BANG! BANG! Interview : ALTER BRIDGE

[00:00:25] Speaker A: How about you? [00:00:27] Speaker B: Great. [00:00:27] Speaker C: Yeah, we're doing great. [00:00:28] Speaker B: We're really stoked to be here, man. This has been great the last few days. [00:00:33] Speaker C: So thank you for being so cool. [00:00:37] Speaker A: People are not used to say that for French people, so thank you. [00:00:41] Speaker B: You know what? It's been. I'm not just. I'm not just saying that, like, yeah, we've had a lot of good interactions. It's been wonderful. Yeah. [00:00:48] Speaker A: So I used to ask this question, but what do you think about Paris? What. What does it mean to you? Paris and France? [00:00:55] Speaker C: It's just gotta. I mean, historically, it's one of the most interesting countries in the. In the world. So for the first, I don't know, 20 times we came to France, it's just. See, let's see everything. So it's a city that's always exciting to visit. But as far as our music, what we do and what we love, the fans are just incredible. You know, France was difficult to get tons of fans at in the rock and roll thing. I think everybody, even from France, understands that it hasn't been a huge rock market. It's coming back. So we've noticed over the last 20 years, it's just gotten a little bit bigger and a little bit bigger. We've watched other bands get bigger as well. So I think rock is having a rebirth here in France. [00:01:38] Speaker D: Exactly. [00:01:38] Speaker B: Explode. [00:01:39] Speaker C: That's right. [00:01:39] Speaker A: We hope so. [00:01:41] Speaker D: That's what we're fighting for. [00:01:43] Speaker C: Thank you. [00:01:44] Speaker B: Keep fighting. [00:01:45] Speaker D: We're trying. [00:01:48] Speaker A: I just want to know something about your child moment. When did you discover metal music or music that. Rock and roll or alternative. Alternative music. And what kind of feelings did you have at this time? Because you were young and maybe it was just like, you can fight or you can be yourself. [00:02:09] Speaker D: Was it different for you from the other? [00:02:12] Speaker A: And which kind of song? [00:02:13] Speaker B: Yeah, well, I mean, I guess for. For me, the first, like. Sorry. Rock and roll goes. Going back to. Going all the way back before. Before, like the genesis of when I wanted to play would have We Will Rock youk by Queen. [00:02:28] Speaker D: And. [00:02:28] Speaker B: And there was something so primal about that, you know, boom, boom, chop boom. And little kids. I was probably, I don't know, five years old. And that was very compelling. So I appreciated it. But then it wasn't until I heard An Afternoon when I heard Whole Lot of Love and Eruption, so Whole Lot of Love by Led Zeppelin and then Eruption into Girl, you really Got Me by Van Halen. That's when it was like, oh, I want to do that. What is. Cause it sounded like when I heard you know, I don't know about you. The first time hearing Eruption, you know, it's this incredible guitar solo and it sounds like it's from outer space. Like I'd never heard anything quite like it. So that was the defining moment. [00:03:02] Speaker C: Yeah, for me, when I was a kid, my parents had a record collection. So I remember pulling out the wooden drawer and all these records would line up and I'd just go through them and look at the artwork on them. And sometimes like, I was like Iron Butterfly. And it was a really cool spacey, you know, tripped out cover and had Led Zeppelin in there and Bob Seeger. Bob Seeger's. We thought Bob Seeger's saxophone player, alto sax, lived pretty close to where we grew up. So my parents were. And then driving around. We listen to classic rock all the time, 70s soft rock. It wasn't until I was in. I lived in Detroit, so Detroit's metal, you know, a lot of metal fans. So I. [00:03:45] Speaker B: Okay. [00:03:45] Speaker C: My older brother Dan listened to as much extreme metal as he could find. And so I was introduced to Slayer and you know, Venom and. But one band that really stuck out was Metallica in the early days. And the Master of Puppets record was the first record that made me. I had to be. I had to chase. I've been chasing it ever since. [00:04:11] Speaker A: And you were kind of afraid of this kind of song, but afraid and attracting. [00:04:16] Speaker C: Loved it. Loved it. No, it was from that moment before that moment I would like, I said, listen to my parents music. And I was just like all the other kids in school. The Beastie Boys License to Ill record came out and I loved it and all the other kids loved it. And I don't know, the Violent Femmes were big at the time with other kids. I wasn't really into Violent Femmes, but then I heard the Metallica record and everything else was in the past. From then on, it was all metal. [00:04:43] Speaker D: This is me now. [00:04:46] Speaker A: And you knew at this time that you want to do music, you want to do music like a job. [00:04:51] Speaker D: Stop playing and singing. [00:04:54] Speaker B: Yeah. You know, it was like from that point forward it all changed. It was kind of like that was the trajectory where. Because I was a small kid, like, I didn't. I was a late bloomer. I didn't hit puberty till I was like 29 or something, you know, so it was really hard to survive, you know, just get. Get by without being beat up and bullied and stuff. So I, you know, it helped me find my identity. And I started off just playing. I'd run home and listen to whatever, you know, Judas Priest or Maiden or whatever. But I had a mirror and I had a tennis rack and I'd practice like, air banding. Like I played playing on stage. And then my stepfather was like, son, why don't you just learn to play for real? You know? And I'm like, oh, that's a good idea, dad. So