Alter Bridge Interview in Guitarist Magazine

[Steve]

Check it out:

http://www.alterbridgerocks.com/media/print/magazines/altered-states-guitarist-mag/?1

thanks to Dan @ AlterBridgeBand.net

[Torn Daredevil]

Thanks!

What an awesome read! That made me happy. :D

[titan9]

Yup, thanks for posting that. Pretty good read.

[RMadd]

awesome article! I especially like the little bit about the soloing.

"Oh yeah, definitely. In Creed whenever I tried to solo, Scott would have to make fun of me for being too eighties. It would always piss me off because the more flashy I got on the guitar, the more he would downplay it. But those days are over with. Before you know it, I'll be doing the eight-finger tapping."

"Kurt Cobain may have killed the guitar solo but we're going to do our best to bring it back," nods Kennedy.

and

"And we've got a drummer who can breakdance," adds Myles helpfully. Now that, Guitarist would love to see. But things are already good enough: Creed may still cast a long shadow but for now, under the Alter Bridge, Mark Tremonti is having fun and enjoying his music again.

[DekWannaBFlea]

awesome article! I especially like the little bit about the soloing.

"Oh yeah, definitely. In Creed whenever I tried to solo, Scott would have to make fun of me for being too eighties. It would always piss me off because the more flashy I got on the guitar, the more he would downplay it. But those days are over with. Before you know it, I'll be doing the eight-finger tapping."

"Kurt Cobain may have killed the guitar solo but we're going to do our best to bring it back," nods Kennedy.

and

"And we've got a drummer who can breakdance," adds Myles helpfully. Now that, Guitarist would love to see. But things are already good enough: Creed may still cast a long shadow but for now, under the Alter Bridge, Mark Tremonti is having fun and enjoying his music again.


So Scott did hold them back, just like i siad so many times....whatever


Any way that was one of the best articles i have read on them, thanks for the post.

[The Lithium]

Haha, go Myles - he's funny :D

[Chase]

Awesome article... Alter Bridge gives Mark the ability to be himself. Creed was all Stapp and Alter Bridge is all Mark.

[Agent D]

I really would like to see Flip breakdance. I think that'd be amusing.

[HigherGirl]

Great article Steve!!
Thanks!! :clap:

[aussiecreeder]

cool article and the bit about trying to teach scott guitar was interesting.

[titan9]

cool article and the bit about trying to teach scott guitar was interesting.

My thoughts exactly. Can you imagine having Mark as a teacher? That'd be awesome, imo.

[Bridge of Clay]

dude... if Mark was my teacher, I'd work my ass off to learn everything... I'd even quit school just so I could have more time to practice. lol!

I wouldn't want to make ugly in front of him.

That's one of the best articles. That Cobain quote... awesome!

[aussiecreeder]

dude... if Mark was my teacher, I'd work my ass off to learn everything... I'd even quit school just so I could have more time to practice. lol!

I wouldn't want to make ugly in front of him.

That's one of the best articles. That Cobain quote... awesome!

Maybe guitar just isn't Scott's thing and I agree the Cobain quote is priceless.

[RMadd]

Maybe guitar just isn't Scott's thing and I agree the Cobain quote is priceless.
after all, you can't teach an old dog new tricks... esp if he's dead-set against it (maybe i'm the only one under the impression he didn't try too much lol)
as for Cobain, it looks like perhaps I'm not the only one who thought Nirvana was hugely overrated. They're music's alright, and I have a fair number of their songs. But I'm by no means a big fan and definitely won't be buying that new box set of theirs, despite any rave reviews it may receive. Grunge killed rock & roll (and post-grunge and nu metal just stomp all over its grave lol)

[titan9]

dude... if Mark was my teacher, I'd work my ass off to learn everything... I'd even quit school just so I could have more time to practice. lol!

I wouldn't want to make ugly in front of him.

That's one of the best articles. That Cobain quote... awesome!

