Myles Kennedy: Living To Deliver

Accomplished solo artist, award winning frontman, hand picked by SLASH, MYLES KENNEDY has already made an immeasurable impact on the world of music and continues to do so into his almost forty year tenure in the business. His third solo album entitled The Art Of Letting Go maintains his heartfelt and personal approach and appropriately details his current outlook on life. 

“It’s something I’ve been trying to integrate into my being now for the last six or seven years. Just learning to go with the flow and be more present. I felt like that phrase was just really appropriate for where I am now and that it would make a good album title. Part of the allure of doing these solo records is that you can write about things you connect with and things you’ve been through which resonate with you to some degree. I tend not to write in the third person as much as I do with the likes of my work with SLASH. With that I tend to tell more stories, Anastasia for example, that’s very much a story. I’ve never been running from the law! With the solo stuff I try to keep it more personal and these songs address kind of where I’m at right now in my journey. The final track How The Story Ends was inspired by the film Speak No Evil. I found the moral of that story applied a lot to my current outlook on life and the idea of standing up for myself more and not being so passive. I felt it was important for me to write about that subject just as a reminder, as with most of the messages in these songs, reminding me to continue evolving as a person.”

With the stage in mind, The Art Of Letting Go opts for a more riff-driven approach in comparison to his previous solo endeavours. “The style of the music, to some degree, came out of a conversation with our drum tech. When we were touring The Ides Of March he made a comment about how he really liked how we rearranged the songs to be able to play them live,” explains Myles. “That material and even the Year Of The Tiger material which was acoustic in the recorded realm were made a bit more ‘rocked out’ live. He mentioned about us re-recording those songs in the rearranged states and off the back of that I thought well what if we just made a whole new record that was made to play the way it was recorded? That was the genesis of it all when I started writing last year. I had all these riffs coming out of my guitar and it became pretty obvious which way it was heading.”

It provides an intriguing prospect seeing an accomplished musician as a collective venture down the solo route, like you’re getting a glimpse into their core influences and what inspires them as an individual. MYLES KENNEDY particularly relishes this opportunity. “One thing that draws me to writing solo records is the challenge of it because you have to rely on your own instincts and cultivate the ideas that come to you. The trick for me isn’t so much coming up with the starting point of a song, that’s the fun and easy part. It’s knowing whether a song is worth chasing down and finishing. It’s nice to have collective discussions but with a solo record it all feels very intentional and it helps me strengthen my own editing skills before I present anything to the rest of the band.”

He continues, “this way also means I feel like I’m putting my best foot forward as opposed to just handing over a bunch of garbage. I’ve really developed my sense of quality control. The lead single Say What You Will is a great example of that. The intro riff definitely passed the quality control but originally I had a whole different verse, pre-chorus, and bridge but they weren’t measuring up.  I had to be honest with myself and not just settle with what I had. I’m gonna be the guy who goes out and plays these songs for a year or more and if I don’t like some parts of it then the song doesn’t serve its purpose. I’m pretty hard on myself and I think that’s an appropriate way to be when you’re writing.”

For every song that gets released into the public domain, there are probably hundreds which sit on a hard drive or as a soundbyte on someone’s phone, potentially never seeing the light of day. There are instances however, when your next release may very well be staring you in the face. “I wrote the genesis for Miss You When You’re Gone during the Year Of The Tiger sessions and it just didn’t fit the mood. I thought it might have a home somewhere down the line and it was hard to shelve that idea at the time as I had a special feeling about it but I had to be honest and not try and put a square peg into a round hole. Sometimes you’ll have these parts hanging around, Me and Mark do this a lot in ALTER BRIDGE, and it’s such a great feeling when you know you have an existing part which will fit perfectly with what you’re trying to achieve, it’s quite magical.”

