MARK TREMONTI IS COUNTING HIMSELF LUCKY.
Not just because he’s got a lot going for himself these days. For more than 20 years, he’s been the engine behind some of the best-selling rock records in the world, a streak that continues with Alter Bridge’s just-released seventh album, Pawns & Kings. He’s got a successful solo side project that traffics in slightly heavier fare and in which he’s solidified his shredder bonafides. He’s even been able to indulge in some more off-the-wall projects; earlier this year, he released an album of distinctly traditional and non-heavy Frank Sinatra tunes.
No, today he’s counting himself lucky because he and his family are alive and well after Hurricane Ian hit his hometown of Orlando, Florida, with punishing winds, rain and floods. However, even if you’re a modern-day deity of heavy guitar, acts of more vengeful gods still mean you have to meet with insurance adjusters.
“We were kind of right in the path of the storm. So it was a big one for Orlando, which, being inland, we never get crushed like the coast, but it was a pretty rough one for Orlando this time,” he says.
It’s certain that Tremonti would rather be out crushing monster licks onstage than assessing home damages, and the sure-to-be-lengthy touring cycle for will give him ample opportunity to do so. The story of Alter Bridge may have begun with the demise of Tremonti’s old band, but at this point, their history and discography dwarf that of Creed. In an era of algorithm pop playlists, where high-gain amps find
