From left to right: Brian Marshall, Myles Kennedy, Scott Phillips, and Mark Tremonti together form a supergroup bolstered by Tremonti and Kennedy's fierce guitar playing and Phillips and Marshall's powerful rhythm section.
Photo by Chuck Brueckmann
Tremonti, Marshall, and Phillips are also founding members of Creed, one of the biggest rock bands of the past few decades. Kennedy is the singer for Slash’s solo band. And, Kennedy and Tremonti have also been enjoying successful solo careers: Tremonti just released Tremonti Sings Frank Sinatra, recorded with Ol’ Blue Eyes’ surviving bandmembers and benefitting the National Down Syndrome Society.
Alter Bridge - Holiday (Official Video)
Clearly, Tremonti and Kennedy have their creative engines in high gear. “It’s an addiction,” Tremonti explains. “You write that song that makes your hair stand up, and you want to do it again. It’s the same with anything creative, whether writing a song or book, or painting a picture. It is like a drug.”
As Kennedy points out, the trick is balancing that addiction with the signature sound they’ve created for the past 20 years. “We’re nearly two decades in, and we have a good understanding of what boxes to check and what our fan base wants to hear. It’s that delicate dance of making sure that they’re content and that we’re also still pushing ourselves.”
“I started as a guitar player. Lead, in particular, was my big passion growing up.”—Myles Kennedy
For many fans, Alter Bridge’s second release, Blackbird, defined the band’s sound. It took everything they loved about the first record, One Day Remains, and made it bigger, darker, and more complex—epic, in a word. The title track clocks in at over 7 minutes long and pits Kennedy and Tremonti against each other in one of the best guitar duels in recent rock history. Since then, each Alter Bridge record has kept on this path, piling on more and more heavy, melodic elements. But there is a limit, and on Pawns & Kings, the band was ready to make a change.
“If you listen to some of the prior records, there were a lot of textures and elements weaving through,” explains Kennedy. “The other day, I was reviewing one of the songs from [2016’s] The Last Hero. I was listening on headphones and was like, ‘I didn’t even know that keyboard part was in there!’ We pulled all that out of this record. ‘Less is more’ was the motto.”
Tremonti adds, “We decided, ‘Let’s get back to our old way of doing things.’ We want it to be more just the guys playing their instruments. No orchestration underneath. No pads. Just us. It gives it more depth, and everything else has more room to breathe.”Alter Bridge - Pawns & Kings (Official Video)
That choice worked out in their favor, and on Pawns & Kings, Alter Bridge’s songwriting, musicianship, and crushing guitar tones are more in your face than ever. The band’s longtime producer Michael “Elvis” Baskette—who has also worked with Creed, Mammoth WVH, Sevendust, and Slash—was crucial to the creative process.
“[Elvis is] such an important element,” says Kennedy. “He’s an incredible producer. He can get great tones, and he has a really great arrangement ability. More than anything, he understands the psychology of making records. That’s so much of what this process is about.”
Baskette, who’s manned the board for Alter Bridge since Blackbird, knows exactly what the guys are capable of, and he had them dig deep. “I think it’s our densest record by far,” says Tremonti. “It’s a lot to take in on first listen.”
Kennedy adds that “we’ve integrated more of a demoing process, where each guy will go to his corner and spend time on the ideas that he feels strongest about before presenting them to the band.” He names the new track “Sin After Sin” as an example of this recent dynamic. “It was this musical bed that Mark had, and then I came up with some lyrics, melodies, and whatnot.”
“Usually, when it’s the heavy, chunky stuff, I’ll track that first, and then Myles will track a lot of his atmospheric, effected stuff.” —Mark Tremonti
Although both musicians have a similar writing process, how their diverging styles meet creates the band’s trademark sound. For Tremonti, a die-hard metalhead, it’s about exercising those tendencies outside the band while opening the floodgates for Alter Bridge. “Usually, when I write for Tremonti [the name of his solo project], I try to put on my speed-metal hat. That’s when I get to pull out all my childhood metal influences. I love that stuff, so it’s always fun. Other than that, I like to write whatever comes out.”
