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00:00Hey everybody, Brent Porsche from 93.3 WMMR in Philadelphia here and joining me now is a super
00:05talented singer, songwriter, guitarist, and international rock star that you know from
00:09bands like Alter Bridge and Slash and the Conspirators and maybe even Steel Dragon.
00:15He's got a brand new solo album titled The Art of Letting Go. It's coming out in October and he's
00:20here to talk all about it. We welcome back to WMMR, Mr. Miles Kennedy. Hello, sir.
00:25Hey, Brent. How you doing, man?
00:26I'm doing well, thanks. How about yourself?
00:28I'm good. I apologize. My dog is freaking out right now. If you can hear it, he's probably
00:36coming through the mic. He's upset because he's not in here with us doing this, right?
00:41You want to bring him in?
00:42Oh, it's all right. He's a hellion, so it would be me chasing the dog around for the next time.
00:49You've got to be one of the most, like the busiest artists in recent memory. I mean,
00:54since 2018, you've released two Alter Bridge albums. You've released two Slash and the
00:59Conspirators albums, and you've released two solo albums with number three on the way coming
01:03up in October, plus the touring and everything. Are you ever not busy working on your musical
01:09endeavors?
01:09Well, rarely. You know, yeah, I stay pretty busy with all the music. But the thing is, I love,
01:19I like creating. I mean, that's kind of the, for me, that's the best part. So having the
01:24opportunity to make all these records and work with great people, it's like, I'm not complaining.
01:29And what else, what else am I going to do? You know?
01:31Yeah, you absolutely love it. And what do you like to do to fill your time with outside of music,
01:34besides family, of course?
01:36I'm still learning how to, how that works, because I've spent, I've spent most of my life
01:41just obsessing about music. You know, when you, when your hobby becomes your, you know,
01:46what you do for a, for a, for a, to put food on the table, it's a great problem to have. Um,
01:52what, what have I, what, you know, what things, you know, I, I just like to hang out in nature.
01:57You know, my wife and I, we, we go to Idaho a lot and just hang out, take little hikes and sit
02:02by the lake and take in the beauty, man, and relax a little bit. Excellent. Well, I got to tell
02:08you, man, we are all super excited to wrap our ears around the new album. It's coming out in the
02:13fall. Of course, the art of letting go, it's going to be October the 11th. And we are currently
02:17playing the new single from the album, say what you will. What can you tell us about the new album?
02:21You know, 10 new tracks and all, uh, who produced it, who's on it with you? Where did you record
02:25it? Stuff like that. Yeah. So it was produced by Michael Baskett, Elvis, who's done the majority of
02:32the stuff that I've been a part of over the last 20 years. Uh, he's, he's just an amazing producer,
02:37an amazing friend. Uh, my rhythm section is Zia Udine who played, you know, I've been playing with
02:42him off and on since the eighties when we were kids playing in bars, getting in trouble. Um,
02:48he's in, he's one of the best drummers I know. Um, and then Tim Turnier, um, he, you know, not only
02:55is he a great bass player, but he's also my manager and manages altar bridge. So he's, you know, he,
03:00he's a man who wears many hats and, um, yeah, so the record, it's a rock and roll record this time,
03:05you know, the first, the first record was, was acoustic based second record. He had the acoustic
03:09stuff and the blues thing. And there was, there was electric guitar as well, but I, for this record,
03:13I really wanted to, um, you know, it's kind of an excuse to play a lot of guitar solos at this
03:18point. I just love, I've loved playing guitar. And so I wanted this record to reflect that.
03:23Very cool. Uh, where did the title of the album, the art of letting go derive from the art of letting
03:27go came from kind of this, this philosophy that I've been just trying to integrate into my life
03:33as I get a little older and I'm trying to learn the art of just not, not giving a damn,
03:39you know, and not being reactive and not really just letting things just kind of roll, you know,
03:44roll off your shoulders, you know, and there's an art, it's a, there's an art to it. It's definitely
03:47something I have to work at. And, and, uh, you know, non-reactivity is the goal and that's a,
03:52that's, it's a good place to be at this point in life. Sure. Absolutely. I mean, the new album
03:56it's available for pre-order now. And what I like about it is you can get it on, uh, all sorts of vinyl
04:02variants, like the different colors and stuff like that. And I, in particularly love the cover,
04:07really cool, unique kind of design on the cover there. Who's responsible for that?
