Alter Bridge’s frontman Myles Kennedy recently spoke to the Guitar and revealed his thoughts about the reception of their band and why it was not so popular in mainstream media.
After Alter Bridge stepped onto the music scene in 2004, the band built a strong reputation with its live shows. They have preferred to perform in smaller venues rather than larger ones, which is somewhat in line with the band members’ initial purpose. They have explained several times that ever since Alter Bridge’s formation, they only used their records as a tool to connect with the listeners through live performances.
Although their albums are appreciated by a broad audience, it is somewhat rare to hear the songs of Alter Bridge in mainstream media, such as the radio. At the same time, their efforts have not been promoted in grand tours like their counterparts. However, that did not discourage and hold them back from remaining on stage, and they have been continuing their musical journey for nearly 20 years.
In his last interview with Guitar, the frontman Myles Kennedy looked back at his band’s career. The vocalist said that there are several reasons why their band’s records were not very visible in the mainstream media, one of them being perhaps his singing style. He explained that singing baritone was more prevalent in their genre when they entered the music world; thus, his higher pitches were not very compatible with the legacy that was established before them.
Mark Tremonti, the lead guitarist, was also present in the conversation and commented on the subject. According to him, their predecessor, Creed’s reputation, and the gatekeepers’ attitude may have had something to do with it. The guitarist revealed that he thinks Creed’s music can be polarizing and scare people off of Alter Bridge, and they didn’t get the fan support they hoped for because the gatekeepers didn’t push them that much.
Here is what Myles Kennedy said about Alter Bridge:
“I think there are a few reasons. It could have something to do with my approach to singing: it’s higher, and when we started, it was more in vogue to be a baritone. And it’s because there was already a certain legacy established before us.”
Mark Tremonti’s comments on the subject follow:
“We hoped that we would at least bring along a bunch of fans that we already had once we started making new music. But it’s hard to get those new fans if the gatekeepers aren’t pushing it like they were in the past. I think, at that point, Creed were so big and so polarising that people were afraid of us. In the States, we did not get the love and support that we were used to.”
Alter Bridge plans to release its seventh studio album, Pawns & Kings, today. Meanwhile, they are still performing live, and their current stop is Europe. They will tour Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Poland, and many more countries. In December, they will play in the UK alongside Halestorm and Mammoth.
