from Alter Bridge years
THE POWER OF THREE
Kennedy admitted that making The Art of Letting Go was just another excuse to get together with his longtime friends and create the magic of music . As a power trio , Kennedy is joined by his loyal friend and solid drummer Zia Uddin — who played with Kennedy ������������������������������������������ with bassist and manager Tim Tournier . The musical chemistry and camaraderie between the three members are highly evident on the ten dynamic tracks . “( Zia ’ s ) the person I ’ ve played with the longest — for nearly 40 years ���������������������������������������������tionship with him . And once again , it ’ s an-
INTO THE FUTURE
other reason why I wanted to make another record , which is just an excuse to get back together with him and get back together with ������������������������������������������������ not just with the band , but also my crew . It ’ s just a really great environment ; a good working environment that I think all of us love to be a part of . So , I think that ’ s one of the main perks of doing this .”
22 illinoisentertainer . com october 2024 continued from page 20
The Art of Letting Go , Kennedy ’ s prowess on the guitar — which understandably sometimes gets overshadowed while performing alongside shredders such as Mark Tremonti in Alter Bridge and Slash in Slash Featuring Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators — is awe-inspiring on this record . “ In a lot of ways , the record is kind of an excuse just to play guitar ,” Kennedy slyly admits . “ And that ’ s what the solo thing is becoming more and more of . I had buddies that I grew up with way back in the day , and they would always be supportive and tell me that they like my records and like what I do on the guitar . I spent a lot of time developing ( my guitar skills ). I think that moving forward , I bet that ’ s going to be one of the main goals with these records . Just to �������������������������������������������������
In addition to Kennedy ’ s strong relationship with his band and crew , he also reconnected with longtime producer / engineer Michael “ Elvis ” Baskette , who produced Kennedy ’ s last two solo albums and almost every Alter Bridge album . “ Elvis is just somebody I trust ,” he says honestly . “ That ’ s the most important thing and I knew stylistically the kind of record this was , he ’ d get it . It ’ s really in his wheelhouse . So , it ’ s just a real level of comfort that is important to me at this point . Early on , people would say that I should change producers every few records . And I agree with that to a point , but you also get into situations where you try new things , and you realize if ������������������������������������������������� point in my career where I ’ m kind of sticking to that . I know what he ’ s really good at and it kind of falls in line with what I like .”
Signed to Napalm Records , mostly known as a record label with more of a heavy metal roster , Kennedy says the working relationship ���� ����� �������� ���������� ������ ��� ���� started working with them eight years ago with Alter Bridge , we knew them to be pri- ���������������������������������������������� “ Although Alter Bridge is heavier , we just wanted to make sure that it would be a good ������������������������������������������� ���������������������������������������������cord , they were interested in releasing it . And obviously , I was surprised , just because that was an acoustic-based record , and I wasn ’ t sure how that would work in that context . But they did a great job and I think that certainly helps keep things running smoothly .”
For the past two decades , Kennedy has been successfully partaking in three full-time projects ( Alter Bridge , Slash Featuring Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators , and his solo career ) – as well as writing , recording , and touring – while managing not to burn himself out . Kennedy ’ s track record and musical