Myles Kennedy recently shared the reason why he turned down the offer to join Velvet Revolver in the early 2000s.
Kennedy shared his mindset and explained the situation in a recent interview with Jamey Jasta. “I was really, really disillusioned with the business, with the industry and I was kind of at a point where I was questioning myself,” he revealed. “Like I [thought I] lacked certain things that you needed to step into something of that magnitude. So, I got the demo, I put some vocals to it, and I sat back and listened to it, and was like, ‘You know what, man? You’ve got to be honest with yourself. This is the opportunity of a lifetime.’ You may never get an opportunity like this again, being in Spokane, Washington. But you know what? You’re not gonna send this in.'”
Kennedy’s decision to turn down Velvet Revolver’s offer was based on his emotional and mental state at the time. The rocker apparently knew he wasn’t ready to take on such an opportunity. “And I didn’t send it in. Slash reached out later, and was like, ‘Hey, man, are you going to send that back?’ And I was like, ‘Man, I’m so honored you reached out to me. You guys made some of the greatest music ever. But I just don’t think I’m the right guy right now.'”
He added, “And so, that was hard. And then, I got married, and went back to teaching guitar, but it was the right thing to do.”
Kennedy also reflected on the decision in a previous interview, explaining, “For whatever reason, it didn’t feel like it would work at that point,” He continued. “That was the right move, ’cause I think that when Scott Weiland got in the mix, I was, like, ‘Oh, yeah. That’s the guy.’ I really love that band, actually; I thought those records were really cool. I thought he had just kind of a dangerous vibe that suited what they were doing.”
That wasn’t the only time he had been approached to try out for the Velvet Revolver singer gig. “It’s interesting: there were two times,” he said. “So, the first time, Slash reached out. He doesn’t even remember this, but in 2002 — I think it was the summer or fall of 2002, before Weiland was even in the mix — I remember my manager had called me at the time and he said, ‘You might be getting a call from somebody in this camp, because they’re looking for singers.'”
“But I was blown away when I picked up the phone and Slash was on the other end of the line. And then, about seven years later, after they had parted ways with Scott and Alter Bridge was on hiatus, they reached out. So, yeah, there were two times. But I never auditioned — it was just something that had been talked about and never came to fruition,” he added.
Myles and Slash eventually worked together when Slash contacted Kennedy again, this time to sing on a few songs for Slash’s 2010 solo debut. Kennedy then took on a bigger role, joining Slash Featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators for 2012’s ‘Apocalyptic Love,’ 2014’s ‘World On Fire,’ 2018’s ‘Living The Dream,’ and 2022’s ‘4.’