Kennedy tends to follow a more traditional singer-songwriter approach, as heard on Alter Bridge’s acoustic staple, “Watch Over You,” from Blackbird. But he’s not afraid to branch out, even lacing his debut solo album, The Year of the Tiger, around gritty resonator-guitar blues. But this time, one song, “Holiday,” with its old-school rock vibe, seemed like a step too far.
“I almost didn’t even present it to the band,” he admits. “I played the demo to our producer, and he’s like, ‘Oh, that’s going on the record! It’s got that swing and that swagger.’ I’m glad he helped.”Mark Tremonti's Gear
Tremonti digs into one of his PRS signature guitars, which are made from mahogany with a flamed maple top, have a thin set neck, medium jumbo frets, and PRS Tremonti Humbuckers.
Photo by Chuck Brueckmann
Guitars
- PRS Mark Tremonti Signature
- PRS Custom Baritone
- Martin acoustics
- Taylor acoustics
- Ramirez classical
Amps
- PRS MT 100 Signature prototype
- PRS MT 15 Signature
- Dumble Overdrive Special
- Cornford RK100
- Mesa/Boogie Oversize 4x12s
Effects
- Morley Mark Tremonti Wah
- Ibanez TS808HW Handwired Tube Screamer
- MXR Uni-Vibe Chorus/Vibrato
- Boss OC-5 Octave
- MXR Smart Gate Noise Gate
Picks and Strings
- Dunlop Flow 1.3 mm
- D’Addario (.011–.052)
The guitarists trade leads on tracks like “Dead Among the Living” and “Last Man Standing,” and Tremonti says they take very different approaches to the stage and studio. “I was never one of those guys who likes to stay up late at night, break out a million pedals, and experiment with tones. So, usually, when it’s the heavy, chunky stuff, I’ll track that first, and then Myles will track a lot of his atmospheric, effected stuff.”
With Tremonti and Kennedy at the top of their game as guitarists and vocalists, one constantly pushes the other, elevating the band. “Stay” stands out as an example, “because it’s a major key, it’s very anthemic, and you have Mark singing,” relates Kennedy. “He was insecure about his vocal, and I remember telling him to stop that nonsense [laughs]. His voice is great, and because I’m more of a tenor, there’s a nice blend there.
“I started as a guitar player,” Kennedy continues. “Lead, in particular, was my big passion growing up. The only reason I ever started singing was that it was easier to sing [my own songs] once I started writing them. When Mark discovered that I played lead guitar, he always pushed it. It’s the same nudging I did with him and his vocals.”
For their latest album, Alter Bridge scrapped their usual textured approach for a stripped-down-but-strong framework. “We want it to be more just the guys playing their instruments,” Tremonti declares.
"I know that everything I throw at Myles, he's capable of doing," Tremonti adds, "and he's going to fill a different sound. He's got a signature sound. It adds another layer for the band."
Guitar tone is a big deal in Alter Bridge. Tremonti was Paul Reed Smith’s second signature artist and helps design every piece of gear that bears his name. Although his PRS Mark Tremonti Signature rarely leaves his hands, a different PRS delivered Pawns & Kings’ heaviest moments. “I have a baritone that we used almost all the time,” Tremonti says. “Anything tuned low is that guitar. When I brought it into the studio, Elvis was like, ‘No shit! I used that when I recorded Limp Bizkit.’ Then, I was doing a show with Limp Bizkit, and Wes [Borland, Limp Bizkit guitarist] came over. He’s like, ‘Is that what I think it is? Is that the baritone? Shit, that’s a great guitar!’” Tremonti and PRS have also collaborated on the MT 15 amplifier. The lunchbox-style head is a favorite for its percussive high gain and clean channels. Pawns & Kings also offers the first hearing of the upcoming PRS MT 100, a 100-watt signature version that even dethroned Tremonti’s beloved Mesa/Boogie Rectifiers for the sessions.
