CreedFeed Community - "I don't feel like I'm singing for Creed Part 2" says Myles

Alter Bridge members trying to make clean break from Creed with new singer

Angela Pacienza
Canadian Press

Wednesday, August 11, 2004

TORONTO (CP) - Myles Kennedy knew he'd be blasted by fans and critics when he signed on to be the vocalist for a new band formed out of the ashes of Creed.

"I don't feel like I'm singing for Creed Part 2," he said recently during a stop in Toronto with Alter Bridge. The group comprises three former members of Creed - the spiritually slanted rock band whose hits included Higher and With Arms Wide Open - who parted ways with frontman Scott Stapp.

"Hopefully the public, with time and once they're acclimated to this band, will feel the same way."

But with the same chin-length hair and piercing eyes as Stapp, Kennedy is going to have a tough go at it.

Not to mention the fact that Alter Bridge has retained some of the message-laden rock that made Creed famous - the band sold over 30 million records worldwide riding the popularity of the post-grunge rock movement of the late 1990s.

Alter Bridge's lead-off single Open Your Eyes, from their debut CD One Day Remains, is reminiscent of Creed's style in both sound and content. Like many of Creed's tracks, the song has a reflective message. This one is about getting through tough times with the friends around you.

Guitarist Mark Tremonti defends the song, saying it's a solid transition for fans because it tells the breakup story and doesn't "shock anybody."

"We were all in limbo as to what was going on," explains Tremonti. "We were ending something that had been real comfy and cosy for us for years and going into something new. It was a trying time."

Tremonti formed Creed with his childhood friend Stapp back in 1995. But in recent years their friendship soured and they decided to go their separate musical ways.

The two haven't spoken since February, says Tremonti.

Stapp, meanwhile, has been working on furthering his own career. He's expected to release a solo album late this year or early 2005. In the meantime, he released a single, Relearn Love, with Toronto-based group the Tea Party backing him up. The song appears on the Passion of the Christ: Songs, coming out at the end of August.

It's not surprising Alter Bridge would sound like Creed - Tremonti was the co-writer of the old outfit.

"It sounds like me. What came out, came out," says Tremonti, who wrote all 11 new songs (a couple with Kennedy). "We'll just have to decide what singles to put out and the way we present ourselves to stay away from the Creed thing. There's probably two other songs on the record that if we released people would say that's reminiscent of Creed, but there are these other eight - they're a completely different direction."

So what exactly is new about Alter Bridge?

Working with metal producer Ben Grosse, the band's bass is a little heavier and the guitar riffs a bit fiercer. As well, the band has steered clear of the Christian rock genre they were associated with throughout their career.

"I'm a Christian but we don't have any agenda. I never have with music other than just rocking," said Tremonti. "It's the last thing in the world I ever thought I'd be labelled, because I grew up listening to death metal and black metal."

The Christian rock label came from Stapp's obscure biblical references in Creed's lyrics.

"Scott (Stapp) was brought up in a real religious family and he uses all kinds of references and lyrics about the Bible. The guys in this band are just normal guys who grew up in a normal family, not overly religious and just wanted to rock."

To prove the point, Alter Bridge - named after a bridge near Tremonti's childhood home in Detroit - won't play any old hits. Ever.

"We're not going to look in the past," stresses Tremonti. "We'd feel uncomfortable playing it. It would be like a big karaoke fest."

© The Canadian Press 2004