Yeah, I agree. Mark's my favorite guitarist(and really my inspiration for taking up the guitar) and he'd be an awesome teacher. Though I would be nervous about messing up.:D

after all, you can't teach an old dog new tricks... esp if he's dead-set against it (maybe i'm the only one under the impression he didn't try too much lol)

Perhaps, but guitar is a very tough thing at first. I'm a beginner(took it up in December of 2004) and had a very tough time at first, just getting used to the fret board and all. Needless to say, it is alot tougher than it looks. ;)

[Higher_Desire]

Hrrrmmmm... Not sure if I like that Kurt Cobain quote... :peoplesey

Good read. Just an FYI for ya Steve, a word is mispelled in the second paragraph. It says "He's talking about the final fays of his previous band, Creed,"


H-D :pimp:

[Steve]

Thanks.

[aussiecreeder]

good point about learning the guitar there are easier instruments to learn for sure. whether stapp really wanted to learn i guess is the question.......

[titan9]

Yeah, like keyboard.(what I started out on):D It's a heckuva lot easier to learn songs on that then on guitar. Plus, I'd imagine if Stapp was playing guitar during the concerts, that'd be pretty restrictive. He likes to move around, and if he played guitar on stage, he wouldn't be able to move around as much. But I kinda doubt he really wanted to learn. I think he's content with just being a singer/lyricist.

[DekWannaBFlea]

Scott started to play a little guitar during the weathered tour didn't he? Cause i have a live version of Stand here with me and he has a U.S. flag colored guitar.

[cariocawlad]

Now we know why Mark is more creative and happy in Alter Bridge than Creed days... Scott didn't like guitar solos... this is sad. Creed could been more and more bigger than that. Can you imagine?

[Agent D]

Scott did indeed attempt to play guitar on tour. He donned one during the conert at Hershey Stadium during the Weathered tour when they peformed Stand Here With Me. It didn't really work though and Scott was kinda restricted. He couldn't master the art of playing and singing at the same time. He'd strike a chord and then let go of the guitar and grab the mic and sing. Then he'd do a chord again and then sing...and repeat.

But I have to say that at first I thought the Cobain quote was out of line but if you think about it, that is very true. Kurt was a great songwriter but an awful guitarist. Odd though, because other grunge bands had good solos in their songs, like Pearl Jam and Soundgarden.

[DekWannaBFlea]

Nirvana is one of the most over rated bands in the history of music. Tremonti wasn't out of line when he said that, because it basically was true for most the ninties, at least for the mainstream music scene.

[titan9]

It didn't really work though and Scott was kinda restricted. He couldn't master the art of playing and singing at the same time. He'd strike a chord and then let go of the guitar and grab the mic and sing. Then he'd do a chord again and then sing...and repeat.

Which was my point. Singing and playing at the same time is tough. I think he's best off just singing. But if they really needed another guitarist on tour, why didn't they just bring in one? Other bands do that and don't make the fill-ins members of the band.

[Bridge of Clay]

It is. I can't sing and play at the same time.

[aussiecreeder]

Perhaps Creed could have brought a secondary guitarist on tour which bands like Nirvana and Alice in Chains did. Kurt wrote some good songs but as a guitarist he certainly was no Steve Vai. The whole grunge term is very misleading because Nirvana shared little in common with a band such as Pearl Jam. Bands like PJ (Mike McCready), Soundgarden (Kim Thayil), and Alice in Chains (Jerry Cantrall) had very good lead guitarists. Also other bands that came out around that time period like Radiohead (Johnny Greenwood) and Tool (Adam Jones) had/have very good albiet unconventional guitarists.

[Soundslave]

I find it incredible that Rolling Stone named Cobain the 12th greatest guitarist of all time.

[aussiecreeder]

I find it incredible that Rolling Stone named Cobain the 12th greatest guitarist of all time.
that list was crazy...it had members of nirvana, the ramones and the white stripes in it. now i like all three of those bands but there is no way any of those three guys are in the top 500 guitarists of all time.

[tremonti4life04]

I find it incredible that Rolling Stone named Cobain the 12th greatest guitarist of all time.


Well, put it this way, he was named that because he could roll around stage, whacked out on heroine, and still play rythms that sounded like his songs. I found it even more amazing that Rolling Stone said that Jimi Hendrix wasn number 1. Rolling Stone doesnt base their judgments on skill, otherwise they would have known that Zakk Wylde, Randy Rhodes, Yngwie Malmsteen, JASON BECKER, MICHEAL ANGELO BATIO, And Mark Tremonti are 10 times better guitar players/writers than Hendrix was on his best day. It's sad to see an article like that, but, apparently they also like this new "garage rock" type of stuff, so they cant be all that credible. lol

[aussiecreeder]

Tremonti better than Hendrix? I was with you for most of that post but after that..........all respect to Mark but come on.

