Interview – Myles Kennedy Talks Alter Bridge, Slash, & More

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April 1, 2025

If you were seeking a model for hard work in Rock-n-Roll, look no further than Myles Kennedy. A talented songwriter, highly equipped guitarist, and distinctive lead vocalist, Kennedy has been plugging away since the early ’90s, playing in various bands. Soon going on to lead The Mayfield Four, the band released two solid albums, but new opportunities came knocking when he was recruited as the lead vocalist of Alter Bridge in 2003 alongside Mark Tremonti, Brian Marshall, and Scott Phillips, all of Creed. a new endeavor for Kennedy, he and Alter Bridge soon became a mainstay in Hard Rock music that remains strong twenty-plus years later.

A story that is still being written, along the way, Kennedy was even considered to sing with Led Zeppelin. Quite interesting, he has also built a strong working relationship with Guns N’ Roses icon Slash, partook in his share of session work with others, and still had time to clear a place on his shelf for a solo career. Recently putting out his Heavy Rock album The Art of Letting Go in 2024, now Kennedy has hit the ground running in 2025 with touring, as well as scheduled studio times with both Alter Bridge and Slash for new music. Exciting times, amidst it all, Myles Kennedy sat down to reflect on his career, talk about the work put in The Art of Letting Go, plus much more.

Cryptic Rock – Last we connected, it was for your album Year of the Tiger album back in 2018. A lot has happened since then. You have continued along with Alter Bridge, The Conspirators, and your solo stuff. Recapping the last seven years or so, what has it been like for you?

Myles Kennedy – With the exception of when the world shut down there for eighteen months, it’s been pretty busy in a good way. It’s been continuing to build the brands and stay at it. Someone once told me that being in the music industry is like being a shark. If you stop swimming, you die. You have to stay out there. You have to keep creating and make sure people are aware you’re still doing it.

Cryptic Rock – Yes, and you definitely have done a good job of that on all fronts and all the projects you’ve been involved in. It is pretty cool and very special that you have so many different outlets at this point. You have been doing this for quite a few decades. To have all these outlets is really a blessing.

Myles Kennedy – Yeah. I’m very fortunate. You’re lucky if you can just have one entity that allows you the ability to create, and people will listen and care. Somehow, I’ve managed to be part of three things now that people are given a chance, and allow into their hearts and into their world, and then come see us play. It’s something I don’t take for granted.

Alter Bridge - One Day Remains — **Alter Bridge – One Day Remains / Wind-Up Records (2004)**

Alter Bridge - The Last Hero — **Alter Bridge – The Last Hero / Napalm Records (2016)**

Cryptic Rock – It shows. One of the sides of you is your solo stuff. You released your first full solo album back in 2018, and there has been an interesting progression since then with 2021’s The Ides of March. This leads us to 2024’s The Art of Letting Go, which is thick with great riffs and Heavy Rock. What was it like putting together The Art of Letting Go?

Myles Kennedy – Well, thank you. It was definitely a different approach from where this started. Initially, when I did Year of the Tiger, it was an acoustic record. The intention was just to make songs so I could go out and play acoustically by myself if need be. Not have to rely on anything or anyone and just play, just a man and his guitar. As time went on, I realized that I really liked the camaraderie of playing with musicians that I loved and wanted to create records that would allow me to incorporate that as well.

For this record, I allowed myself the freedom to create something more congruent with what I’m known for: Rock singers who sing over riff-based music rather than acoustic-based music. Initially, I didn’t want to be in the solo realm. I felt like I’d already checked those boxes with Slash, The Conspirators, and Alter Bridge. Once I allowed myself that leeway, it was real.

I don’t want to say it was an easy process, but there was a lot there to pull from. I had a lot of ideas that I wanted to get out and manifest. I wrote most of the record in about five months. I had a few ideas sitting around for a while, but overall, most of it was created within a certain window of time. I’m happy with how it turned out.

Cryptic Rock – It turned out very well. As you mentioned, it is different from what you did before you started doing solo stuff, which was more acoustic-based.

You have worked with various different musicians through the years in different bands you have been involved in. What was it like working with different groups of musicians?