I saved up my, you know, was saved up money, did. Did, you know, farm work for about nine months and got my first guitar and. And. And then that was it. Like, basically nobody saw me. My great. My. My grades dropped to the basement. Like I was a good student. And all of a sudden, like, they were kicking me out of honor society because all I wanted to do is play guitar and I wanted to just develop this thing and. And it was my. My life's passion. It's been that. [00:06:08] Speaker D: Yeah, I guess it was a good call. [00:06:10] Speaker B: Good call. [00:06:13] Speaker C: Could have been this great athlete, Miles. [00:06:14] Speaker B: Oh, never. I was too small. [00:06:17] Speaker A: Yeah. School was always. When we asked the question to everybody in every countries, everybody said that when we listened to rock and roll, all metal, we had the rude childhood. Everybody's have a story to tell. Something really bad. [00:06:33] Speaker B: Right. [00:06:35] Speaker D: Often relates to feeling like a misfit. So. [00:06:38] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:06:38] Speaker D: And. And it's music that really get well with this feeling. [00:06:43] Speaker B: Yeah, it. Absolutely. You know, it's just like you find your tribe, you know, it's like you. Because I wasn't. I couldn't. Didn't fit with the. The super athletic people or the super smart people. And I just this like, satellite just trying to find its place in the world, you know, and then you hear like, oh, I can do that and I want to fit in with that tribe. [00:06:59] Speaker C: And it used to be way more dangerous back then. Bands seem like this, oh, it's gonna be almost scary to go to this Slayer show or something nowadays. It's all such a common. You know, there's metal bands, the heaviest band you've ever heard in your life are just nice people. And you see YouTube clips of how the concerts are. Back in the day, you never knew what you were gonna go. You know, when you're a little kid going to a Judas Priest even concert, you know. But yeah, I mean, it was really. Especially back when you were young and you didn't have social media and YouTube and all that stuff. You became your identity by the small group of friends you had that knew that crowd you were in. But I had a great childhood. I just moved around a lot, you know, and I think I became a songwriter when I Moved to Florida, didn't have any friends for a while. And I just like I'm friends with my guitar and my four track recorder. [00:07:49] Speaker A: We've got a huge story with you. We just talked about alto breach and the. For me it was like first interviews when I. I begin to. To want to do media and things like this. So thank you for all these things because you're always like smiling and always nice people. It's not like everybody. [00:08:08] Speaker B: Oh really? Have some grumpy. [00:08:11] Speaker A: Hello. Sorry, I just say it. So thank you for this and it's always a pleasure. But we talked about. [00:08:22] Speaker D: Oh yeah. Because. So I started doing. I started before. I'm a video director now and this is my side projects for fun because I love this music. But I started doing photography and when I started it was around 2003 or 4 and I started. I was working with a band who was signed at. At Epic and. And the. The French. The manager, the guy who was taking care of you at the time was. Told me, oh, this band is playing La Boule Noir with a really secret show. It was your first. I think the first show it's to. It's O4 at La Boule Noir, really small venue. And he gave me a photo pass. And so you. You were one, one of the first band I took picture of on stage. [00:09:20] Speaker B: Oh, no kidding. [00:09:21] Speaker D: And so for me it was really special. I think I didn't watch the picture. The picture, I think it's really shit. But I was so, so amazed because the seeing you in such a small venue. But it was so powerful. [00:09:36] Speaker C: You were one of the 12 people there, right? [00:09:38] Speaker A: Oh yeah. [00:09:39] Speaker D: There was a lot of people. [00:09:40] Speaker B: Were there. [00:09:41] Speaker D: I think so. [00:09:42] Speaker B: Really? [00:09:42] Speaker D: And I have a memory because it's a really small venue. So for. For people who don't know there's like. Even the backstage are really small. And I remember that you had like the biggest guitar rack I've ever seen. I think there were 12 songs and 12 guitars. [00:09:58] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:09:59] Speaker D: And you change for every song. And I was like, okay, that's fucking cool. [00:10:04] Speaker C: We use alternate tunings. You gotta have different guitars, you know. [00:10:07] Speaker D: But no. So I remember the. The guitar stand was taking almost all the backstage. [00:10:14] Speaker C: That's right. [00:10:15] Speaker D: And that was so cool. And yeah, I loved it. And it's. It's stuck in my memory since like it's 20 years ago. And I still remember this. And the show was amazing. [00:10:25] Speaker C: Awesome. [00:10:26] Speaker A: That's awesome to hear the big. You're the beginning of our story. So. And about all the lyrics and all the things you Say, in your. In your albums, there's always a subject that you're talking about. It's about life and maybe what we have to do for a better life, for better things to think. In this album, the new one, you talk about bad things also maybe manipulations or. [00:10:56] Speaker B: Yeah, a lot of negative dynamics that we kind of have to deal with sometimes. And how to, you know, how do you navigate that? You know, how do you deal with this way? It could apply to so many different things. You could apply to relationships or social media or whatever. And so. But I felt like, instead of just like. We all felt