[Anna1011]

that has to be the bast review i have ever read, it was great thanx for posting :D :D :D

[Bridge of Clay]

I dunno man... it's hard to compare guitarists from different eras.

Hendrix paved the way for all modern guitarists... maybe today he wouldn't stand out as he did at the time... or maybe today he would be 100 times more wicked... who knows?

The background of a modern guitarist is way wider than back in the day.

[The Lithium]

Hrrrmmmm... Not sure if I like that Kurt Cobain quote... :peoplesey
Come on, he couldn't sing or play guitar!

[RMadd]

Come on, he couldn't sing or play guitar!
wait.... you're bashing Cobain?

[I'mRational]

I have never understood why Hendrix is considered so great. There were jazz guitarists at his time who could school him in shear ability.

[RMadd]

I have never understood why Hendrix is considered so great. There were jazz guitarists at his time who could school him in shear ability.
i'm guessing it prolly has to do w/ the fact that most discussions of guitarist greatness center on rock music. and jazz, as one may well rationally and logically conclude, is not rock.

[Disillusioned]

Thank you to the person who took the time to type this up :flowers:

Good stuff :smokin:

[tremonti4life04]

Hendrix is highly overrated. Yes, he did make his guitar squeal like a pig for his whole career, he wasnt that great of a guitar player tho, he wasnt technical, and didnt have the finess that later guitarists achieved. He wasnt as awesome as everyone thinks he is, i can play most hendrix licks on guitar, but i have a hard time touching on One Day Remains, so im telling you this from my personal opinion.

[tremonti4life04]

And...my opinion still stands, Cobain was only considered good because he could roll around on stage whacked out on heroine, and not miss a beat, he wasnt that great for things he wrote, he was considered great for the way he played.

[DekWannaBFlea]

Hendrix is highly overrated. Yes, he did make his guitar squeal like a pig for his whole career, he wasnt that great of a guitar player tho, he wasnt technical, and didnt have the finess that later guitarists achieved. He wasnt as awesome as everyone thinks he is, i can play most hendrix licks on guitar, but i have a hard time touching on One Day Remains, so im telling you this from my personal opinion.


I think you pretty much bastardize an entire generation of blues guitarists. Technically is not everthing, but if you want to say he isn't techincal you try to pull off, all the bends, pull offs hammer ons and all the small things that he did. Jimi Hendrix revolutionized the guitar, most of the techinics were new for his time, in fact none of the guitarists you mentioned would exist if it weren';t for him. He brought the ever ounce of soul out of the guitar. I fail to see how he is over-rateed. Like i said technicality isn't everything, why do you think Santana is considered so good? In one of his songs he plays one note for about a minute, but it is revered by guitarists as baddass, why is that? Because it has so much soul!

[aussiecreeder]

If technicality is the only concern then Tremonti would be lagging behind many today although he is a very good soloist. There are dudes like Buckethead who leave him for dead in that respect and have a lot of soul to boot. Mark is so great because he is a such a good songwriter and he is a good soloist. Hendrix set up much of what many guitarists today use and without him the world of rock would be very different. As for Cobain he wasen't a great guitarist but anyone who can write a riff like "smells like teen spirit" knows how to write catchy punk songs.

[RMadd]

As for Cobain he wasen't a great guitarist but anyone who can write a riff like "smells like teen spirit" knows how to write catchy punk songs.
.... which, today, seems like just about every other goddamn band out there

[aussiecreeder]

.... which, today, seems like just about every other goddamn band out there
lol please don't compare awful trash like Good Charlotte and Simple Plan to the stuff written by Cobain.

