Alter Bridge singer Myles Kennedy discussed a warning from Lemmy in a new Alive & Loud interview.
“You wake up and you’re tired, you’ve been on the road for four weeks by a certain point, you’re out of shape… The road beats you up.
“Lemmy from Motorhead once told me when I was telling him how much I toured, and he basically said, ‘You’re gonna shorten your life.’
“And that was coming from Lemmy! Somebody who is as dedicated to touring as he was, to hear that from him really stuck with me. Yeah, sometimes you just get beat up real good.
“And all it takes is that moment on stage where a fan is, whether they’re just elated and you can see, you can sense it, and they’re singing every word, and they’re very animated, or if they’re crying, or if whatever…
“Those are the moments that make you realize what you’re doing is not without a purpose. You are doing something that hopefully is helping another person out.
“And therefore, you see that, and then it comes back to you. And it’s part of that ‘give and take.’ And that is the beauty of this, that is why touring is so important, it’s such a beautiful experience, the fellowship of music. ”
What is your advice for an unsigned band trying to move their way up?
“Well, that’s a good question. A lot’s changed since I was a young man trying to make my way through the music industry.
“But with social media now, and with your ability to get to potential fans, you don’t have to go through the gatekeeper like it used to be. It used to be that you got to get signed, you have to have a label get behind you…
“Now if you develop something that is legit and people connect to it, the algorithm is going to help out there. At the end of the day, my A&R guy told me this once, he said, ‘We’re not in the music industry, we’re in the songwriting industry.’
“It’s about songs. So spend the time to develop that craft, and as in the movie ‘Field of Dreams,’ if you build it, they will come.
“I do believe that, I believe once you get to that point where you’ve got the material, then you just beat the pavement, be it online or wherever you are. Just get the word out. I know that sounds like a cliche but I’ve seen it happen.” Ultimate-Guitar transcribed his comments.