like we don't want just to make this angry record and just like. And just fight because there's enough of that. And what if you looked at it like. Well, you can look at this dynamic in this toxic scenario, and you can allow yourself to be sucked into it and then kind of stoop down to that level. Or you can try and evolve and establish, like, this silent divide and emote between you and that and listen to your, you know, your better side. [00:11:46] Speaker C: The opposite of our heroes in Metallica saying, fight fire with fire. [00:11:50] Speaker B: Exactly. You know, I don't fight fire with. [00:11:57] Speaker D: Love. [00:11:57] Speaker B: With love. Fight fire with love. [00:12:05] Speaker A: That's a good thing in. Well, you. You talk about this manipulation, maybe, and bad things, but you say that we grew up with this. Like, you talk about your childhood and everything, so that's quite the same. We. We were fighting against something rude, but we grew. We can. [00:12:22] Speaker D: We can earn things from all this experience. Bad experiences. [00:12:26] Speaker B: Yes, absolutely. [00:12:28] Speaker D: And with chance, we can find peace. [00:12:32] Speaker C: Some of the best friends in the world are ones that had the fist fight on the schoolyard after the fact. So sometimes you gotta come to blows to see eye to eye. But hopefully it doesn't come to that when we're now, later in our lives, much more mature. It's not good to show that. I think we all feel bad after you explode on somebody for something. I don't think it feels good after the fact. And it's been a long time since I've done that, and I feel like I'm more at peace with myself. But I used to be that person. You're a little brawler. Not physical as much as just getting the moods get the better of you. You've known me when I was screaming and yelling every now and then. [00:13:11] Speaker B: I mean, yeah, not more than anybody else usually, but. No, no, no. We're all, you know, we're all human. But I think with age and, I mean, I've noticed a difference since Stella was born, like, just. What a. She's just such a gift in his life, you know, and Victoria's life and just seeing this, just seeing how much joy she's brought. But. And for me, I think a lot of it was when I met my wife, Selena. Like, I was a freaking mess before I met my wife. I really. I mean, this was a long time. This was before we. [00:13:44] Speaker C: Before. [00:13:45] Speaker B: I've only heard stories. Yeah, I went through a phase, let's just put it that way. And so, yeah, when you. You find this thing that you hold onto for your life, which, you know, love. But it's pretty simple, you know, It's. It's like. It really is. It's. It's like music. It's. It's oxygen. And we're very lucky in that sense. That's not very metal. [00:14:07] Speaker C: I know. [00:14:07] Speaker B: It's not. [00:14:08] Speaker C: I mean, come on. [00:14:11] Speaker B: Love. And it's like, these guys suck. This isn't metal. [00:14:15] Speaker D: Just as square words. This is fucking love. [00:14:19] Speaker B: There we go. [00:14:20] Speaker D: Yeah, that's better. [00:14:20] Speaker B: That's right. That's the spirit. I like it. We should have a T shirt made. This is love. [00:14:28] Speaker A: Love is difficult. So something that we can't really. No. You don't think so? [00:14:36] Speaker B: No. We shouldn't end on love or we should end on love. No. [00:14:39] Speaker D: It's hard to handle love. [00:14:40] Speaker B: It's hard to end on love. Gosh, that sounds like a good song. [00:14:44] Speaker D: Please take it. [00:14:46] Speaker A: We can do it. No, no. It's really hard, but. And do you think that when you talk about this in your album, like the new one, you. You talk to the young people to say that they don't have to be scared about life just to be scared about everything because of the Internet, because of the. The violence that we can live today? I think so. Because I don't want to be a kid today. Well. [00:15:10] Speaker C: And they know more about it than we do now. You know, they know more about social media, the Internet and all that stuff than us older guys that don't know. I don't have all the apps that they do and that my kids do, but they're exposed to way more than we are. They're a completely different, almost breed of human nowadays. And you see just how different it is. Even we're talking music here. Kids aren't like they were when we were kids. There's no posters on the. I mean, I'm sure there are every now and then, but back in the day, all of us had posters on the walls. All of us had our record collections, all of Us had our favorite band. You ask kids now. What's your favorite band? I don't know already, you know? Or what's. What's the. [00:15:53] Speaker A: You know, they lost. [00:15:55] Speaker C: They. I think they're into different things. [00:15:57] Speaker A: Oh, yeah. [00:15:58] Speaker C: You know, sports. They're always into sports. Kids are still into sports. But music is such a. You're exposed to so much of it now. You can just hit a song, go to the next song, go to the next song. Back when we were younger, we were mowing grasses, mowing yards, and delivering newspapers to make a tiny bit amount of money. You had 10 bucks to go to the record store and you searched for hours. And that. That. That thing of going through there and go, look at the tapes. [00:16:25] Speaker B: Holy shit. Look at the new Megadeth record. I'm gonna get it. [00:16:28] Speaker C: You buy it, you've spent that 10 bucks. And even, you know, you spend so much time in your. It's almost like you've bought part of that band and you become part of this. This thing. That means music meant so much more to us now. It's just like I pay $10 a month for every song in the universe, and none of