours of the night, and then Eric was in town. He was on and off the tour at the time, and we’d get together and record the details for this record well before the recording. And it’s always good to have demos worked out. We had thorough demos. Lyrics were done, melodies were done, and arrangements were done.
When we got to the studio, we just pretty much hit the ground running. Then, my producer, Elvis Basket, had some new gear that we worked with and a new board that just sounded absolutely fantastic. It’s some of the best-sounding recordings I’ve ever heard.
Cryptic Rock – The tone is undoubtedly great. You mentioned the lyrics, which are also ear-catching. For example, “The Mother, the Earth, and I” is a compelling song. Can you tell me a little bit about the story behind its meaning?
Mark Tremonti – When I was putting that song together, I loved its mood. And “The Mother, the Earth, and I” kind of came out naturally. That inspired me so much to just use that one phrase. You wonder – what could that mean? To me, it’s this bond with the earth, and it’s how mankind can fight over so many things. We can fight over religion and politics and everything else in between. But we all share the earth. We all share this Mother Earth.
Before you’re born, you’re in your mother’s womb. But when you’re born into this world, the earth is all of our home, whether you like it or not, until we pass. I find beauty in the earth. I find that when I’m stressed, I can find peace in the earth. With all the static out there, with all the misunderstandings of mankind, I can find peace and beauty in the earth itself.
Cryptic Rock – The song does a superb job of conveying this. With all of the issues happening in the world today, especially over the past five years or so, it seems like this record reflects humanity. Many have decided to separate themselves from the noise, like you said. Many have tried to find what is truly important. Is that an accurate assessment of the sentiment of The End Will Show Us How?
Mark Tremonti – Yeah. Well, it also shows the frustrations with what’s been happening. And I think a lot of people just feel like the world is in a bad place. I know we go through that. Throughout the ages, we have always gone through these ebbs and flows of how people think society is doing. But I think in the last five years or so, it’s really been a mess.
Those frustrations are reflected in the lyrics. It’s hard not to have that flow into the lyrics of your songs. What’s going around you and in the world just seeps into it naturally.
Cryptic Rock – Most certainly. Despite the negativities going on in the world, this new album has a sense of hope. It is not all doom and gloom. Would you agree?
Mark Tremonti – Yeah. I think, just like the dynamics of the music, the lyrics have to be dynamic as well. It’s just like your everyday life – are you always in a good mood, or are you in a bad mood sometimes? The lyrics reflect that same thing. Sometimes, I feel positive in the sound of the music. That being said, the music draws the lyrics out of you a lot of times.
When I teach guitar clinics, I teach a lot about songwriting. I say, “Just let the music be the conduit. Let the lyrics come out naturally.” If you’re playing a Heavy Metal riff, you’re not going to be singing about sunshine and roses… it’s going to pull something different out of you. If you’re singing something big and anthemic and positive, you’re not going to be singing about violence. You just have to let the music dictate what comes out of you naturally, and don’t overthink it. Just let it happen.
Cryptic Rock – Exactly. You can have all the technical skills in the world, but you need to have that feeling and that emotion in it to really make it special.
Mark Tremonti – Yeah. It’s definitely something to learn. When you’re writing music and being a songwriter, letting that happen takes a minute. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t doubt myself a million times on the first record Tremonti, thinking, “Oh, can I actually write lyrics all by myself?”
I had written songs here and there lyrically for Creed and Alter Bridge, but with Tremonti, it was the first time I had to do an entire record. I doubted myself. Once you put the record out and you didn’t hear anything negative about it, you’re like, “All right, I did it! Now I can not worry about it and just write artistically what I’m feeling.”
Cryptic Rock – That makes a lot of sense. This brings us to another aspect of The End Will Show Us How: your voice. Your singing sounds more dynamic than ever on this record. Leading into this new Tremonti album, you recorded music in a classic Frank Sinatra style. Would you say that experience expanded your repertoire there?
