Alter Bridge: 10 Awesome Facts Hardly ANYONE Knows
6. Myles Kennedy Originally Played Jazz
After listening to only a few tracks from Alter Bridge, one might assume Myles Kennedy was a natural fit for the hard rock scene. On the contrary, the singer has roots in jazz music and didn't start off on vocals.
While enrolled in the Commercial Music Program at Spokane Falls Community College, Kennedy studied jazz and refined his guitarist skills.
During his tenure, he joined a jazz group called The Cosmic Dust Fusion band. What might comes as a surprise, he didn’t sing for the band and stuck to plucking the six-string instead. The group had one album called Journey, released in 1991.
Kennedy started to branch out when he joined a funk, soul, blues, R&B, and alternative group called Citizen Swing. This was when he began to take on the role of a singer as well as a guitarist. When he joined a group called The Mayfield Four, he finally demonstrated pipes best suited for rock n’ roll.
It may seem that Kennedy strayed far from his jazz days, but influences from his previous love can be heard in his solo works, which are not limited to one specific genre. On rare occasions, you can hear Alter Bridge rock out to some jazz during random shows.