it means anything to me anymore. [00:16:47] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:16:48] Speaker D: So you. You think it's less precious, like, as a. Yes, as a. And how as an artist who gives everything in every songs that you're doing, like, you have to put your heart and soul in what you. You do. How do you feel about that? [00:17:08] Speaker B: It's heartbreaking. [00:17:10] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:17:10] Speaker B: Yeah. It's hard because we feel like to some degree, maybe this new way of consuming music, it kind of devalues it, you know, and so we do take what we do really seriously, and we love doing it. We know what goes into it. But if people don't care as much or if it's just disposable, like, you know, so many things in life at this point, it's a bit of a bummer. But we're really lucky in that we came up early enough to where we've got people who came up with us and a fan base and who still consume music the same way. [00:17:45] Speaker C: And. [00:17:46] Speaker B: Yeah, it's just. Hopefully we can maintain that and just keep moving forward and do the best we can. That's all we can do. Yeah. [00:17:56] Speaker A: But maybe it's just a moment in life. I know kids are just taking music like this, but maybe in few years they're gonna have records again or listen to the whole thing, you know? I don't know. [00:18:07] Speaker C: I don't think I. I honestly don't think there's any going back unless there's some crazy technology that you have to buy again. But everything now isn't even a material thing. It's just something you stream and you hear digitally somehow. But I, I think it's just, just going to be this way forever down. Back in the day it went from record to tape to ada or to, to a track and there's not going to be any more like physical things. [00:18:33] Speaker D: And do you think that with time maybe when, when they will grow up, this will change? Because I think also there's a. When you're a kid, you don't care about anything. But there's this thing when you start to grow up, you kind of choose what you really like, where you want to go. And maybe, maybe in the future they will be like have. They are bands that they really like. [00:18:59] Speaker B: And maybe, you know, I kind of maybe the analogy I would use when I was a kid, I couldn't stand beats. I didn't get beats. And then as I got older I. [00:19:07] Speaker C: Was like, so great headphones. [00:19:09] Speaker B: No, not the headphones, the vegetable silly. And now I love them. And peas, the same thing. Maybe, maybe you know, our music will be the equivalent of beats and trees and they'll grow to like it and appreciate it. [00:19:21] Speaker C: The only hope we have for that situation you're talking about that come true is the thing that AI and technology can't take from us. And that's the live experience for sure. If you're a kid and your parents take you to an alter bridge show and you're this 8 year old kid who sees it and is like, wow, that, you know, that's something I love, then that's the lifelong fan that might look in your catalog and make it be precious to them. But as far as just stumbling upon something digitally, it's gonna be a different story. [00:19:49] Speaker B: Yeah, it really is. You know, it's a different era. It's exciting on one hand because you don't know what's coming next. [00:19:56] Speaker A: We can be scared. [00:19:57] Speaker B: Yeah, we can be scared. But yeah, man, I mean it's like that's the thing, the live experience, the coming together, the fellowship of music, you know, that's hard to replace when you get a bunch of people in a room together and you're like minded, okay, so you all are into the same thing and you know, the energy's palpable, lights come down, it's loud. We're all in this together. I think people are gonna hopefully always hunger for that. They're always gonna want that ritual. You know, it's kind of like the equa. It's like a magnified version of when we were hunter gatherers and we'd go out for the day and hunt and gather and then we'd get back to the campfire and hang out and tell stories of the day and celebrate. It's kind of the same thing with a rock and roll show or just music in general or anything, you know, art, artistic, you know, or even a sporting event. I can say thing about a sporting event, when you get a bunch of humans together and you roar the crowd, it makes us feel alive. [00:20:45] Speaker C: A book club. [00:20:46] Speaker B: Book club. Yes, book club. [00:20:49] Speaker A: So we still have the feelings, but the value of the heart is maybe no less than yesterday. Yesterday before. That's it. [00:20:55] Speaker B: No, the value of the. [00:20:57] Speaker A: The heart. [00:20:57] Speaker B: The heart. Oh, value of the art. Yeah, yeah, yeah. The value. [00:21:01] Speaker D: Yeah, yeah. [00:21:01] Speaker B: The value of art feels of our fear is that it'll be. Won't be value, I think, because AI is so effective at recreating it and tricking. And it's fascinating. If you listen to an AI created song, it's like I'm listening to this song and parts of the song are kind of pulling on my heartstrings. How does it know to do that? That's freaking me out. So, you know, that kind of devalues it. It's like the fact that a machine can emulate this thing that has taken us so much time to. [00:21:30] Speaker C: And in the future, people are going to have AI friends that they like better than other people because they can figure out exactly what they like about their friends. [00:21:38] Speaker A: I think so. [00:21:38] Speaker D: It's like this movie. [00:21:40] Speaker B: Her. It's just Her. [00:21:41] Speaker D: The movie is about a guy who fall in love with his AI. [00:21:45] Speaker C: Exactly. Ex machina. [00:21:47] Speaker