[tremonti4life04]

First off, im not "bastardizing" anything. I'm giving you my honest opinion. Sure, Hendrix invented things, so what, so did a lot of guitarists. Rickenbacker invented the first electric guitar called the Frying Pan, that doesnt mean it was the greatest electric guitar ever invented. Jimi Hendrix had talent for his generation, and should be idolized for that, but he is not the number 1 greatest guitarist of all time, by no means. In my eyes, the number 1 guitar player of all time "status" should be given to Micheal Angelo Batio. I'd like to see Hendrix play a double guitar, one side doing rythm, one side doing lead. Some of you who had the opportunity to see him with alter bridge, in my opinion, had one hell of a life experience, because that is pretty close to impossible to do. Hendrix may have invented a few things, but so have a lot of other people, they just don't get the notoriety that Hendrix did because Hendrix came around at a time when that kind of guitar playing wasnt expected. Cobain on the other hand wasnt an awesome guitarist, but once more, he came out when that sort of thing wasnt expected.

What im wondering is, on Rolling Stone Magazine's 100 greatest guitarists list, where was Jason Becker, Micheal Angelo, Yngwie Malmsteen, and all of the other guitar players of that era that people like santana couldnt hold a spoon to.

The magazine should have been called "The 100 most Influential Guitar Players Of All Time" instead of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists Of All Time" then, at least, it would be believeable to me.

[DekWannaBFlea]

First off, im not "bastardizing" anything. I'm giving you my honest opinion. Sure, Hendrix invented things, so what, so did a lot of guitarists. Rickenbacker invented the first electric guitar called the Frying Pan, that doesnt mean it was the greatest electric guitar ever invented. Jimi Hendrix had talent for his generation, and should be idolized for that, but he is not the number 1 greatest guitarist of all time, by no means. In my eyes, the number 1 guitar player of all time "status" should be given to Micheal Angelo Batio. I'd like to see Hendrix play a double guitar, one side doing rythm, one side doing lead. Some of you who had the opportunity to see him with alter bridge, in my opinion, had one hell of a life experience, because that is pretty close to impossible to do. Hendrix may have invented a few things, but so have a lot of other people, they just don't get the notoriety that Hendrix did because Hendrix came around at a time when that kind of guitar playing wasnt expected. Cobain on the other hand wasnt an awesome guitarist, but once more, he came out when that sort of thing wasnt expected.

What im wondering is, on Rolling Stone Magazine's 100 greatest guitarists list, where was Jason Becker, Micheal Angelo, Yngwie Malmsteen, and all of the other guitar players of that era that people like santana couldnt hold a spoon to.

The magazine should have been called "The 100 most Influential Guitar Players Of All Time" instead of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists Of All Time" then, at least, it would be believeable to me.


Its all opinion i must admit, but we aren't talking who invented the guitar, we are talking about technics that were made up him, why do you think Eddie Van Halen was revered as such a badass? He basically made finger tapping popular. Micheal Angelo Batio maybe a badass technically but has he wrote songs that would be consider the best of his generation? No he hasn't, while Henrix has. Hendrix was literally one of the most inventive guitarists of all time, nobody had heard anything like what came out of his amp, it was unique. I don't give a crap if Micheal Angelo Batio can play two guitars at once that souldn't matter, if you want to go there then should i mention that hendrix played with his teeth?

You have to understand the reason why those lists are made to say greatest instead of most influential is plan and simple, they are considering everything that a guitarist is, not just if he can shred like a mad man. (and even if you want to go there Malmsteen and Petrucci own Angelo).

[aussiecreeder]

Its all opinion i must admit, but we aren't talking who invented the guitar, we are talking about technics that were made up him, why do you think Eddie Van Halen was revered as such a badass? He basically made finger tapping popular. Micheal Angelo Batio maybe a badass technically but has he wrote songs that would be consider the best of his generation? No he hasn't, while Henrix has. Hendrix was literally one of the most inventive guitarists of all time, nobody had heard anything like what came out of his amp, it was unique. I don't give a crap if Micheal Angelo Batio can play two guitars at once that souldn't matter, if you want to go there then should i mention that hendrix played with his teeth?

You have to understand the reason why those lists are made to say greatest instead of most influential is plan and simple, they are considering everything that a guitarist is, not just if he can shred like a mad man. (and even if you want to go there Malmsteen and Petrucci own Angelo).

Fair point while Angelo is a bit of a freak he hasen't written a single song the average person would know. Hendrix was very, very influential and deserves his spot alongside SRV and EVH has the greatest guitarists ever IMO. Battio is VERY,VERY good but technical ability is not everything. Saying that I wouldn't have a punk guitarist at the top of the list although Mike Ness from Social Distortion is preddy good.