04:11Oh man. I, um, I, just as you went there, I was like,
04:16I believe that's that that's, uh, I got to hit Tim up. He, cause he did such a good job and I keep,
04:23I got to just have a tattooed on my forehead because he, he, he crushed it. And, uh, I really just
04:29I'm super grateful to him for the time he put it, put into that. So yeah, man, beautiful record.
04:34Obviously you can pre-order it online and the majority of them are actually autographed by you
04:38as well, which is pretty cool. Yeah. If you, if you want to see the worst autograph in all of rock
04:43and roll, maybe the entertainment and maybe just the world period. Yeah. I have a horrible,
04:48horrible autograph. I actually believe it or not. I did. Um, I did a sound check and meet and greet
04:55with you guys in altar bridge on the blackbird tour going back. You guys played the chameleon
05:00club up in Lancaster and I actually got to do the stage intro and everything for you guys.
05:03But during the sound check, when you guys were ripping through like Zeppelin tunes and all that
05:07kind of stuff, uh, I brought a drum head in for you guys to autograph. And I don't want to say yours
05:14is the worst of the four between the altar bridge guys, but you can definitely tell which one is yours
05:19on out of the four autographs from, from the AB guys. Yeah. It's, it's, it's interesting because I
05:24actually signed. So in my autograph has devolved over the last two decades because it was different.
05:30I had to sign something right around when, when my wife and I got married and it was a very different
05:35signature and it took a lot longer to do. And just through years of signing, it's just now just,
05:39and I had to sign, I had to re-sign something in the last few years and they wouldn't accept it
05:44because they're like, that's not your signature. It was something that was like, it was supposed to
05:48look like it did 20 years ago, but it's changed. Yeah. It's a horrible signature. I'm S I'm sorry.
05:54No, it's all good, man. I have to actually have to thank you for, um, making a music video for the
06:00first single from the album. Uh, do you still enjoy making music videos? I mean, it's, it was
06:05sort of live performance. I really liked the fact that it's like a girl that's kind of getting picked
06:10on or bullied and, uh, she, she gets this like birth of rock in her. And then all of a sudden
06:15she's up on stage at a talent show and she's rocking out with you guys up there. Did you have fun
06:19making the video? That was probably the funnest video. Most artists, you ask them about making
06:24videos and they're like, it's, it's like going to the dentist, but this was great. The kids were
06:28great. Uh, that's Tim Turner, my bass player and manager. That's his daughter, Amara, who just
06:33should get an Academy award for this. She did such a great job, but for me, it's, it is the kind of the
06:40narrative of that video is really important to me because as a kid, and I'm sure you can relate,
06:45I mean, rock and roll and music is what kind of saved me. And it was, and it, I feel like this
06:50video is a manifestation of it. It's showing this girl she's in the situation where she's being
06:54bullied and she doesn't fit in at school. And then she has this idea and she's like, you know,
06:59music, and I'm going to show all these kids what I can do. And, um, I, I'm pretty passionate about
07:05that sort of thing, you know, passionate enough to like, we, we started a foundation nearly 10 years
07:10ago called future song foundation. And we try to get kids like, you know, instruments and
07:14instruction. It's to me, it's, it's such an important thing that kids, you know, if they
07:19have, if they want to do it, that they have the opportunity to play music and perform music and
07:24music is, as you know, it's the best, right? Yeah, absolutely. Also, um, you know, with the
07:29new album comes the tour. So we are super excited about having you back through the area. It's going
07:34to be January 25th. It's a Saturday night. Have you ever played the Keswick theater before in
07:39Glenside that you recall? Not that I recall, but if this, I'd be, I'd be a liar if I, if I didn't admit