B: No, Ex Machina. That's a different one. But I know which one that's with. [00:21:52] Speaker C: Is it the newer one? [00:21:54] Speaker B: Phoenix? Yeah, yeah. What's it called? Her. Her. Her. [00:21:56] Speaker C: There's a new one that just came out that. That's pretty. It's a companion or something. [00:22:00] Speaker B: I'm not sure. [00:22:01] Speaker C: It's great. It was really good. [00:22:02] Speaker D: Oh, but it's a robot. [00:22:04] Speaker B: It's a robot. [00:22:05] Speaker D: It's like a robot AI. [00:22:06] Speaker C: It's a robot. It's a robot AI and on her. [00:22:10] Speaker D: It'S just a voice. [00:22:12] Speaker C: Okay. [00:22:12] Speaker D: It's like. Like Siri. [00:22:14] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah. [00:22:16] Speaker B: I know people that are using the. The AI as like a therapist. [00:22:20] Speaker A: I know some people. [00:22:21] Speaker D: Oh, really? Yes. [00:22:22] Speaker C: I'm really nice. [00:22:24] Speaker B: Are you? [00:22:24] Speaker C: I gotta be nice. I'm worried Alexa is gonna overpower me someday. [00:22:28] Speaker D: So you said, thank you. [00:22:29] Speaker C: Alexa, will you please play Metallica Master Puppets. [00:22:31] Speaker B: You're so beautiful. Yeah. [00:22:36] Speaker D: And all the people who got Alexa at home just got the song started right now. [00:22:42] Speaker C: That's right. [00:22:43] Speaker B: That's funny. [00:22:45] Speaker D: Indeed. The venues are getting bigger and bigger. More people are going to show. So I think this is a good thing. But there's also something we can see changing in the show wise with new music. Like all the metalcore scene and brings a lot of tracks, you know, they play with tracks and everything. Which kind of make a bit of the interpretation go away. Because you're like stuck in. Strict structure, right? You are a band that have a lot. I mean interpretation is like key for a band like you because there's no. I mean I haven't seen. I haven't seen 100 show. But every time it's different. There's your intentions that are really different and the way you play, the way you sing. How do you feel? I feel like nowadays interpretation is not that important for young, younger generation. I think for your generation this is key. How do you feel about that? [00:24:01] Speaker C: Yeah, no, we're. We. We love what we grew up with. You know, when we went to go see bands when we were growing up, there was nothing. There was no such technology. And you know, it's. It's great to be able to talk in between songs however long you want to interact with the crowd, to let it be different every night. If I'm going to go see 16 shows on somebody's tour and we have fans that do that, I want it to be different every night. And as far as tracks go, we like to do what we do. We don't want to fake it. You know, we don't want to have. We would never do some fake vocal or fake guitar. The only time we'd ever have anything going is if it was the intro of a song or something that was obviously not an instrument. Like I joke if there was a cow mooing or something, you know, that's none of us up there faking cow mooing. Moo. [00:24:46] Speaker D: You don't bring a cow on stage every night. [00:24:49] Speaker C: But you know, there was one point where we were playing this song Godspeed from Walk the sky and we were thinking about. Because it's a piano keyboard part and we. None of us had a. We couldn't not play our parts. So we got our guitar tech to play piano and he'd get all nervous before the part because it's like the start of the song. So we went. We go as far as that, you know, if there's an instrument being played. [00:25:17] Speaker B: Slip to the Void too, way back in the day. [00:25:19] Speaker C: That's computer. [00:25:20] Speaker B: It was the intro to that song because we all have our guitars ready to go and roll and then it would. Then it dropped out and the rest of the song started. But that was about as far as we took it. Yeah. The idea of, you know, kind of lip syncing or something, I just, for me, like, as a singer, I just don't know where the challenge would be. And I like the challenge. I like the fact that some nights it's going to be better than others and. And some nights, you know, it's. It's just. It's. It's a human. It's a human being. Of course, that being said, it is. [00:25:49] Speaker C: It is kind of tough for a band like us to. To when you. You're in a festival setting and you go back to back with a band that's got monstrous tracks going with the band and then you have little ultra bridge before. Before instruments happening. You know, it's. It's different world. It depends on what kind of music you, You. You're into, you know. [00:26:07] Speaker B: Well, it was chubby, you know, I just did the. I did a solo run this summer and we're just a little trio, just, you know, guitar, bass and drums. And that was where I really, for the first time was like, gosh, we were going on after bands with all these tracks. I'm like, I wonder how much different it sounds out front because we're so. There's so much space, you know, so much air. But the only thing we can hope is there are people out there who want to hear that, you know, and hopefully they. And hopefully they appreciate it. And hopefully people get it. And if not, then, you know, times are changing, man. They're changing the garden. The kids are doing things differently. And there's a lot of good stuff, stuff really cool stuff that you couldn't recreate without doing tracks. Like. I appreciate a lot of contemporary bands that are really dense with the tracks and there's. Unless they took out 30 people on the road to recreate that, economics aren't going to allow for it. But we're, you know, I think a little more traditional