Myles Kennedy – It’s like coming home with Zia (Uddin), the drummer, who also played; it’s been the same two guys that I’ve used on all three records. Zia and I go way back. The musical relationship there is longer than any relationship I’ve had with another musician. We started playing together as kids in the ’80s. He’s one of my favorite Rock-n-Roll drummers. He’s just got a great feel and a great pocket. He’s really creative. He’s a great human being.
When I tour this and when we go into the studio, it kind of feels like I’m getting in a time machine and going back to being a kid again just because of that relationship.

Then there is Tim. He not only plays but also manages this band and Alter Bridge. He’s just a really good friend, an incredibly hard worker, and a really great musician. It’s a really healthy environment.

Cryptic Rock – It sounds like a positive environment. You are doing shows in support of this record in 2025. What have the life sets been like with this album in terms of the energy and reaction?

Myles Kennedy – It’s been great. We did a six-week run over in Europe and the UK. It was just one of the funniest tours I can remember. So much so that I really didn’t want it to end. Normally, after six weeks, you’re pretty beat up. We just had a good time. It seemed like the fans that were showing up were really enjoying it as well. We’ve got these die-hard fans that will come. Wherever we are in the world, they’ll be there.

They express that they’ve really enjoyed this particular run. People sense the amount of fun we’re having, and that tends to translate. It’s a different experience. Not to take anything away from the other things I’m a part of. I have multiple memories in both realms that were incredible and hard to top.

This is just different. It’s just a three-piece. It’s very stripped down. A lot of it is improvisational, and we’ll mix things up, change things, and never know what’s going to happen on some nights. I like that. I think they like it too. I think that the audience likes it.

Cryptic Rock – Well, like you said, it seems like good chemistry. Beyond the touring, you are also back in the studio working on some new Alter Bridge material. Is that correct?

Myles Kennedy – Yeah. We’re trying to get that knocked out here sooner rather than later. I’ve also got to get in the studio and finish up some stuff with Slash and The Conspirators. A lot of studio time, a lot of touring time. It’s going to be a very dense year.

Myles Kennedy - Year of the Tiger — **Myles Kennedy – Year of the Tiger / Napalm Records (2018)**

Myles Kennedy - The Ides of March — **Myles Kennedy – The Ides of March / Napalm Records (2021)**

Cryptic Rock – Wow, that is a busy schedule. As you said before, if you are working in music, you just have to keep going.

Myles Kennedy – Yeah. Got to keep rolling.

Cryptic Rock – Right. Alter Bridge recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of the debut record, 2004’s One Day Remains. That is kind of hard to believe, isn’t it?

Myles Kennedy – It’s nuts. I keep telling people who are younger how, in the blink of an eye, how quickly twenty years will go, so enjoy it. It’s really hard to fathom. It’s also cool that in the twenty years we’ve been doing it, it’s the same lineup. We’ve never had a member leave or something bad happen, or we lost somebody. I think that’s something I don’t take for granted as well.

Cryptic Rock – This is also because of the good chemistry you all share. You have consistently toured and put out strong albums with Alter Bridge. Having spoken to Mark Tremonti, he told us that there is actually some material from the sessions of that debut record that he would love to release that has never been put out there.

Myles Kennedy – Yeah. There are a few things. It’s been long enough, and I honestly don’t remember which tunes those were because I feel a fair amount of them have trickled out. The interesting thing about that period was we were just trying to find what we were going to be. It’s that embryonic stage and its genesis.

When you hear One Day Remains, and you hear what it ended up becoming as time went on, it’s fun. I like going back and listening to the band’s earliest work just to see that stage where they plan to see, where they were, and then how it can evolve into something completely different. So yeah, I’m sure there are a few tracks still lying around that might see the light of day.

Cryptic Rock – It is always interesting to see the progression. Beyond that debut album, you’ve worked with Michael “Elvis” Baskette for every single Alter Bridge record.