Mark Tremonti – 100%. The Sinatra stuff has been such a huge benefit. The Sinatra stuff is the very first time I felt confident. I’m even an insecure kind of guitar player. I have played the guitar for thousands and thousands of hours, but the more you learn about the guitar, the more you learn what you don’t know about the guitar. It’s kind of this never-ending battle to learn it all.
The Sinatra stuff, I think, is the most confident I’ve been as a musician. Singing that stuff is what I feel like I can do better than anything at the moment. When I had that confidence, it spilled over to the Tremonti stuff. I still feel like when I’m singing at the top of my range and out of my range, that’s not the proper way to sing, but it just suits the harder, the more Metal leaning songs. When it comes to the lower register stuff, I’m way more confident in doing that now that I’ve done the Sinatra stuff, and I enjoy it way more.
This is where, before, I would try to stay away from anything sung low because it sounds like your speaking voice. People naturally, in the beginning, don’t want to hear their speaking voice on a record. They want to color it to sound like some kind of different character. At least that’s how I was.
Cryptic Rock – Right. You can hear this with The End Will Show Us How. It might be the most dynamic Tremonti record to date.
Mark Tremonti – Well, thank you very much. I think that the main goal is just to make a dynamic, diverse record and not repeat yourself too much.
Cryptic Rock – You have accomplished that. Regarding Sinatra, you released an album in that style in 2022 but followed up with a traditional Christmas album in 2023. Mark Tremonti Christmas Classics New & Old is the type of album you put on at a Christmas party and have the guests guess who is singing, with most thinking it is Frank Sinatra.
Mark Tremonti – That’s great! I kid with my other band members that my favorite band to perform in is the Sinatra stuff. It’s just such a different animal. It inspires me a lot. The more time I get to do that, the better.
Cryptic Rock – With the Sinatra stuff, you played with some of Frank Sinatra’s backing band. That had to be a fantastic experience.
Mark Tremonti – Oh, yeah. I mean, I was always blessed to be able to say, “Hey, I’ve played with Metallica. I’ve played with Black Sabbath or this and that.” But it’s a completely different world to be able to play with Frank Sinatra’s guys. You know Sinatra was before the Beatles. He was before Elvis. He was the first humongous music star. Bing Crosby was a big star, but Frank Sinatra was the first person who had people lining up in the streets and freezing to death, getting lying to a show. He was the first big music pop star. It’s an honor to be able to play with the people who shared the stage with him.
Cryptic Rock – That is just one more thing you can check off your list of accomplishments over the years. Seeing you grow over the last thirty years has been inspiring.
Mark Tremonti – Well, again, thank you so much. It’s been quite a journey.
Cryptic Rock – That is an understatement! So, you continued to keep busy. You toured some with Tremonti, and you are currently working on new material for Alter Bridge, correct?
Mark Tremonti – Yes. Myles and I were already going back and forth with ideas as early as January. I presented him with about nine basic outlines for songs, and he put together a bunch of demos.
Cryptic Rock – That is something exciting and something to look forward to. You also recently celebrated the twentieth anniversary of 2004’s One Day Remains. The album was re-released to vinyl in various colors as part of the celebration. Is there anything else planned for that twentieth anniversary?
Mark Tremonti – No, but at some point, I want to put out the initial demos that we had done for the One Day Remains record. I want to release some of the stuff that Myles and I went back and forth with when he first joined the band. Some of that material is just to reflect on. Those are the seeds we planted to start the band.
Cryptic Rock – That would be exciting to hear. One Day Remains started something entirely new for you guys outside of Creed. It has been successful and sustained itself for a long time.
Mark Tremonti – Oh, yeah. It’s been almost half my life that I’ve been with Alter Bridge.
Cryptic Rock – Right. You could say Alter Bridge has been a longer-running band than Creed, right?
Mark Tremonti – Yeah. When Creed first started, and before we had split up for the first time, it was seven years. And then Alter Bridge has been together for over twenty years now. So, we’ve almost doubled the time we spent with Alter Bridge compared to the time we spent with Creed. They’re all so important to me, though. I wouldn’t be here talking about Alter Bridge if it weren’t for Creed. I wouldn’t have the career I had. So they’re all very important bands.
