(Side note: I just posted this in a similar thread on the Alter Bridge subreddit at
https://www.reddit.com/r/alterbridge/ - feel free to join in there as well!)
Well, let's begin at the beginning. I was a huge Creed fan back in the day, and followed all the news about "the new band" as it unfolded at the old CreedPit message board. And when they made their announcement, myself and a couple of friends banded together to launch the first fan site for the band, AlterBridgeBand.net (which now lives today as TheAlterBridgeNation.com). As part of the promo and getting the fanbase together to launch the band, Mark Tremonti's brother, Michael, acted as "fan liason" and would get info to us to put up on the site -- and even called me one afternoon to play a couple of the new songs for me over the phone before they were ever released. I remember hearing Burn It Down (which he groaned about a little because it was the 6 minute song, lol), I believe Broken Wings, and one other song but I don't remember which one. Amazing memory to be sort of "on the inside" for a while!
My first time seeing them live was in Minneapolis, September 2004, at the now defunct Quest Club. I was up front by Tremonti, next to his speakers, and couldn't hear anything out of my right ear for a week (um, don't forget your earplugs, kids!). I arrived home, and the next day I had an email telling me that I'd won a PRS Tremonti SE guitar from AlterBridge.com, signed by the band! Still my most valued material possession.
- Side note, before the show that day, I had a chance to meet and interview Submersed on their bus for my fledgling rock music news website I was trying to get started. So cool! God, I miss Sumbersed!
I saw the band a few more times after that, but one of the most notable ones was at the Canopy Club in Urbana, Illinois, 2005. Again, thanks to Michael's generosity, my friends and I were gifted some after-show passes to hang out in the backstage area and chill with the guys for a bit. That guitar I mentioned earlier? Of course I had to play with it some, and Flip's signature had worn off a bit, so I was able to take the guitar and have him re-sign it (near the volume/tone knobs this time, far away from where my arm would rub on it). Got an epic picture with the band:
Coincidentally, this was the night that Tim Tournier gave his Man The Mighty CD to Mark, setting off a chain reaction that would lead him to now be their tour manager! He's an awesome dude, give him a chat sometime if you get the chance.
St. Paul, The Rock nightclub, 2008. My friend and I arrived at the club super early in the day and were able to go inside for a while. This place had a Cheers-style square bar in the middle of the floor, and so we go and sit down... and who's sitting at the bar eating lunch? Tremonti. Duh. So of course, like a dummy, I run out to my car and grab a copy of my shitty garage butt rock band's terribly self-produced CD, and give him a copy. He thanks me, and says he'll go in the back and give it a listen. I never heard a word about it again, but I'd like to think he was just intimidated at how amazing it was and was too nervous to say anything to me about it. A couple other dudes who were there came over and asked if he wanted to play a game of pool, so I got to join in on that - and me and one of the random dudes beat Tremonti and the other random dude. So I'm 1-0 against Mark Tremonti in pool, so I got that going for me, which is nice. The show that night was incredible, and they even pulled out their cover of Kashmir which was jaw-dropping to see live.
Over the last few years, life has gotten busier (got married, made a baby, all that grownup stuff) and I haven't been able to get out to as many shows. But I'm still following along, buying the music, buying the merch, and hoping they are indeed "here to stay" so I can get to go see them again in another 15 years! There's nothing like a live concert experience, but blasting the live shows on Blu Ray or from YouTube on my big screen from the comfort of my living room is enough for this old man (going to be 40 this year... eek). And of course, sharing memories and experiences with all of you guys on the internets!
Much love, AB Family. Here's to 15 more amazing years!