Myles Kennedy – Correct. Yeah. He’s like our honorary fifth member. Elvis is great. There’s a reason why people work with him; they tend to go back with him. He has a great sense of arrangement, and he and his engineer, Jeff, and his system engineer, Josh. It’s just a great team. Once again, it’s that chemistry thing. It’s like, “Let’s put the team together, and let’s go have some fun and make some music.” I understand there are always going to be people out there, “Oh, you should mix it up. You should try a different team that you record with.” For us, we feel like if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. That’s something that we feel pretty strongly about.

**Myles Kennedy- The Art of Letting Go / Napalm Records (2024)**

Cryptic Rock – Yes. You have also worked with him for your solo records and a few of The Conspirator records. For the last Conspirator record, 2022’s 4, you had Dave Cobb work with you. He has done some fantastic work with Rival Sons, among others.

Myles Kennedy – Yeah. Dave’s great. He’s just a good guy. It’s once again that chemistry thing. It’s not just about twisting knobs, getting good tones, or arrangements. It’s also about their personality. The guys tend to stay in the game, and it’s also the same with musicians. It’s about the hang. Like Elvis, he’s a great hang. He’s very knowledgeable about music. Like you said, he’s made some really great records, like the Chris Stapleton records and Jason Isbell records. He’s a really talented producer.

Cryptic Rock – Yes. You mentioned about staying in the game. You’re no novice. You stayed in the game for a very long time. It is inspiring when someone can continue longevity and continue success. What do you attribute your longevity to? Dedication, or more?

Myles Kennedy – Yeah. I think it’s dedication. I also think a lot of it is the songwriting. An A&R guy told me once, “This isn’t the music business. It’s a songwriting business.” If you were to ask me when it’s all said and done if someone had to say, “What did you do?” I probably wouldn’t say I was a singer. I wouldn’t say I was a guitar player, even though I loved doing both. I would say I’m a songwriter, first and foremost.

That drive to write and continue to create is part of why I’ve had a three-decade career. It really is about the content and how much you can put out. I’m really grateful for that. It’s something I took for granted. When I got my first guitar when I was a kid, I remember writing songs right out of the gate. I was embarrassed by it because I thought, “Oh, well, it’s easy to write songs.” At that point, I wasn’t playing other people’s songs. My friend down the street can play this Def Leppard song. I can’t play that yet. I would always like to keep it quiet. As time went on, I realized that the most important thing to be doing was to be writing songs.

I would say any young person who starts playing an instrument, if you’re writing, keep nurturing that. You’ll be surprised with how it can take you places if you work hard enough.

Cryptic Rock – All songwriting should come from the heart. Something you have shown, the way you present it with your voice, makes it even stronger.

Myles Kennedy – Thank you. It’s important to have it come from a place that is genuine and honest because sometimes you can fall. I’ve written enough over the years where you have some songs that just come together, and then you paint by numbers, and it may not come from an honest place. I find myself stepping away from it, going, “Well, you should consider whether you want to put that out or not.” I feel like people really sense it.

That’s the cool thing about art, whether it’s music or visual art. Like a painting, there’s a reason why certain painters resonate with people. They look at the canvas, and they can feel what the painter was painting as it was happening—that human element that reaches out of the canvas and just grabs your heart. It should be the same way with music coming through the speakers.

Cryptic Rock – That is what makes The Art of Letting Go so refreshing. Three years removed from your last record, this album is different. As you said, you do not want to paint by numbers and become too predictable or seem contrived.

Myles Kennedy – Yeah. That’s exactly right. It’s a delicate dance, too, because some fans don’t want you to change. Like with Alter Bridge, we have to be careful because there’s definitely a sound we’ve established that fans have come to expect. At the same time, you want to have little moments here and there where it’s different enough to be like, “Oh, okay. Well, this is this record, and this is what they’re doing sonically here. It still has the hallmarks of the sound.”
It’s the same with the solo record. As time goes on and as more records come out in that realm, it’ll be interesting to see how I choose to kind of mix that up as well. It’s too soon to tell. But yeah, it’s a delicate dance.

Alter Bridge - Walk The Sky — **Alter Bridge – Walk The Sky / Napalm Records (2019)**

Alter Bridge - Pawn & Kings — **Alter Bridge – Pawn & Kings / Napalm Records (2022)**

Cryptic Rock – If we knew what was going to happen next, what would be the point?