Myles Kennedy's Gear
Myles Kennedy is a double threat: a great rock vocalist who can also shred like a maniac when called upon to do so.
Photo by Chuck Brueckmann
Guitars
- PRS SC245
- PRS Custom Singlecut
Amps
- Diezel VH4
- Diezel Herbert
- Dumble Overdrive Special
- Diezel 4x12
Effects
- Custom Audio Electronics Wah
- EHX Micro POG
- Boss RV-6
- Foxrox Octron3
- Reeves Klon clone
- Line 6 MM4 Modulation Modeler
Picks and Strings
- Dunlop Ultex 1.14 mm
- D’Addario (.011–.052)
“I just approved the final version,” Tremonti says. “The clean channel, to me, is the ultimate clean channel. I pulled out all my Fender Twins, played through them one by one, and found my favorites. But when I played them back-to-back with the MT 100, I preferred the MT 100. The third channel is the overdrive channel, and it’s badass. I wanted it to be all I’d ever want at my home, studio, and on tour. And I made the middle channel an overdriven Dumble-ish kind of thing."
Kennedy is also a PRS devotee, and has leaned on his trusty tobacco burst SC245 for years. While he did experiment with a Fender Telecaster for Alter Bridge’s 2019 Walk the Sky album sessions and tour, he’s replaced that instrument with another PRS. “There’s this one-off PRS made me last year,” he says. “It does a lot of the things I wanted it to do in the Tele realm. It’s a black Singlecut, and that is what I played on 80 percent of this record.”
“We decided, ‘Let’s get back to our old way of doing things.’ No orchestration underneath. No pads. Just us.” —Mark Tremonti
Kennedy is also passionate about his amps, and chose to go with Diezel Herberts and VH4s long ago. “It was really challenging to find a setup that worked with Mark’s,” he says. “There’s a wide amount of frequencies being used. It was a matter of finding a nice middle ground that complemented what he did.”
Kennedy and Tremonti remain unabashed high-powered-tube-amplifier fans. “Mark and I still want those tubes to be working,” Kennedy says. “We’re kind of old school in that sense. Our manager, I’m sure, would love us to switch to Kempers to save a ton of money. But we’re kind of bullheaded. We’ll keep flying the flag, man.”
Rig Rundown - Alter Bridge's Mark Tremonti & Myles Kennedy
Tremonti also notes, “I did half of a tour with a Kemper at one point, just to try it out. I never found the right lead setting that made me comfortable. I always felt some digital weirdness in there. When I switched to my MT 100, I wouldn’t go back. So, on the road, it’s just the one MT 100 now.”
All in all, Alter Bridge are still decidedly old-school in their business strategies: record, tour, work hard, repeat. “It was hard enough once people stopped buying physical copies of records, and then you add the way the world’s changing,” Kennedy says. “Being a musician … you got to work hard. But we’re in Munich right now, and it’s like, ‘So far, so good.’ It’s kind of blowing our minds that people are showing up. It’s been great!”
From left to right: Scott Phillips, Mark Tremonti, Myles Kennedy, and Brian Marshall make for a powerhouse collective that shows no sign of relenting in their epic delivery of hard rock.
Photo by Chuck Brueckmann
But does that kind of work ethic have a breaking point? “To be totally candid, there was a period when I was afraid that could happen,” admits Kennedy. “I was like, ‘You know what, I did three records back-to-back-to-back. I’ve got to shut this down for a little while and let the well refill’—which is weird for me. Usually, once a record’s done, I’m already on to the next one.”
Tremonti hasn’t stopped long enough to think about it. “I remember watching an interview with Carl Verheyen,” who was a member of Supertramp and has recorded with Dolly Parton, the Bee Gees, and a host of others. “He’s like, ‘I’m a professional guitar player. I don’t go a handful of days a year without playing the guitar.’ That struck me. Now, I try to make sure that when I’m gone from home, I’m working all the time. Every day I’m practicing for the next Sinatra shows. I’ve got two coming up after this tour, and I have another one in March. I’m trying to book as many as I can. I’m also writing a book, which is taking up most of my time at the moment. Then, I’m writing songs for whatever happens next, trying to stay ahead of things.”Alter Bridge Blackbird Live From Amsterdam
This version of Alter Bridge’s classic “Blackbird” features solos from both Mark Tremonti and Myles Kennedy, who make their PRS models work hard for their living.