Cryptic Rock – Understood. Seeing Creed touring again in 2024 was something special. There was a reunion from 2009 to 2012, but many more years have passed. Plus, Creed celebrated some notable anniversaries in recent years with special vinyl re-issues, etc., of both 1997’s My Own Prison and 1999’s Human Clay.
Mark Tremonti – Absolutely. And it’s been something else to be able to play these songs that so many people are familiar with and see their reaction after all these years. Seeing grown men and women cry when they hear “One Last Breath” or any of these songs. I also see a new generation of fans out there. A lot of the fans that are coming to the shows now have never seen us play before, and they are a new generation of Creed fans.
Cryptic Rock – It is wonderful to see. You are extremely busy, but has there been any consideration for recording some new Creed music sometime soon?
Mark Tremonti – No, we’ve talked about it many times. I think that with this initial tour, people just want to hear what they’ve not heard for so many years. I think the next time we get back out on a new tour, it’s time for some new music.
Cryptic Rock – That is big news, and again, something to look forward to. We are aware you are a fan of Horror movies. Has there been anything you seen in recent years that you enjoyed?
Mark Tremonti – Gosh. The last Horror movie that I saw that really blew me away was Babadook (2014). I loved that. That was a long time ago, right? It’s one thing when you’re younger to watch horror movies and have them speak to you. But when you grow older, sometimes they get silly.
Another movie I saw, which was not really a Horror movie but a creepy movie that stuck with me, was Midsommar (2019). It’s a creepy, creepy movie.
Tremonti 2025 Tour Dates:
06/16 – Bochum, Germany @ Zeche Bochum
06/17 – Leipzig, Germany @ Täubchenthal
06/18 – Graz, Austria @ PPC – project popculture
06/19 – Dessel, Belgium @ Graspop Metal Meeting 2025 (June 20)
Creed 2025 Tour Dates:
04/26 – Indio, CA @ Stagecoach
07/09 – Lexington, KY @ Rupp Arena *
07/11 – Syracuse, NY @ Empower Federal Credit Union Amphitheater at Lakeview *
07/12 – Camden, NJ @ Freedom Mortgage Pavilion #
07/15 – Wantagh, NY @ Northwell at Jones Beach Theater %
07/16 – Scranton, PA @ The Pavilion at Montage Mountain %
07/19 – East Troy, WI Summer of ’99 and Beyond Festival 2025
07/20 – Columbus, OH @ Schottenstein Center *
07/22 – Hartford, CT @ Xfinity Theatre *
07/24 – Charleston, SC @ Credit One Stadium *
07/26 – New Orleans, LA @ Smoothie King Center *
07/27 – Memphis, TN @ FedExForum *
07/29 – Wichita, KS @ INTRUST Bank Arena %
08/01 – Lincoln, NE @ Pinnacle Bank Arena %
08/02 – Ridgedale, MO @ Thunder Ridge Nature Arena %
08/04 – Albuquerque, NM @ Isleta Amphitheater %
08/06 – Chula Vista, CA @ North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre %
08/07 – Palm Desert, CA @ Acrisure Arena at Greater Palm Springs *
08/09 – Mountain View, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre *
08/10 – Stateline, NV @ Lake Tahoe Outdoor Arena at Harveys *
08/13 – Ridgefield, WA @ RV Inn Style Resorts Amphitheater *
08/14 – Auburn, WA @ White River Amphitheatre *
08/16 – Vancouver, BC @ Rogers Arena ^
08/19 – Edmonton, AB @ Rogers Place ^
08/20 – Calgary, AB @ Scotiabank Saddledome ^
* = w/ 3 Doors Down and Mammoth WVH
# = w/ 3 Doors Down
% = w/ Daughtry and Mammoth WVH
^ = w/ Big Wreck and Mammoth WVH
! = w/ Sevendust
For more on Alter Bridge: alterbridge.com | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
For more on Tremonti: marktremonti.com | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
For more on Creed: creed.com | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
No comment