The reason why Myles Kennedy rejected Velvet Revolver

In an interview granted to Metal Hammer the frontman of Alter Bridge Myles Kennedy thought back to the time he refused to audition for Slash and other former Guns N’ Roses members who were forming Velvet Revolver. At the time, Kennedy had temporarily retired after developing tinnitus. Due to his condition, he turned down that opportunity and the singing position was taken by Scott Weiland of the Stone Temple Pilots.

This is the memory of the 56-year-old Myles Kennedy: “It was very difficult to turn down that opportunity. Although my friends thought I was crazy, I knew I wasn’t mentally prepared, at least at that stage, to throw myself into something of that magnitude and do it justice.”

Kennedy added that his diagnosis of tinnitus, a chronic condition that causes persistent ringing in the ears, was mentally testing. “The biggest concern was maintaining the quality of hearing I still had. Luckily, because I’m very careful about how loud I listen to music, I was able to keep it under control.”

In reality, the American musician did not stay very far from music. At the end of 2003, he accepted the invitation of the former guitarist of Creed Mark Tremonti to join those who would become the AlterBridge. When asked why he accepted the proposal of the AlterBridge and not that of Velvet Revolverhis answer is honest: “Enough time had passed. There was a limited amount of music written at that point, but I knew from the beginning that this was something potentially suited to my voice and compositional approach.

Next January 9th AlterBridge will release their eighth album. The band will present the new work live also in Italy. There will be two concerts dedicated to our country: February 2nd at the Alleanza in Rome and February 3rd at the ChorusLife Arena in Bergamo.