in that sense. It's an organic approach that we still abide by. And that's probably what we'll do till the end. [00:27:07] Speaker A: I think that in the future. I think so. I talked about this with Igarai Cherry. I don't know if you know him. [00:27:12] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah. [00:27:13] Speaker A: And he's Just saying that you think that in the future everybody just want punk thing because they will be upset with all this technology and things, and they are gonna be like, you. We don't want it. We just want real thing, human thing. We can do a wrong note or you can sing. Not really well, but it's like you're human, a real one. We can feel things. So if you think that in the future, maybe long time, I think. [00:27:39] Speaker B: I think that's a pot. There'll be a reaction. There always is. It's like. And I'm hearing that. I don't know about you, but on some contemporary recordings with rock bands, or maybe not just rock bands recordings, period, I'm hearing it used to be at the advent of being able to tune vocals, everything was spot on. Everyone's like, let's just make it totally perfect. Now I'm starting to listen. I listen to hear newer stuff. I'm like, oh, I hear that it's a little flat there, a little sharp. Oh, that's cool. They're not. They're not, you know, fixing it to death. Because I think people are tired of that. [00:28:07] Speaker D: I think as well, I was about to say also with the, as you said, bends with a lot of, like, you don't know how it's going to go when you. More quieter or more simple. But I think with the real, I would say real without tracks, you get more dynamics in the songs also, so you can get more intensity and some. Some more quiet moments and. And same for the tuning of the voice. When the voice is always all the time perfect, it's kind of tiring for the readers. It's like too much intensity all the time. And I feel like people are gonna need to re. Are gonna rediscover the having more dynamics in songs and in the performance too. [00:28:57] Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely. Those imperfections. [00:28:58] Speaker C: If I could look into a crystal ball. I think with AI seeping into music, music is going to become very polished and very perfect. Then people are going to rebel against it and they're going to want to have the slop and the humanity and the error in the music, and then AI is going to replicate that error. Damn it, Mark. [00:29:15] Speaker B: We're trying to stay optimistic. [00:29:17] Speaker C: It's going to keep riding that way. Dave. [00:29:21] Speaker B: Dr. Doom over here. [00:29:22] Speaker C: That's right. And then it's gonna kill. Okay, let's. [00:29:24] Speaker D: Let's stop everything. [00:29:29] Speaker A: Our future can be good. I think so. I'm an optimistic. [00:29:33] Speaker B: Good, good. You know what? I need to hear that right now. I really do, because I'm scared Shitless. [00:29:38] Speaker C: It's gonna help. I think AI is gonna help a lot in the medical field, which is huge, I think. I think all of us sitting here, even though some of us are a little older, it's still going to have time to affect how we age out, you know, And I just hope. I just, I hope the negatives don't outweigh the positives, you know. Fingers crossed you're Mr. Positive. So. No, he said, oh, he's Mr. Positive. [00:30:01] Speaker B: Absolutely. We need to hang out with this guy more. [00:30:04] Speaker D: In my case. I just hope AI won't make us live forever because I don't want to. [00:30:08] Speaker B: Oh, really? [00:30:10] Speaker D: As soon as it's can be done, I'm okay with it. [00:30:13] Speaker B: I'm done. [00:30:14] Speaker D: Less positive. I am less positive. [00:30:20] Speaker A: So with the new album, again, I'm going to talk about this, of course. [00:30:23] Speaker D: Oh, really? [00:30:24] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Because when I listened to it the first time, I was just like, okay, I can understand. It's Al Bridge for sure. It's all, oh yeah, it's so good, but it's a little bit stronger maybe. I feel that it is something different. I don't know why, but there's something really more intense. More. Is that good? Is that right? [00:30:45] Speaker C: Yeah, I think so. I mean, me and Miles approach the initial writings of the demos from different parts of the country. So we come in at different angles. But I kind of approached the record this time with more of trying to tackle the heavy stuff first. And when you do that, you just get in the knack of writing the heavier stuff because to me it's the easiest. The easiest stuff is the slow, melodic, ballady stuff or that's, you know, I think, easier to do on your own as a band. It's hard to do the heavy stuff. So once it started, the ball just kept on rolling. [00:31:19] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, it was definitely. And I think also the big defining factor was knowing that we were going to start the process at 5150 Studios, which was the Van Halen studio. And so Wolfgang Van Halen's a friend of ours and he was kind enough to offer the use of the studio to start the whole process and do pre production. So I think Mark and I both being guitar players, were like, okay, we get to go to Hollywood, California and you know, spend a few weeks in this legendary studio. I think we're kind of the first guys to start an actual full on record. I could be wrong there, but I think that's the case. And so at that studio outside of Van Halen and Wolfgang, the Mammoth thing. So that was a huge honor. But it's also a massive like holy. Once the joy of it kind of wore off and you're like, oh my gosh. We have to like, we have to have all this good music that's gonna not tarnish the, you know, the legacy of those