Paul Reed Smith Ends the Tonewood Debate
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The litter, minus one: most of the line-up of Snarky Puppy’s Empire Central.
Photo by Francois Bisi
But before the four-time-Grammy-Award-winning ensemble was so massive in both size and sound, it was a somewhat smaller group of 10 college students, formed by bassist Michael League while he was studying at the University of North Texas in Denton, a city 30 miles outside of Dallas. The band’s music featured a blend of the aforementioned genres, and given the makeup of their original members, that made them an incidental example of cultural integration.
Snarky Puppy - Belmont (Empire Central)
“The band started with only white kids, when we were in college, but we basically only played the music of Black Americans,” acknowledges Chris McQueen, one of Snarky Puppy’s three guitarists. “Whether it was jazz or fusion, gospel, R&B … that was the source of all our inspiration. We started playing gigs, jamming with several musicians from the Black Dallas music scene. They were our heroes. That’s how we got connected to that world.
“What ended up happening was, we combined it, and it felt very natural,” he continues. “Shaun Martin, Bobby Sparks, Robert ‘Sput’ Searight, Jason ‘JT’ Thomas…. All those guys welcomed us in. I remember we would go to jam sessions. Sput was playing drums, and we would get up there and play the same songs that he wanted to, while coming at it from a very different perspective … then would meet in the middle and hopefully inspire each other.”
“People think of Nashville or Austin, but Dallas is really where it’s at!”–Chris McQueen
As Snarky Puppy’s lineup grew to include those players and many more, the group’s makeup became increasingly diverse. And on their new release, Empire Central, League asked the collective to reconnect with both the city of their founding and the lineage of Black music that defines their sound. “This is a ‘coming home’ kind of album. The idea was to try to either do an homage to [our musical foundation] or encapsulate it; pay tribute to it,” McQueen shares. “Dallas doesn’t always get the credit it deserves for being the music city that it is. People think of Nashville or Austin, but Dallas is really where it’s at!”
The 77-minute album was recorded over the course of eight nights in front of a live audience at Deep Ellum Art Company in Dallas, and, like everything Snarky Puppy has done, is musically polyglottal. While combining jazz, rock, funk, R&B, soul, and various international elements into one new, chimerical artistic mode is becoming a modern vernacular in its own right, the way they pull it off is all their own—as if it was delivered to us, their humble audience, via interstellar starship.
Snarky Puppy’s new album features a 19-piece version of the ensemble paying homage to its roots in Black American music and in the Dallas-area scene from which it emerged.
For example, “Trinity,” composed by guitarist Mark Lettieri, doesn’t announce a definitive musical identity. Rock weaves in, funk weaves out, and jazz makes for some adhesive, overall giving off a strong Weather Report influence. Violinist Zach Brock’s horn-driven “Honiara” jumps between odd-meter grooves, while keyboardist Bobby Sparks’ “Take It!” leans into a deep pocket with vibrato-heavy synthesizers and laidback trumpets. It also features a synth solo by Bernard Wright, a close friend of the group who passed away not long after the recording sessions.
More than half the band’s members contributed original compositions to Empire Central, and it all came together quickly. Leading up to the recorded performances, which took place in early March 2022, each composer put together a demo to bring to the band. While some final aspects of the arrangements were decided as a collective, most of each song was fully prepared before being shared.
Mark Lettieri’s Gear
Mark Lettieri used PRS guitars, a Dano baritone, and a Kemper Profiler for the Empire Central sessions. Here, he digs into his signature PRS Fiore model.