07:44to the fact that the, uh, the memory bank, isn't what it used to be. And I played a lot of venues
07:48in the last, you know, 20 years. Yeah, no, I feel like I've seen you every single time you've come
07:53through, whether it's been solo stuff or, uh, altar bridge or slash or whatever it's been. So I think
07:58this may be the first time you're coming to the Keswick, which is super cool. Uh, tickets are on
08:02sale. Now we've got Tim Montana, also sons of silver that are going to be opening for you on this part
08:07of the tour, which is cool. Are you familiar with those guys enough that you, you know,
08:10everything? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. We're, we're familiar and, and, uh, you know, brought the
08:15thrill to have those guys on. And I'm really, I'm stoked to have Tim on as well. Cause I think
08:20what Tim does is, um, it's cool, man. It's, and he's definitely, you know, from what I've seen and
08:27heard, he's, he's, he's, he's, you know, he talk about kind of just doing what you do and not caring
08:34and, and, you know, the art of letting go and all, I feel like that's a guy, that's somebody who kind
08:38of was a manifestation of that. So I think he's going to fit really well. So full band with you
08:42this time. Last time I hosted the show with you at underground arts here in Philadelphia, which was
08:46more of an acoustic thing. You brought along a Tyler Bryant and Graham Whitford, uh, opening the
08:51tour, which was cool. So full band this time, is this going to be the people that appear on the
08:54album with you are going to be performing with you in concert? Correct. Yeah. It's going to be to Tim
08:59and Zia. And, uh, like I've been saying to some degree that making these solo records now have
09:04become an excuse just to hang out with those guys. You know, it's hard to hang out with those
09:09guys. It's a family affair. Um, yeah, it's going to be a, it's going to be a rock and roll show and
09:13maybe you'll do a little bit of acoustic here and there, but, but overall, overall bring some
09:17earplugs. It's going to be loud. Very cool. We're looking forward to it. Of course, the tickets are on
09:21sale now. You can check www.mr.com and mileskennedy.com for more on that. Uh, your bandmate slash just put
09:27out a killer blues covers album back, uh, back in May called orgy of the dam featuring, uh, you know,
09:33legendary artists like Brian Johnson and Paul Rogers and, uh, you know, Billy Gibbons and all
09:37those guys, uh, wanted to get your thoughts on the album and have you listened to it all the way
09:42through? Oh yeah. I think it's killer. I was just listening to it the other day that, um, he came
09:47through, uh, about a week and a half ago. They played, but he was one of the first stops on their
09:51tour here in Spokane. And, uh, so that was great. I mean, it was just, the thing is, is, you know,
09:58he is a, he's a rock, he's known as being this rock icon, but he's got such a, uh, an understanding
10:04and a gift for, for, for the blues, you know? And I, and it's nice to see him doing that in this
10:10realm. And it's, and it's, it's, it's, it's authentic, you know, it's like, I, I believe that
10:15it's, he's, he's got that in his DNA and he does it really well. And the fact that on this record,
10:20he brings in all these just heavy hitters, you know, like some of my favorite who've been around
10:27forever, like Billy Gibbons and Paul Rogers and, and, and, and then the new, the new,
10:32like Gary Clark Janor. Yes. I mean, that guy is like, Whoa, like mind blowing. Um, so yeah,
10:40I'm, I'm super thrilled for me. He's having the time of his life too. You know, I could just tell
10:44he was just, he's like a kid in a candy store. He loves, he loves it. So I'm stoked for him.
10:50Yeah. He's in his element. And I was curious, did you happen to record anything for it?
10:53No, no, I did not record anything for it. Um, it was, uh, you know, it's, it's one of those things
11:01where I think he had his, the kind of the cast of characters that he wanted to, to fulfill this
11:08awesome vision that he had. And, um, but I was just grateful that he reached, it was funny.
