Using backing tracks has always been a controversial topic in the rock scene since some musicians think it is okay as long as there are live instruments, while others argue it takes away from the live aspect of the shows. Alter Bridge’s Myles Kennedy recently shared with Cassius Morris that live instruments are what makes the show, and if there comes a day when he needs to lip-sync, that will be the day he will retire as a musician.
“It depends on the degree to which you’re utilizing it, at least for me,” Kennedy said regarding using any backing tracks on live shows. “The day I have to sing to track – in terms of not singing but lip-syncing – I’m hanging it up. I’m not going to do that. I’ll never do that.”
He continued, “Because we don’t have a keyboard player, there have been a handful of songs over the years – we had a song called ‘Slip to the Void’; I programmed a part on GarageBand back in the day, and we used that intro. So, consider that a track that was this little keyboard part.”
“So, for a four-piece rock and roll band who doesn’t have a keyboard player on stage, we would occasionally pepper something like that in the set,” the musician admitted. “But other than that, there are no guitars, bass, drums, and vocals; none is being piped in. We do it. It’s a live thing. That’s one of the things I appreciated when I watched Iron Maiden the other night; it was just like; clearly, these guys were all playing. It was great.”
For instance, Alter Bridge’s seventh studio album ‘Pawns & Kings’ released this past October, is not overly produced to the point where the band needs to add backing tracks to portray the same level of energy and sound to the audience. Their choices in their production have made their upcoming live performances more suitable for live instruments.