[tremonti4life04]

Well, you all have very good opinions, and i dont want to say that your opinions are wrong, but if it has everything to do with how greatly songs were written by the artist, then why exactly isnt tremonti on there? He's definitly written some of the best guitar riffs out there. I believe that Rolling Stone is basing if off of skill, technicaltiy, and all of that stuff. If thats the case, then Hendrix doesnt deserve to be on that list, IMO. Rolling Stone magazine has went down hill music-wise, hell, they had britney spears on the cover! But, my opinion still stands that Batio, Becker, Malmsteen, SRV, Steve Vai, John Petrucci, Zakk Wylde, Dimebagg, Hammit and Eddie Van Halen should have all been at the very top of that list. Some of those other people didnt even deserve to be in that issue, let alone on that list, IMO.

[aussiecreeder]

Well, you all have very good opinions, and i dont want to say that your opinions are wrong, but if it has everything to do with how greatly songs were written by the artist, then why exactly isnt tremonti on there? He's definitly written some of the best guitar riffs out there. I believe that Rolling Stone is basing if off of skill, technicaltiy, and all of that stuff. If thats the case, then Hendrix doesnt deserve to be on that list, IMO. Rolling Stone magazine has went down hill music-wise, hell, they had britney spears on the cover! But, my opinion still stands that Batio, Becker, Malmsteen, SRV, Steve Vai, John Petrucci, Zakk Wylde, Dimebagg, Hammit and Eddie Van Halen should have all been at the very top of that list. Some of those people didnt even deserve to be in that issue, let alone on that list, IMO.

I agree with you 100% that the list was deeply flawed and all of those guys you named (although i don't know becker) should be on there. however i still think that hendrix deserves to be where he is. i also agree tremonti should have being there but there is a lot of creed hate so that would probably explain his abscence.

[tremonti4life04]

If you like guitar work, check out Jason Beckers version of Paginini's 5th Caprice. Becker was the only guitar player out of the 80's that was considered to be a prodigy, meaning that he could listen to a whole classical music score in one sitting, and replicate it perfectly, note for note, on his guitar. Later tho, he got Lou Gherigs disease and he cant play guitar anymore, and HE OWNS MALMSTEEN AND PETRUCCI.

[aussiecreeder]

wow sounds like a great talent.....i'll check him out.

[Soundslave]

i also agree tremonti should have being there but there is a lot of creed hate so that would probably explain his abscence.

That's probably the reason. I was on some message board the other night, where a thread was 'Who do you consider the worst guitarist ever?". Someone said Tremonti. I have seen many comments about the Rolling Stone list, and whenever someone says that Tremonti should have been on there, another person will reply "Creed sucks. Tremonti shouldn't even be in the top 1000".

[titan9]

i also agree tremonti should have being there but there is a lot of creed hate so that would probably explain his abscence.

I second that. Tremonti is definitely better than a number of guys on that list. I also agree with the Creed hate being the reason he isn't on the list. It's so stupid and I'm so sick of seeing so much Creed hating going on in the media.(well, it's kinda stopped now that they've broken up but I still see some) I guess I should be used to it, though.

[DekWannaBFlea]

Whatever, you missed the whole purpose of the list, greatness is not defined by technicality alone. Period. Thats all i want to say about that.

Tremonti is badass but i doubt rolling stone would put him on there because he was in creed.

[tremonti4life04]

Greatness in guitar playing is about skill, your ability to write something that blows peoples minds...Creed sold 30 million albums for a reason.

[DekWannaBFlea]

Greatness in guitar playing is about skill, your ability to write something that blows peoples minds...Creed sold 30 million albums for a reason.


There is a difference, Creed was popular with PEOPLE, not CRITICS. And if you go by that standard Hendrix is one of the most popular guitarist in history, so i guess even according to you he should be number 1, he did blow a lot people's minds away.

[Ann Allusion]

Greatness in guitar playing is about skill, your ability to write something that blows peoples minds...Creed sold 30 million albums for a reason.

And it wasn't ALL because of Mark. There were other people in the band too...it was a GROUP effort.

I was watching Cross Roads Guitar Festival last nite...have any of you seen it?..If not, for as much as y'all are into guitar, i suggest you watch it.