that hallowed ground. So I think it really motivated both of us to put our best foot forward and show up really over prepared, frankly. So I think that in the end it was a very. Had a profound influence on the record. Yeah. [00:32:29] Speaker A: So even if it's the eighth album. That's right. [00:32:32] Speaker D: Yes. [00:32:33] Speaker A: It's like a reborn. You think so? [00:32:37] Speaker C: You know, I don't think we're reborn, but we're reset, you know, re reminded. [00:32:44] Speaker B: What? We are reminded. [00:32:47] Speaker C: Go like minded and reminded. [00:32:49] Speaker A: There you go. [00:32:50] Speaker C: That the self titled thing came about just as a discussion. Hey guys, what do you want to name the record? We got to. We're always under some timeline. Hey, by this date we need to have the album order, we got to have the artwork. I have this and that. And the idea was brought up of doing a self titled thing. And it just sounds like it. This record feels like it's a good representation of. Has a little bit of everything we've done in our careers up to this point. And I think it makes sense to not just, you know, eight records deep. People are going to start getting lost in our catalog. There's so many different names to remember. And I think this one will be a good fence post in the catalog. So people will remember the couple names after that. And then we got to do another self titled. And four records from now, right. [00:33:32] Speaker B: Alter Bridge 2. [00:33:35] Speaker C: But you released two after three. [00:33:37] Speaker B: Yeah, but three? Yeah. What the hell is that? [00:33:42] Speaker A: But do you think that with music and river rock and roll, with metal music, with alternative rock music, you still young, you still like when you were young. You still have the same feelings. You still have all these things that make us different because we talk a lot about this with all the ancestors, but we are weirdo. Weirdos. [00:34:03] Speaker D: Weirdos. [00:34:04] Speaker C: Right. [00:34:05] Speaker A: But we want to steal them and to steal this kind of people. [00:34:08] Speaker B: Are you still weirdos because I'm so freaking weird? No, I think, you know, we talked about this earlier. It's the idea that one of the things that attracted us to this was we feel. We felt alienated, we felt different. We felt like we didn't fit in. And I'm, you know, no matter what, no matter how many incredible awesome experiences that I've been a part of and gotten to have. I still kind of feel like that awkward kid and, you know, I still. I feel like I've somehow made a career out of not being cool, you know, because. And I just never have felt like one of the cool kids. But I think that's part of. That's the power of this particular genre. This is where it's like the island of misfit toys. This is where we all go and we come together and we're like. [00:34:58] Speaker C: We see. [00:34:59] Speaker B: Hey, you. Do you feel. You feel that way too? You feel that way. [00:35:01] Speaker D: Cool. [00:35:02] Speaker B: Let's make a band. Or let's. Or let's just create this thing together. Or let's just hang out together. Let's go to. Thousands of us get together and celebrate rock and roll and metal and so, yeah, man, I don't think much has changed in that respect. And that's the real beauty of this. It's really unique. [00:35:21] Speaker D: So touring the world with a band is not a cure to weirdness. [00:35:26] Speaker B: It's not a cure to weirdness? No, it's not a cure to. It's to make you weirder. Keep music weird. [00:35:36] Speaker D: Well, I just would say that you are cool. [00:35:40] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:35:42] Speaker D: I still feel I'm not the cool guy. I mean, I don't know. [00:35:46] Speaker A: Oh yeah. [00:35:48] Speaker B: You change your mind. You're like, this guy's goofy. [00:35:52] Speaker D: Goofy. Goofy's okay. [00:35:54] Speaker B: Strange. What a nerd. [00:35:56] Speaker D: You can be goofy and cool. [00:35:57] Speaker C: I'm a nerd. Excuse me, I got to take a college slash. [00:36:01] Speaker B: He's cool. You're cool. [00:36:04] Speaker A: Maybe today it's slow to be. To be this kind of people. Maybe more than in the 80s or years before. You know what I mean? I think like young people maybe if it's difficult to every day, like everybody's just saying by you and on the Internet and everything, maybe it's allowed to be different or do what you want. And at the same time it's. [00:36:26] Speaker D: At least. At least you have more example of where people around like with the social media and you can see weird people all over the world. When. When we were kids, it was not that. There was not so much represent representation. We had people on TV and stuff like this. [00:36:45] Speaker C: I think the best artists in the world are weird people. That's what makes an artist different definition. You think David Bowie was the jock, the quarterback. [00:36:53] Speaker D: I was thinking about him when I was seeing this. Like, I think it's the weirder the better. Yeah. [00:36:58] Speaker C: You know, Andy Warhol walk through school like, hey, bro. Hey, bro. [00:37:04] Speaker B: You know, when I watched a documentary, it was a great documentary. On Netflix about Devo. [00:37:09] Speaker A: Oh, yeah. [00:37:10] Speaker B: And that's a great. [00:37:11] Speaker C: I'd like to watch that. [00:37:12] Speaker B: You should check it out because it highlights. You talk about punk rock and you talk about, like, just going against the grain and rebelling against the status quo in a really profound way. That was a whole state. I don't think I realized that. I don't think I realized what they were saying as a kid. I said, oh, there's the guy with the weird little hat