Alter Bridge

Yesterday ALTER BRIDGE played live at BARCELONA-SPAIN
( I couldn't go, but I should have.... but when economy's bad, it's bad...)



20 Questions for ALTER BRIDGE (ex-creed members)
1) Question:
Was there a definitive moment in time when you knew Creed was over?
Flip:
There were many definitive moments, but our tour of 2002 was a very long year and ended on a low point for us. It just felt like it was time to move on. After some time off we really just felt that it wasn’t working out.

2) Question:
What were the circumstances?
Mark and Flip:
We were just going different directions, he had a lot going on his life personally and professionally and we just wanted to play music. After taking a break it was apparent that Scott wanted to make a studio record but not tour as much and we wanted to tour and get back to work. When we got together to do the next record, it just wasn’t happening musically. There was no progress being made so we just decided to part ways. There’s no animosity there. We talked on the phone and wished each other good luck.

3) Question:
Is there still a compilation album coming out?
Flip:
We’ve been so busy, we haven’t thought about it but it’s supposedly in the label’s plans to be out later this year.

4) Question:
Being that it’s three of the founding members of Creed, what’s the difference between this and it just being Creed with a new singer?
Flip:
Although it’s still melodic rock, we’re more mature, and we’re better musicians. It’s been 3 or 4 years since we worked on anything and we’ve evolved as people as well so regardless of what happened, it would have turned out different no matter what.

5) Question:
When and how did you first meet Myles?
Mark:
We toured with Myles when we were with Creed. Rick Krim from VH1 and our manager Jeff Hanson are great friends. Rick suggested Myles to Jeff and gave him the number. Jeff let us know Myles wasn’t with Mayfield Four anymore so we called him. Hopefully the rest will be history!

6) Question:
How did you come to the decision of getting back with Brian?
Mark:
When Brian was with Creed there was always a groove he had that was perfect for us. Brett is an amazing singer / songwriter and we still love him, so that was tough, but Brian was so excited about playing bass that we had to have him back. Brian hadn’t played with us in 4 years and when we jammed with him he was so reinvigorated and that inspired us. When Brian left Creed, we really missed him; he had always been a good friend.

7) Question:
Describe the music.
Mark:
It’s melody driven, 70’s style, rock. We feel like we have evolved a lot as musicians so this album will be musically stronger than anything we’ve ever done. The songs range from very heavy to very emotive. Although our overall sound started as a little bit of a throwback to the seventies, it seems to now be considered, by most of those who have heard it, as very contemporary.

8) Question:
Are the band and album spiritual? Did you try to go in a more secular direction? How different will it be lyrically? The album is entitled ONE DAY REMAINS – that seems spiritual.
Flip:
It’s not super spiritual, but the band members are all spiritual. Spirituality will always be a part of who we are but the album’s more about life experiences. You can take from it what you will but it’s not an agenda of ours. There was no difference in opinion between Tremonti and Stapp when it came to the direction of Creed’s message. We’re not trying to be secular or spiritual; we just want to express positivity in our lives.

9) Question:
Doesn’t Myles have pretty big shoes to fill?
Mark:
We’re not looking backwards, we’re looking forwards. We couldn’t have been any happier to find someone that didn’t sound like just Stapp. Myles wrote songs for Mayfield Four and those albums were great, they just didn’t get the big push. Myles is a tenor and has an old school rock sound. He is an amazing live performer and also adds the element of having a second guitar player live.

10) Question:
Was singing an option for Mark?
Mark:
I tried; I just didn’t have the chops. I’ve never really wanted to be a singer or a front man anyway. I don’t like to be the center of attention. It’s great to have someone like Myles that can sing these songs with so much emotion and he’ll be a perfect front man. He’s great live, he has an amazing range, and he can high hit high notes like no one else. His low register is amazing as well.

11) Question:
What are some of Myles’ influences?
Myles:
Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Bowie, Page and Plant, Jeff Buckley, Chris Whitley.

12) Question:
Are you shooting a video?
Mark:
We’re supposed to shoot the video at the end of this month. The radio add date is June 29, we’ll be shooting the video around the same time. The album comes out August 10th.

13) Question:
Where did you get the name of the band and the album?
Mark:
Alter Bridge is a bridge in my hometown of Detroit. The locals look it at as a dividing line between two very different areas. As a kid, I was told not to go over the bridge. It symbolizes the unknown to me, not knowing what’s on the other side. I feel like that’s where we are now in this band.

14) Question:
What was Brian doing while he was gone?
Brian:
I took some time to get my head straight. Leaving was a low point for me. It had gotten to a point where Stapp and my personal differences created a situation where we just couldn’t be on the same stage anymore. It got to a point where it was unhealthy for the band and for me and I was unceremoniously dismissed. Following that, there was a point where I didn’t want to do music at all. After some time I built a studio, started another band, and started some producing. Then I got the call from Mark and I was just so excited to hear from him. We got together and jammed and just hearing him play again was amazing. I’m so glad to be back, it’s like a rebirth.

15) Question:
Myles, what did you think when you got the music and is it like Creed?
Myles:
Mark is just so talented. When I heard a demo of “Down To My Last”, I got goose bumps. I could definitely hear myself singing the songs. It’s obvious that there would be elements of Creed with Mark, Brian, and Flip simply from being in the same band but it definitely has it’s own sound.

16) Question:
How was it recorded? How was the process different?
Mark and Flip:
We did the drums in an actual studio in Atlanta, which was the first time we’ve ever done that, but we did the rest of the tracking the same way as the three Creed albums, in a house. The main difference is that we are working 24 hours a day.

17) Question:
What’s the plan? Is Alter Bridge starting like a new band?
Mark:
We’re obviously not touring arenas but we want to start out in places like the House of Blues. We want to do it grass roots style again. We are going out late in July to over 50 radio stations to play acoustically because we aren’t taking anything for granted. The main objective is to just have fun this time. If it doesn’t work out, we’ll move to the Keys and play in cover bands. Hopefully we don’t have to worry about that because we have so many loyal fans and we’re still surrounded by the loyal believers that were there from Creed’s beginning. We are still represented by the original team of Wind Up Records, JHMP, The Agency Group, and Whitfield & Johnson, and we still plan on working with the same crew from the Weathered tour.

18) Question:
Myles, are you ready for negative criticism if it comes from the Scott Stapp fans?
Myles:
Of course there will be comparisons, criticism, and people taking sides. All I can do is be honest and do my best. They created a great legacy with Creed, but I’m in Alter Bridge, and I hope the fans appreciate what we do as well.

19) Question:
Myles, is it difficult to sing when, the majority of the lyrics were written by someone else?
Myles:
It is, I guess it’s like being an actor. You have to try to become that character. I often ask Mark where his head was at when he was writing so I could get a sense of where he was coming from but most of the themes are universal themes of loss and other life experiences that I can identify with.

20) Question:
Is anyone else contributing to the writing?
Mark:
In this band, everyone is open to anything. There’s no writing behind closed doors. Everyone in the band has contributed to this album, no one was bossy, and in the end the songs became so much better because of it.