Photo by Brian Friedman
Guitars
- PRS Mark Lettieri Signature Fiore
- PRS McCarty 594
- Danelectro ’56 Reissue Baritone
Amps
- Kemper Profiler (Naylor Duel 60 head and 1x12)
Strings & Picks
- Dunlop (.009–.044, Fiore; .010–.046, McCarty 594; .014–.068, Danelectro)
- Dunlop heavy celluloid
Effects
- J. Rockett Mark Lettieri Signature Melody OD/EQ
- J. Rockett Hot Rubber Monkey
- Boss DS-1 Distortion
- MXR Poly Blue Octave
- MXR Carbon Copy
- MXR EVH Phase 90
- TC Electronic Nova System multi-effects
- TC Electronic Hall of Fame
- Line 6 M5 Stompbox Modeler
“Usually, whoever writes the song writes everything. They just make demos in Logic. We’ll send the Logic files to everyone in the band, and everybody learns all of the parts,” says Bob Lanzetti, another of Snarky’s guitarists. “We’ll learn the chords or the melodies; usually it’s not totally figured out in terms of form. Then, when we get together, we’ll trade parts around and see what works best for each section. Things definitely shift when we play live, too. Depending on who ends up being on stage, you might have to play parts that you’ve never played before. It keeps you on your toes, for sure.”
The drum parts are “sometimes, but not usually” fleshed out, Lanzetti explains. “If anything, it would be some kind of simple groove just to keep time. A lot of the time, we leave it up to the percussionists and drummers to come up with something, ’cause it’s always much better than what the rest of us do.”
The track list for Empire Central was put together during a series of intensive rehearsals for the live performances. As Lettieri explains, rehearsals were roughly 8 to 10 hours each day. “We would basically work on two songs in the morning, two songs in the afternoon, then two more songs that night. We holed up at Universal Rehearsal in Dallas, and that was our home for about a week.”
Given that Snarky Puppy’s mix of genres lends itself to a live setting, there’s been some division among fans over the quality of their studio versus stage recordings. For Empire Central, the band sought to actualize the best of both worlds through a live-in-the-studio recording process they prefer, with the Deep Ellum Art Company audience wired into the mix via headphones.
“Depending on who ends up being on stage, you might have to play parts that you’ve never played before. It keeps you on your toes, for sure.”–Bob Lanzetti
“The albums that most people know us for are ones that we did [with that setup], where we were trying to blend the best parts of a studio album with the best parts of a live album,” explains McQueen. “We felt like we needed that energy, but we didn’t want to have the sound of a live album, so the solution was to do that.”
In preparation for the performances, a crew built a studio at the venue that was fully equipped with mixing consoles, drums, keyboards, DI boxes, and Kemper Profiler amps, creating what Lettieri refers to as a “laboratory for us to record in.” Kempers were ideal for the small bar space. “Having that many guitar amps would have been a sound isolation nightmare,” he notes. They captured about five to six takes of each song. “It wasn’t really like a live gig, in the sense that we wanted to stay true to the compositions and keep our risk-taking to a minimum,” Lettieri adds, “but also, we still wanted to express ourselves and feed off of the audience.”
Lanzetti and Lettieri each contributed a song to Empire Central, following League’s suggestion to draw influences from artists who shaped Black music history. Lanzetti shares, “Especially in the United States, Black music is such a huge part of everything. Pretty much everything that exists was influenced by Black Americans, and in the early days by Africans who were brought here. It’s music we all grew up with. It was such a huge part of who I am. With writing, everything that you’ve ever listened to is going to be all wrapped up in that.”
Chris McQueen’s Gear
“We listen to each other a lot, and probably end up imitating each other,” says Chris McQueen of the band’s trio of guitarists. “We’re trying to mimic each other sometimes, or at least I am.”