11:13Cause when they came through town, I just thought we were just going to go, Selene and I were going
11:17to go to the show and see everybody. And, and at about like one o'clock, I get this text. He goes,
11:22Hey man, you want to, you want to play tonight? And I'm like, okay. I'm like, yeah, sure. We'll
11:27just do. So he showed up and we did a sound check and, and then, uh, played two songs with him that
11:33night. Uh, one, one with Warren Haynes, who is another guy that I just, you know, totally look
11:39up to. And, um, yeah, it was, it was, it was a lot of fun. It was just, it was great to be a part
11:45of it. Super cool. Well, another bandmate, Mark Tremonti, of course, from Alter Bridge,
11:49he just put out an amazing Frank Sinatra covers album. And I believe he's working on part two
11:54as we speak. Does it blow your mind? Kind of like it does mine to, on how stellar of an album that
11:59was and how damn good Mark sounds covering old blue eyes. Yeah. He's, he's, you know, it's what's
12:05fun for me to see is how he's discovered this, this whole genre in a way like later on. Right.
12:14And, and so I, it's palpable how much he loves it. Cause he went in with Mark. Anytime he finds
12:21something that he likes, you know, he's all in. And so he's taken that passion and not only just
12:29manifested it on these records and does a great job musically, but he's also doing it for a great
12:35cause. You know, it's not, he's, it's, it's the charitable aspect that I really applaud. You
12:42know, he's marrying the two. It's a beautiful, it's beautiful all the way around. And I'm super
12:47proud of him. It really is mind blowing because I've been an Alter Bridge fan and a fan of you guys
12:52and Mark and everybody for, I mean, since the beginning, 20 plus years now, and to see him switch
12:57gears and kind of left turn it like that, it is truly mind blowing because he does it so damn well.
13:02Yeah. He's definitely, like I said, he, when he finds something that he likes, he's, he's all
13:07in and he's definitely, you know, we're all proud of him.
13:10Very cool. Well, that being said, you know, a slash on a serpent tour, a Creed out on their
13:15tour, their reunion tour, which actually just kicked off last night, by the way, of course
13:18you have the new album and the new tour coming up. I presume like the Alter Bridge stuff and
13:23the slash and miles stuff is kind of on the back burner. But the reason why I asked that
13:27is because I know slash likes to pump out tunes and albums pretty regularly. It seems like you
13:32guys are pretty flush with stuff to, to put out there. And of course, with your talent and work
13:38ethic, you're probably always working on something for each of those outfits as well. Yeah.
13:41I'm always writing. You kind of have to, you know, when you're lucky enough to be part of a number of
13:49entities that are, you know, continuing to put stuff out and tour. And so you always have to
13:54kind of have things ready just in case. So, you know, I, I'm not one of these guys who likes to
14:01go into the studio and write, you know, be, be under the gun there. That's like, I want to know
14:06there's plenty to pull from. So I'm, I'm always, I'm always stock in the catalog.
14:11Gotcha. Right on. So I mentioned the 20th anniversary of Alter Bridge coming up. We're a few
14:16weeks away from the 20th anniversary of the release of the debut album. Of course, one day remains
14:22going to be August 10th. Anything planned to commemorate? Not that I know of, but you know,
14:26it's funny. I did. I totally forgot that. It's like, so the 10th is the official.
14:31Yeah. August 10th will be 20 years. Crazy. It's crazy. Where did the time go, man?
14:38Do you guys have like a vault of stuff from, from back then? I mean, everybody has a vault full of
14:42tunes and stuff, but going all the way back 20 years, do you still have songs from that era that maybe
14:47could be unearthed or possibly put out as like a bonus something or other down the line here?
14:52There might be a handful. Not, not a ton, you know, because from that era, we were really just
14:57kind of scrambling to get the songs that we had. You know, I flew down on, I think like the 2nd of
15:03January, 2004. And I think we were recording within just a, you know, really just a couple months. So
15:09we didn't have a lot of time to put together, you know, like a lot of bands, they'll put together 30
15:13songs to make a record and then you pick the best 10. But for us, it was kind of what you heard
15:18for the most part. There are a few hanging around. So I didn't realize this and you touched on it a
15:23little bit earlier, but your wife, Selena, and you co-founded the Future Song Foundation, which is a
15:28charity organization that provides funding to ensure that kids have access to musical instruction
15:33and instruments, which are fundamental parts of complete education. And this was back in 2015,
15:39which is really cool. And this kind of touches, you know, base with me because when I was in fourth
15:43grade, I learned how to play the drums. I was in, you know, the orchestra and kind of made my way
15:48through music class and instruction and wind ensemble and marching band and all that kind of stuff. And
15:54like, I don't think I would be here today without that going back, you know, like I said, fourth grade,
15:59however old I was, 10 years old, nine years old, something like that. And I couldn't agree more about
16:04it being a fundamental part of a complete education. So I think it's so great that you guys are doing
16:11this and it's futuresong.org, right? Is the website as if people want to go check it out. And I know
16:16you touched on it a little bit, but this involves getting like instruments and stuff into maybe a
16:22student's hands that don't have that access, right? Correct. Yeah. Thank you for bringing that up.