His iconic vocal work is known far and wide and whilst he’s spent a lot of his storied career surrounded by some of the greatest musicians to ever pick up a guitar he can more than hold his own on an instrumental front. “I freaking love the guitar and it’s funny because I like to sit around and play so much guitar. I don’t sit around and sing a lot unless I’m writing or rehearsing. I play guitar for a few hours a day and getting my own signature guitar was a real ‘pinch me’ moment. If someone told the 14 year old Myles that one day he was going to get his own signature guitar with PRS of all companies, it’s hard to fathom.”

MYLES KENNEDY has nurtured some wonderful relationships in his extensive musical journey. One in particular is his friendship with drummer and longtime bandmate Zia Uddin who also brings his signature flair to The Art Of Letting Go. “The relationship I have with Zia is longer than anyone else in my musical orbit. We started playing together almost 40 years ago, that’s a long freaking time! We were just kids but it shows you how important that relationship has been to both of us. I’ve also worked with producer Michael ‘Elvis’ Baskette since the second MAYFIELD FOUR record back in around 2001, I trust their instincts and it really frees me up creatively. After the demo and pre-production phases, Elvis really helps me narrow down the songs that end up making the cut in the end. Referring back to Miss You When You’re Gone, that was out of a conversation with Elvis where we had one song which didn’t necessarily fit the record and we were both in agreement on that. I recalled the old ideas I had and when I played it for the guys their faces lit up and by the time I got to the chorus, Elvis put his hands up and we knew we had what we needed.”

An exciting aspect about touring and travelling is that even though Myles is fortunate enough to have created these robust bonds along the way he also gets the opportunity to meet fellow musicians that he has not crossed paths with previously. One being the illustrious DEVIN TOWNSEND. “My relationship with Devin is still quite new, I was telling my publicist how much I loved his Lightwork album. I believe Devin was on tour with DREAM THEATER at the time and he was coming to town on one of their dates so I went to the show, had an amazing time and met him afterwards. He is as nice as he is talented. When it became a possibility of him becoming a part of my upcoming tour, me being honoured was an understatement. Getting to hear someone with his talent play every night and get the opportunity to hang out more, I feel like we’re on a similar journey with our philosophies on life and I’m super excited.”

The life of a touring musician may look incredibly glamorous, getting to rub shoulders with high profile musicians, see new places and perform in front of large crowds every night. What some fail to forget is the countless sacrifices these individuals make to continue to make a sustainable living from being in this profession. “It’s a lonely life on the road being a singer,” admits Myles. “It bums me out a little as I love talking to people but it’s really taxing on my voice and it starts getting fatigued and I can’t deliver the way I want to. When I first started playing with ALTER BRIDGE I was warming up for like 45 minutes to an hour and I wondered why my voice would burn out so easily. If I’m feeling good I usually warm up for around ten minutes, maybe fifteen if I feel like a little more effort is going to be required.”

“I don’t really drink much at all and I eat a very strict diet of bland food and basically just live for those couple of hours on stage every night. I live to deliver! I want people to leave the show happy but obviously if you tour around the winter months you’re more likely to get a cold or get sick. It all brings it back to the The Art Of Letting Go and learning how to roll with the punches, figuring out a way to make things work. It’s funny as I was talking with my bassist Tim and he said when he comes to watch me play or is playing with me I’m by far the hardest on myself when performing with the solo band. I think it’s because it’s a three piece and you feel a lot more exposed. There is nowhere to hide.”

Making a living from one of your passions is sadly an achievement which few get the fortune of experiencing. MYLES KENNEDY hasn’t taken one step of his career for granted and is always looking forward to the next potential chapter. “The idea of trying to find that ‘next song’ and the rush or high you get from it is like no other. I’ve talked with a few other songwriters about this where we are just continuing to find that next fix and what would happen if the well just dries up and we’ve got nothing else to say? That’s why I was so ecstatic when I came up with the first single for this record because I knew I had something that I could build from. It’s just so fulfilling. I’m always afraid of becoming complacent so I don’t allow myself much opportunity to bask in my accomplishments. I’m so grateful and I just want to continue to ride this out as long as I can!”

The Art Of Letting Go is out now via Napalm Records. View this interview, alongside dozens of other killer bands, in glorious print magazine fashion in DS114 here:

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