Myles Kennedy – Yeah. Exactly.

Cryptic Rock – You talked about working on the new Alter Bridge material. What do you expect from these sessions?

Myles Kennedy – As far as what fans can expect, it’s still early. With Mark and I, we both present enough ideas to where you don’t know until those ideas are whittled down to ten or twelve, or whatever the number is going to be.

It’s a pretty broad stroke. I just spent three weeks working on demoing and whatnot, getting everything ready that I’m going to submit, knowing what Mark has also put forward. There’s enough content there. It’s really a matter of what we end up choosing. We’ll really decide what the sound is. Ask me that question in six months. I’ll have a better feel for that.

Cryptic Rock – Understood. And you guys are getting together with the entire band to fill out songs?

Myles Kennedy – Yeah. That’s the goal: to get in there and do pre-pro as a band and decide which songs we’re going to record.

Cryptic Rock—That is fantastic to hear. It seems fewer and fewer musicians are playing live with each other or getting in the same room with all the internet capabilities and Zoom calls. Something is lost in translation when the musicians do not get together, work in person, and look each other in the eye.

Myles Kennedy – Yeah, there’s definitely something to be said about how technology can help with some big trading files and making it so that one guy can live in New York and one guy can live in LA, or whatever it is.

I do believe that when it comes time to actually record the record, especially when you’re doing pre-production, you all should be in the same room together, playing the songs and feeling how it feels, looking at each other and going, “Okay, that fill works, or that guitar part works or doesn’t work.” There’s something very visceral about that.

It’s very different than when you’re just three thousand miles away from each other and you’re tethered by an ethernet cable. At some point, I always hope that we can have that luxury. It doesn’t always work out that way, just for whatever reason. I definitely prefer that myself.

Cryptic Rock – It is certainly important for the music. You also mentioned getting back in the studio with Slash and working on some more Conspirator songs.

Myles Kennedy – Yeah. There’s a bunch of stuff coming up. It’s going to be a busy few years.

Cryptic Rock – More good news. Are there any ideas of where that is going thus far, or are you not sure yet?

Myles Kennedy – As far as musically where it’s going, it’s still Blues-based Rock-n-Roll. I’m really happy with the stuff that I’ve heard thus far and put my two cents into vocally and lyrically and whatnot. I just need to find a window to get the vocals recorded. That’s the issue for me.

Slash - Living The Dream — **Slash – Living The Dream / Roadrunner (2018)**

Slash - 4 — **Slash – 4 / Gibson (2022)**

Cryptic Rock – Understandable. Could this be your busiest year thus far in the past decade?

Myles Kennedy – It’s busy. The busiest year was 2019. That was crazy. Between all the touring I was doing with Slash, The Conspirators, and Alter Bridge, I believe I was gone for over three hundred days that year. That tour beat me up. When the whole pandemic thing happened in 2020, it was almost like I needed the break because I was burning the candle at both ends, for sure.

Cryptic Rock – Wow. That is a very long time away from home.

Myles Kennedy – Yeah. It was nuts. Then again, if you ask any crew guy who really makes the whole thing happen behind the scenes, some of those guys just bounce from tour to tour, and that’s just a year for them. That’s just their life. They’re just always gone. As an artist, you’re whining when you’re away half the year. I try to always remember that and not get the violin out.

Cryptic Rock – It is taxing on you to be away from home that long. As you said, this tour has been fun and has not really felt as taxing. What would you say is your key to staying balanced while being away from home as much as you are?

Myles Kennedy – I try to stay healthy first and foremost. When I was younger, I would forget about that.

As time goes on, there’s something about keeping your body healthy and keeping your mind healthy. Just the state of mind, having an optimistic view of the world, and just living from this state of gratitude, and realizing just how lucky I am. If you’d told me twenty-five years ago, I would have been in this unique position, playing in these three bands that have done well enough to where I can put records out, and people listen and then allow us to tour. I’d have been just blown away.

I always try to keep that in mind so that it makes sense. When you’re sitting in a hotel room, and you’re lonely, and you’ve been on the road for a month away from family and friends, you realize that this was what you asked for, and you got it, and be grateful.