16:26Yeah. It's, it's, um, and that's great to hear your story as well. And that's, that's, that was kind
16:30of my, that was my story. I was a, I was a band. Did they call you band nerds? Cause they called us
16:34band nerds. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, I, I was one of the cooler band geeks cause I did
16:40the sports and all that kind of stuff too, but it was something with, I mean, music in general,
16:44like you mentioned, just such a huge part of my life, but being able to play it and be a part of
16:48it and understand it and the dynamics of it and everything like that was huge. And I know a lot
16:52these days with, um, school districts and stuff like that, not only here in Philadelphia, but all
16:57over the place that that's usually one of the first things to be cut from the funding is the arts.
17:01And of course the music programs and stuff like that, which is very, uh, unfortunate man,
17:06because I think of where I would be if I hadn't had music and the instruction and all this kind
17:12of stuff in my life going all the way back. There it is. I mean, you just said, you just said it all.
17:16I mean, it's, it's, um, he, you know, hearing the story, how, how, what a profound effect it had on you
17:22as a young person. And then, you know, you, you, you set it up really well, as far as what's happened
17:28and it's been going on for years, you know, things just get cut, programs get cut. And, um, so we've
17:35just been trying to do the best that we can here in our community to kind of pick up the slack.
17:40And, you know, now, because of this, you know, in, in, in a, a large portion of these schools,
17:45we have like a guitar program and there's a piano program and the kids seem to love it. And, um,
17:51so it's really been amazing to see, see that happen and see, and see how it's affected the kids.
17:57Um, and I, I love, I love kids and I love music and, um, my, you know, everybody on, on,
18:03on the future song board would feel the same way. So it's, it's, uh, it's definitely something
18:07we're passionate about. And, uh, thanks for sharing that, man. That's a, that's the best
18:11way to sell it. You know? Yeah. My pleasure. My pleasure. And so future song.org, if people
18:16want to go check it out that are watching this now, and is this a primarily, uh, affects like
18:20the Spokane kind of Northwestern United States area, right? Primarily. Although we have done a few,
18:26you know, um, back in 2017, um, we, we did something when we were, when we did the, uh,
18:34the altar bridge live at, uh, the Royal Albert hall, we had, uh, we had something we did in
18:40London there that was involved with the future song. Uh, we did, we did something in South Africa
18:45too, once, which was really, really great. Um, but for the, what we've realized is that we really
18:49want to stay focused in our community here. And it's, it's important, um, just because our
18:54community is, is in need and, uh, want to keep doing the best we can. Well, kudos to you and
18:59your wife, Selena for, for spearheading that and being a part of it, because I mean, you're
19:02changing many, many lives that hopefully down the line. So, you know, we'll be, we'll be
19:06watching them being rock stars up on stage, you know, rock stars and stuff too. Miles, I
19:11got to tell you, man, it's always a pleasure getting to speak with you. Uh, nothing but the
19:15best with the new album. Again, the art of letting go, we're super excited for. And of course,
19:19we'll see you back through the area in January, part of the tour again, Keswick theater. It's
19:23going to be January 25th, along with Tim Montana and others. And those tickets are on sale now
19:27again, WMMR.com and mileskennedy.com has them for you. And please, next time you're through
19:33the Philadelphia area, man, come by and say, hi, the door's always open for you. Love that.
19:36We'd love to do that, man. Cool, man. Appreciate it. Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Miles Kennedy.
19:41Thank you, sir. Appreciate it, man. Thank you. Thanks for your time. Had a blast.