things. But they had a whole. They were. That was like a. Just a massive statement and. Yeah, check it out. It's really good. It's really good. Check it out. [00:37:47] Speaker A: Okay, so what do you want to say at the end about your album, your new album, for everybody? Something you feel with it? Something that happened to you, maybe that can help you? I don't know. Do you have something to say about the new album to everybody at the end? [00:38:05] Speaker C: You know, we just. We just appreciate everybody from France and around the world for allowing us to record these albums. You know, it's. If it weren't for. For folks that are tuned in, you know, we'd be depressed at home and our weird, you know, nerdy selves would be getting into the other. Because other than being weird into the, you know, diving down deep rabbit holes with music, we probably do other things too. Like, Miles is probably into some other weird things. Like, I am, so I'm weird. Thanks for letting us do this music. Because if it weren't for music, I'd. I don't know. [00:38:42] Speaker B: What would you do if you weren't doing music? [00:38:44] Speaker D: I was about to. [00:38:45] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:38:47] Speaker D: Quickie Passions. [00:38:48] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, yeah. [00:38:49] Speaker C: What I want to do or what I have to do. [00:38:50] Speaker B: Do you know? [00:38:50] Speaker C: Because I was. I was studying finance in school, and I was going to probably be an accountant. I was. I was good at math. So. Math's not fun? You know, it's. [00:39:00] Speaker A: It depends. [00:39:02] Speaker D: And meth is not fun, too. [00:39:03] Speaker B: Math is not fun. [00:39:05] Speaker C: What about. [00:39:06] Speaker B: What about doing math while doing meth? [00:39:13] Speaker D: Ask your parents. [00:39:16] Speaker B: Oh, Jesus. [00:39:18] Speaker C: Matt wasn't around when our parents were younger. [00:39:21] Speaker B: I hope not. [00:39:24] Speaker D: Sorry. [00:39:25] Speaker A: Maybe that's the one. [00:39:27] Speaker D: I want to know what's your. Your quick, quirky passion like when you. Like for a long time? I love to watch on YouTube, you know, the people cleaning carpets and stuff like this. You've ever seen this? [00:39:39] Speaker B: What, this? [00:39:40] Speaker D: Like, carpets full of mud and the guy is cleaning it and it's like pressure washing. Oh, yeah. [00:39:47] Speaker B: Oh, that is good. [00:39:47] Speaker C: You see, I love the pressure wash. [00:39:49] Speaker B: That does feel good. [00:39:52] Speaker C: I have three Pressure washers. I've got one that is a fun. Like the most satisfying thing. [00:39:58] Speaker B: You. [00:39:58] Speaker C: You pull the trigger and it's like, gotta hold it with two arms. When I. When I went into the pressure washing store, that was about an hour and 20 minutes from my house, like the real deal. Pressure washing store. The guys, he said, I need your license. I need all this stuff. And he thought I was renting it. When I told him I was actually buying, he's like, oh, you're buying. You're gonna be like the. The envy of the whole neighborhood. It's. It's a badass machine. When you come to town, I'm gonna. [00:40:30] Speaker B: I'm gonna spray some things. [00:40:36] Speaker D: And something for you. [00:40:38] Speaker B: Well, I'm kind of a neat freak, so I kind of like things to be clean. And recently I was in Orlando at Elvis's finishing vocals for this record of the Slash record and the Conspirators. And we were all, you know, we've got like the band house there and we're all hanging out, but every morning I, you know, kind of exercise and make my breakfast. And then I was just super crazy about keeping it, you know, I just. Nothing feels quite as satisfying to me as like, spraying some sort of cleaning solution and wiping down the counter and making sure everything is spotless. And I think after, you know, a good week of seeing that every time Slash would come out of, you know, out of his room, he's like, you really like a clean kitchen, don't you? [00:41:24] Speaker A: What if. [00:41:24] Speaker C: What if you just climb on the counter with that pressure washer? [00:41:27] Speaker B: That's a good, good idea. Spray them. Just spray it down. Hose it down. That's a lot quicker. Yeah, I like this. There's something very satisfying about, like, cleaning things. I love cleaning, like an old. [00:41:38] Speaker C: Painting a house, like painting a. [00:41:41] Speaker B: That's. That's that same satisfying thing. You. You painted a lot of your place. [00:41:44] Speaker C: I painted my entire house, like during COVID Couldn't get out. So I. I was depressed. I was so depressed, I wasn't playing guitar much. I was like, what's the point? Nobody's going to come hear it. So I painted mine, got a ladder and painted my entire house. It was satisfying. [00:42:00] Speaker B: There you go. So with that said, if you need your house painted or you need your kitchen cleaned, alter bridge cleaning and painting is coming for you. [00:42:07] Speaker C: Don't forget pressure wash. [00:42:08] Speaker B: Call 509. [00:42:12] Speaker A: Nice. Thank you. Thank you so much for everything. Thank you for the fun. Thank you for this album. It's really beautiful. It's really loud. I really love it. So we just want to see you in life. [00:42:21] Speaker D: Yeah. Yeah, we can't wait. [00:42:23] Speaker B: We'll be coming. That's right. [00:42:25] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:42:25] Speaker B: And we can't wait. And thank you very much for your time. This has been a ton of fun. Thank you. [00:42:30] Speaker A: Thank you so much. [00:42:31] Speaker C: Cool. [00:42:39] Speaker A: Spotify, diesel, apple, Amazon.