In the latest episode of Fuse Follows, hard rockers Myles Kennedy and Mark Tremonti of Alter Bridge let us tail them around NYC as they deliver a live radio performance, go record shopping in Greenwich Village and impulse-buy some vintage guitars.
While swinging through Q104.3 rock radio, singer-guitarist Kennedy and lead guitarist Tremonti play an acoustic a set and encounter a fan who tells Kennedy how much she loves his former band, The Mayfield Four, a relatively obscure act from the '90s.
"That record was so under the radar, there weren't that many copies printed," an astonished Kennedy says after the meeting. "So any time someone comes up and mentions they listened to it, it's nice."
Tremonti reminds Kennedy that Mayfield Four used to open for his old band—Creed—which is what connected the two in the first place. "That's why we came calling," Tremonti says. "I had a buddy who was like, 'Hey man, remember this band that used to open for you guys? The singer was amazing.' He had the CD in his car and was playing it. That's when I was like, 'Yeah, this guy is… he's okay.'"
Inside Greenwich Village's Generation Records, Tremonti explains the influence of thrash on his style. "Riff-wise, I take a lot from Slayer," he acknowledges. "But I didn’t realize it until I got older."
Flipping through old records, Kennedy comes across an LP from vocal legend Dionne Warwick. "Her string arranger actually gave me my very first shot," Kennedy recalls. "Back in the early '90s he produced a record I did with a group called Citizen Swing. Every time I hear Dionne Warwick I think of this guy, Joe Kloess, who gave me my first real shot. Gotta love Dionne for that."
To see Kennedy & Tremonti testing out two vintage guitars in a music store, watch the full episode of Fuse Follows above. As Tremonti puts it, "Who would have thought we'd walk into [a guitar shop] and spend my kid's tuition today?"