The musicians that played, ZZ Top and Peter Clapton...just to name two, were way over the top...those and the others that played this festival are legends...Mark has the ability...but he isn't there yet...And don't forget...Guitar Legends don't necessairly play rock... ;)

[tremonti4life04]

u mean Peter Frampton? or Eric Clapton? Ive never seen the movie.

And as far as i know, all of the guitar riffs for creed were written by Mark Tremonti. It's too late to say now, but I bet guitar riffs like MOP, WTLF, and SHWM would have went big no matter what lyrics were put to them.

And I know that not all of the greatest guitarist play rock, i never said that, there are a lot of blues guitar players like Stevie Ray Vaughn, Eric Clapton (now) B.B. King, that are awesome. Where do you think Rock originated? I know my roots...i just don't like hendrix, and thats where this all started lol.

[uncertaindrumer]

Well, put it this way, he was named that because he could roll around stage, whacked out on heroine, and still play rythms that sounded like his songs. I found it even more amazing that Rolling Stone said that Jimi Hendrix wasn number 1. Rolling Stone doesnt base their judgments on skill, otherwise they would have known that Zakk Wylde, Randy Rhodes, Yngwie Malmsteen, JASON BECKER, MICHEAL ANGELO BATIO, And Mark Tremonti are 10 times better guitar players/writers than Hendrix was on his best day. It's sad to see an article like that, but, apparently they also like this new "garage rock" type of stuff, so they cant be all that credible. lol

Dude that is ridiculous. First off, yngvie malmsteen can shred like nobody's business but he is so BORING. Second, Hendrix IS the greatest guitar player of all time. Third, Tremonti is awesome, but he is NOT in the same league as Hendrix, SRV, Vai, etc. I love him, but he is simply not there yet.

Finally, on topic, I LOVE that article... Stapp couldn't even play the guitar with it strung all open.... ROFL!

[tremonti4life04]

I can make my guitar squeal like a pig all day, doesnt mean im great. He was INVENTIVE, not great, there is a HUGE difference.

[uncertaindrumer]

I can make my guitar squeal like a pig all day, doesnt mean im great. He was INVENTIVE, not great, there is a HUGE difference.

What the HECK? Anyone can sit in a shed practice eight hours a day and be able to shred. That is not where greatness lies.

Creativity and originality and making it all work is what makes a guitarist great, and that's what Hendrix is. (Not to mention he had the shredding down pretty good as well!)

Greatness in guitar playing is about skill, your ability to write something that blows peoples minds...Creed sold 30 million albums for a reason.

That is ridiculous. I don't care if you sell a billion albums, that doesn't make you great. Is eminem now a great musician because he sold 15 million albums?! NO! Don't even bring album sales up. That's childish.

Creed didn't blow ANYONE'S minds. For all their coolness they weren't a super original change the face of music band. What Tremonti is doing ahs been done before. He does it very well but he isn't super creative/innovative, and I say that as a HUGE Tremo fan.

They sold 30 million albums because they pandered to the masses with radio friendly chord progressions. Don't mean to diss Creed here but that's true. "Bullets" was basically the only single that didn't do very well, because it wasn't a simple radio friendly song--despite the fact that it was probably one of, if not THE best riff Tremonti wrote with Creed.

Album sales mean NOTHING. We live in a world where the dumber and simpelr the music is, the more it sells.

[aussiecreeder]

What the HECK? Anyone can sit in a shed practice eight hours a day and be able to shred. That is not where greatness lies.

Creativity and originality and making it all work is what makes a guitarist great, and that's what Hendrix is. (Not to mention he had the shredding down pretty good as well!)



That is ridiculous. I don't care if you sell a billion albums, that doesn't make you great. Is eminem now a great musician because he sold 15 million albums?! NO! Don't even bring album sales up. That's childish.

Creed didn't blow ANYONE'S minds. For all their coolness they weren't a super original change the face of music band. What Tremonti is doing ahs been done before. He does it very well but he isn't super creative/innovative, and I say that as a HUGE Tremo fan.

They sold 30 million albums because they pandered to the masses with radio friendly chord progressions. Don't mean to diss Creed here but that's true. "Bullets" was basically the only single that didn't do very well, because it wasn't a simple radio friendly song--despite the fact that it was probably one of, if not THE best riff Tremonti wrote with Creed.