Photo by Brian Friedman
Guitars
- Moollon Thinline T Classic
- Moollon LP-style
Amps
- Supro Coronado
- Supro Royal Reverb
- Brown-panel Fender Princeton
- Kemper Profiler (Doug Sewell amp)
Strings & Picks
- Dunlop Nickel .010s
- Blue Chip TD60
- Dunlop Gator 2.0 mm
- Surfpick wooden picks
Effects
- J. Rockett Archer
- Moog MF Delay
- Moog MF Chorus
- Moollon Tremolo
- Moollon British Octah Fuzz
- Telonics Multi-Taper Volume Pedal
- ZVEX Instant Lo-Fi Junky
- MXR M300 Reverb
- Vintage MXR Envelope Filter
- Jim Dunlop Cry Baby
- MXR Phase 95
- MXR Uni-Vibe
- (Wingman Option Knobs on all pedals)
With 19 members in the band, you might think it would be somewhat like a traditional big band, in the sense that there would be first, second, and third chairs, etc. But that’s not really how Snarky Puppy works. “There’s no competition,” says Lettieri. “Everyone’s on equal footing. Mike [League]’s assembled this crew of players that are all top-notch, who all have a very unique thing that they bring to the table. I think the main thing that makes the band work is just the massive amount of respect we have for each other’s talent.”
“Everyone has the opportunity to be an artist. None of us are really sidemen within Snarky Puppy,” Lanzetti adds. There is, however, still a leader in League, although his approach has shifted somewhat over the years. “In the beginning, Mike controlled things a lot more,” Lanzetti continues. “But once everyone started to get a sense of what the band was, and it started to have its own identity and its own sound, everybody kind of understood it and then he didn’t need to control it so much.”
“It’s kind of impossible, especially for a band this size, to be without a leader,” McQueen says, elaborating on some of the practical inner workings of performances. “We’ve kind of developed a system where, if he’s shaking his head, that means, ‘No, stay there, do exactly what you’re doing right now.’ And if he’s nodding his head, that means, ‘Yes, go on to the next thing.’ And that’s pretty much the way that we keep things organized.”
McQueen, Lanzetti, and Lettieri each come from slightly different musical backgrounds, which shape their individual playing and contributions to Snarky Puppy’s sound. McQueen mentions that he’s probably spent the most time playing indie rock, notably in the Texas-based bands Oso Closo and Foe Destroyer, which gives his approach a rawer edge. “I’m definitely very inspired by Radiohead, too—always have been,” he adds.
“It wasn’t really like a live gig, in the sense that we wanted to stay true to the compositions and keep our risk-taking to a minimum. But we still wanted to express ourselves and feed off of the audience.”–Mark Lettieri
“We listen to each other a lot, and probably end up imitating each other,” he continues. “We’re trying to mimic each other sometimes, or at least I am. I don’t know if the other guys are,” he laughs. He plays guitars made by Moollon, a Korean manufacturer, including a thinline T-style and another model that’s “kind of like a Les Paul, but not quite as saturated sounding.” Regarding influences, Hendrix is his “North Star,” but Kurt Rosenwinkel and Johnny “Guitar” Watson also come up, as well as the psychedelic rock band, Unknown Mortal Orchestra. “It’s a continual virtuous cycle between hearing the music in my head, finding it on the instrument, and then playing it well. It’s a little bit of that Hendrix thing, too,” he continues. “He was very obsessed with surprising people. Once you get them accustomed to the thing that they think they’re going to hear from you, you play something else.”
For the past few years, Lanzetti has been playing a Fodera, made by the Brooklyn-based company, modeled after his favorite Stratocaster. “I have a Tokai as well that I used to use all the time. I’m starting to use it a little more again,” he shares. “But that’s what I’m usually playing—some sort of single-coil Strat-type sound. I also do a lot of single-note, syncopated funky stuff. I used to be in an Afrobeat band, so a lot of that influence comes out.”
Lanzetti lists Bill Frisell, Wayne Krantz, and David Fiuczynski of the Screaming Headless Torsos among his main influences, along with Freddie King, Albert King, Django Reinhardt, and Charlie Christian. “Then, besides that, a lot of the textural stuff I do is kind of coming from non-guitar-based music. I’m really into a lot of 20th-century classical music—people like György Ligeti, Belá Bartók, Arnold Schoenberg, and Anton Webern.”
