ALTER BRIDGE DEBUTS AT NUMBER 13, BAND PAYS TO PLAY?

Alter Bridge has debuted at Number 13 on the Billboard 200 chart, but Mark Tremonti says that doesn’t mean the band has it made.

Alter Bridge has debuted at Number Thirteen on the Billboard 200 album chart with their sophomore effort Blackbird. The band is comprised of former Mayfield Four singe Myles Kennedy along with members of Creed.

Guitarist Mark Tremonti talks about how the music industry has changed since the heyday of his first band, Creed.

“You know, it’s definitely the toughest time ever, it seems like, for a rock band since I’ve been alive. I’m sure the bands in the ’60s had it much better than we have it now, and the ’70s and the ’80s and the ’90s. I just think we’re just trying to get our touring fanbase large enough so we can sustain a touring career. Who knows what’s going to happen with record sales with the Internet nowadays? As long as we can keep selling concert tickets, merchandise, keep the fans out there, just kind of see what happens. At one point somebody’s going to try and…. There’s going to be something that makes sense for both sides at some point because there’s so much exposure for bands. Somebody’s just got to make it work for both sides.”

We asked him if he feels Alter Bridge is a success.

“You know, I’m not satisfied with where we’re at yet. I won’t be until we can… A lot of people don’t know that touring bands are in the negative for the most part until they play for thousands and thousands of people a night. Up until then you’re happen to get tour support and you happen to pull out of your own pockets to do what you love to do. I won’t be satisfied until we can go out and tour and just break even, just go out there to go out there and do what we want for as long as we want to do it. That’s what we’ve been fighting for, for years, is just to do what we love. We don’t need to be necessarily paid for it. We just want to do it and not have to pay for it. That’s the goal, to be able to do this and do it as long as we can.”

Blackbird follows in the footsteps of One Day Remains, and it has been propelled by the single “Rise Today.”