Album sales mean NOTHING. We live in a world where the dumber and simpelr the music is, the more it sells.

can't argue with this.......

[titan9]

Finally, on topic, I LOVE that article... Stapp couldn't even play the guitar with it strung all open.... ROFL!

Lol, hey, that's nothing to laugh at. Guitar is quite tough at first. You really gotta dedicate yourself to learning to even become remotely good at it. Perhaps Stapp just didn't feel like taking it up........

[uncertaindrumer]

Lol, hey, that's nothing to laugh at. Guitar is quite tough at first. You really gotta dedicate yourself to learning to even become remotely good at it. Perhaps Stapp just didn't feel like taking it up........

Dude, come on, there's defending Stapp, and then there's THIS. I just recently started playing guitar and I know what it's like. I also know that in some of the songs for my band, when my guitarist hands me a guitar with everything strung open so I just need to fret the string, it is freaking EASY.

He didn't need to learn how to shred, just how to strum! And obviously if he had really applied himself (like, by, ya know, putting fifteen minutes into it :D ), he could have gotten it. I still think its hilarious.

[tremonti4life04]

Well hey, just to say it, so you cant say that i didnt. An opinion is an opinion, (about hendrix). And i expressed an opinion. I know there are a great deal of people out there that think hendrix is the greatest guitar player ever, but I'm not one of them. Stapp is the greatest guitar player ever.........Ok, now im just being retarded, but anyway. Its funny that stapp cant play guitar that was tuned so all he had to do was play the rythm on open strings. I couldnt imagine doing that tho, i need variety, and i love shredding and making something up as i go along. Ive been playin guitar for a long time, and finally starting to dive headfirst into the more complex pieces of the guitar world. Guitar is pretty hard at first, because you are scared to break strings, then you dont know how much the strings can take, or how hard to push down onto the frets, and all that stuff, and you have the general stiffness that comes along with unstretched fingers, and the fact that you dont have callouses, but at the same time, what the hell did stapp do on the tour bus the whole time! God, i would have been playing guitar the entire time, for lack of better things to do! If i didnt know how to play, i would have learned. Im glad that i can play guitar tho, because as a singer, you find a lot of bands that want to be a 4 piece like creed was, cuz they dont want to split the money or whatever, so singing and playing guitar has its advantages there, and makes it easy to get into a band, but at the same time, playing guitar and singing at the same time might take away from your singing, and then you have problems. So, what might creed have been like had stapp sang and played guitar on stage? I bet it would have messed with his vocals, its hard to get that stuff down sometimes, takes years of practice, but pays off in the end.

[titan9]

Yeah, which is what I've been trying to say. Playing and singing, that's restrictive. Stapp's the kind of lead singer that likes to move around alot. If you're playing guitar and singing, you can't really move around that much. And as you pointed out, it might have messed with his vocals. I'm actually glad he didn't start playing and singing in concert. I think it would have lessened the actual quality of the show. As I said earlier, if they really needed a second guitarist, why not bring in someone? Lots of other bands have brought in guys just for the tour, Creed could have as well. They did it for Bass, so why not guitar? Just something I've thought of.

I was half-joking, half-serious in my earlier post, Uncertain. You're right, if Stapp had taken some time, he could have done basic things on Guitar. But maybe he just didn't want to? Maybe he really dug his heels in and fought it. Not defending Stapp, just saying some of the possibilites. Anyone who takes up Guitar has to have a motivation for doing so. Otherwise, there's gonna be a lack of desire to practice and get better. You just can't take up guitar for the hell of it, there's gotta be a reason and a motivation. That goes for anyone, Stapp included. I don't think Stapp had much of a personal reason to take up guitar, and that led to a lack of desire to practice(on the tour bus, as you mentioned) which led to him just not playing at all. It's understandable. I don't think Stapp is "guitar" challenged, I believe there just wasn't much of a desire to take it up, considering he already sang and did lyrics, and that's a big contribution to a band. But maybe I'm wrong and maybe he is "guitar" challenged. Who knows?