When it comes to improvising, Lanzetti says, “The goal for me is to try to have there be no difference between improvising free or improvising on a tune. A lot of times when I’m practicing, I’ll play free for a while, and then start improvising over a tune. I try to make it feel as open as it did when I was playing free.”
Bob Lanzetti’s Gear
For the Empire Central sessions, Bob Lanzetti relied on a Tokai S-style and the Fodera seen here.
Photo by Brian Friedman
Guitars
- Fodera S-style
- Tokai S-style
Amps
- Kemper Profiler (Fender Vibrolux)
- Victoria 20112
Strings & Picks
- D’Addario sets
- Gravity Gold series 1.5 mm
Effects
- ZVEX Fuzz Factory
- ZVEX Box of Rock
- Boss DD-6 Digital Delay
- Boss VB-2 Vibrato
- Empress Tremolo
- Strymon blueSky
- Electro-Harmonix POG2
- EBow
Lettieri comes from a rock background, but has a “pretty heavy funk influence, and sometimes I like to shred, sometimes I like to play lyrical stuff. The Snarky Puppy guitar chair is a challenging gig, because a lot of times I’m playing a part that makes more sense when somebody else plays it.” He shares that when the band is on tour, he might be the only guitar player, and then he has to learn Lanzetti and McQueen’s parts. “It stretches me,” he elaborates. “They probably feel the same: ‘Aw, man, I’ve got to learn this Lettieri part! This is a Lettieri part!’ But with this record in particular, I’m at home with a lot of the stuff I’m playing. I don’t feel like I’m having to wear someone else’s pants to do it.”
Lettieri’s primary guitar is a PRS Mark Lettieri Signature Fiore. His secondaries include a PRS McCarty 594 and a Danelectro ’56 Baritone reissue. His big three influences are Prince, Jeff Beck, and Eddie Van Halen, but also mentions Stevie Wonder, Steely Dan, Metallica, A Tribe Called Quest, and ZZ Top as heroes. As an improviser, he subscribes to Eddie Van Halen’s philosophy that soloing can be like “falling down the stairs and landing on your feet.” “That always resonated to me,” he says. “I love risk-taking improvisers. Sometimes it’s brilliant, sometimes it’s flawed, but it’s human and it’s personal.”
It’s clear from the guitarists that the band dynamic is overall familial and playful. After hearing about our interview with Lanzetti, Lettieri immediately interjects, “Whatever he said was a lie! All hearsay. He’s a big liar.”
And McQueen later calls everything into question, saying, “But you don’t know if Mark is a liar, too. How can you know who to trust?”
“Everyone has the opportunity to be an artist. None of us are really sidemen within Snarky Puppy.”–Bob Lanzetti
Lettieri adds, “We haven’t killed each other yet, so I guess we’re good enough buddies. It’s a family at this point.”
“There’s so many different kinds of personalities given the fact that the band is so big,” says Lanzetti. “It’s also nice because you can bounce around from little groups of a couple people. There are little groups within the band of people who like to hang out with each other a lot. But we all really like food, so we like to go find nice restaurants or whatever a particular place has to offer.” He adds, as an afterthought, “We used to play frisbee a lot.”
In response to a tongue-in-cheek question asking what this album would say if it had a voice, Lettieri laughs heartily: “It would say, ‘What’s up!’ You know what I mean? It’s a very inviting album. It’s deep compositionally, but it’s not going to be over your head.” He continues, “Honestly, it might be a cool way for a lot of people who have never heard the band to hear the band. There’s something for everybody. There’s some pretty heavy, intricate stuff; there’s some really beautiful, melodic ballad stuff; there’s some really deep, groovin’ stuff. It’s a little bit of energy. I’m really, really stoked about this one.”
Snarky Puppy - Bet (Empire Central)
In this excerpt from the live sessions for Empire Central, Snarky Puppy highlight their intuitive synergy on “Bet,” with 19 voices forging one fluid vibe.