[uncertaindrumer]

Yeah, which is what I've been trying to say. Playing and singing, that's restrictive. Stapp's the kind of lead singer that likes to move around alot. If you're playing guitar and singing, you can't really move around that much. And as you pointed out, it might have messed with his vocals. I'm actually glad he didn't start playing and singing in concert. I think it would have lessened the actual quality of the show. As I said earlier, if they really needed a second guitarist, why not bring in someone? Lots of other bands have brought in guys just for the tour, Creed could have as well. They did it for Bass, so why not guitar? Just something I've thought of.

I was half-joking, half-serious in my earlier post, Uncertain. You're right, if Stapp had taken some time, he could have done basic things on Guitar. But maybe he just didn't want to? Maybe he really dug his heels in and fought it. Not defending Stapp, just saying some of the possibilites. Anyone who takes up Guitar has to have a motivation for doing so. Otherwise, there's gonna be a lack of desire to practice and get better. You just can't take up guitar for the hell of it, there's gotta be a reason and a motivation. That goes for anyone, Stapp included. I don't think Stapp had much of a personal reason to take up guitar, and that led to a lack of desire to practice(on the tour bus, as you mentioned) which led to him just not playing at all. It's understandable. I don't think Stapp is "guitar" challenged, I believe there just wasn't much of a desire to take it up, considering he already sang and did lyrics, and that's a big contribution to a band. But maybe I'm wrong and maybe he is "guitar" challenged. Who knows?

"guitar-challenged"... That's hilarious. Anyway, yeah, but he didn't really need to sing and play at the same time. Mark really jsut wanted it for the solos, where there wouldn't be any singing anyway. So that excuse doesn't work to well.

I don't think he was like an idiot for not learning the guitar (plenty of other reasons to call Stapp an idiot... lol), I jsut think its kinda funny. Either way, thank goodness for Myles. Two shred capable guitarists on the same stage. Very nice. NOW IF I COULD JUST GET TO ONE OF THOSE STAGES! GRRRRR!

[titan9]

Lol, I admit, I did laugh a bit when I read that about Mark 'teaching' Stapp how to play. And yeah, you're probably right about Mark wanting it for the solos. But, again, if they really wanted/needed another guitarist, I'm sure they could have easily brought one in.

I agree, it's awesome that Alter Bridge has two perfectly capable guitarists. I haven't seen'em in concert yet, so I feel your pain. Hopefully if they ever come back to Detroit, I'll get a chance to see'em.

[Trem24Fan]

I second that. Tremonti is definitely better than a number of guys on that list. I also agree with the Creed hate being the reason he isn't on the list. It's so stupid and I'm so sick of seeing so much Creed hating going on in the media.(well, it's kinda stopped now that they've broken up but I still see some) I guess I should be used to it, though.

It really pisses me off about how Creed was so popular but also so hated - mainly I think because of Stapp. The beginning of the end though was that VH1 behind the Music they did on Creed. It should've been called Behind the Stapp because it was all about him, not to mention how they focused on his religious crap and his strict parents etc. That sucked and I think was the beginning of people turning on this band and it probably also helped give Stapp a bigger ego.

It also pisses me off that Mark's legacy / whatever, has this baggage, so to speak. You can't say enough about Mark and what he's done and I feel like
more people would see that if it wasn't for the Scott Stapp / Creed negative crap.

This is a band hitting on all cylinders right now and I think they are going to get better and better. Mark is an absolute animal and what we are witnessing right now is him, hopefully, just hitting his prime. As a huge AB / Tremonti fan, you just have be excited right now. These guys are something special.

And take it from this life long EVH fan, Mark played about 8-10 seconds of Eruption at the Chicago show a couple weeks ago, and having been to 7 Van Halen conerts over the years, I never heard Eddie play Eruption better than Mark played it. It was just awesome.

[titan9]

Everybody keeps talking about the Behind the Music episode featuring Creed. I never saw it(and probably never will, unless I download it from somewhere) so I can't comment on that. I don't think Stapp is completely to blame for the Creed hate, but, hey, when you bash a band, you typically bash the lead singer first. Creed was no different, as alot of critics bashed Stapp. The real people to blame for the Creed hate are the haters themselves, for usually being pretty ignorant with what they said.

I agree, I don't like the fact that Mark has this baggage. But I think Mark is proving in Alter Bridge that he is a great guitarist. And I think Alter Bridge is proving alot of people wrong.(the people that said Alter Bridge would be just another Creed)