Myles Kennedy was worried about “tainting the history” of Jeff Buckley’s famous Telecaster when he used it onstage in 2019: “I truly didn’t feel worthy of it”
Being a hugely successful guitarist – in Alter Bridge and alongside Slash, plus as an accomplished solo and session musician – Myles Kennedy has had access to some truly special instruments over the course of his career.
Kennedy recently explained how he got “emotional” when he had the chance to hold Eddie Van Halen’s Frankenstein guitar while tracking the latest Alter Bridge album at 5150 Studios. And now, he’s remembered a Paris performance back in 2019 in which he covered Jeff Buckley’s Hallelujah, while holding the late guitarist’s 1983 Telecaster.
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The performance came during an Alter Bridge set at L’Olympia in Paris, France on 9 December 2019, and as Kennedy explains, his veneration of Jeff Buckley had him questioning whether he was even “worthy” to hold his guitar.
“Grace [Jeff Buckley’s only album, which came out in 1994] is an album that gave me the same feeling as hearing [Van Halen’s] Eruption, with my brain wondering, ‘Whoa, what’s happening here?!’” Kennedy explains.
“I also felt that way when I heard Julian Lage. Playing Jeff’s guitar was amazing, though I truly didn’t feel worthy of it. I was a little uncomfortable, to be honest.
“I gradually convinced myself that it was okay. It’s just a guitar that’s part of this incredible history. All I had to do was not taint that history!”
You can check out a pro-shot video of that now-famous performance below:
As for what technically makes Buckley’s ‘83 Telecaster so special, Kennedy goes on: “It’s just an early-to-mid ‘80s Tele, but there’s something weird about how the pickup was wired.
“Apparently, there’s something technically wrong with it, at least from what [Matt’s Guitar Shop owner] Matt Lucas explained to me. That’s what gives it that beautiful shimmery sound. It’s all down to this imperfection, which makes it even cooler. When you plug it in, you think, ‘Oh yeah, there’s that sound!’”
Despite Alter Bridge’s enduring success, Myles Kennedy and his bandmates remain astutely aware of the rich rock history of some of the studios they record in and instruments they get to play.
The band recorded their self-titled new album at LA’s 5150 – the studio once owned by Eddie Van Halen and now operated by his son Wolfgang.
“Wolf was incredibly kind enough to bring that offer up with our manager,” Kennedy recently explained.
“We were like, ‘Really?’ We knew the history of all the incredible music that had been made there. Just the fact that he trusted us enough to come in and not totally ruin the legacy really meant a lot. When we all showed up, we were very cognisant of that, and we wanted to honour the situation.
View a list of Alter Bridge’s upcoming tour dates at their official website. Listen to the new Alter Bridge album below:
The post Myles Kennedy was worried about “tainting the history” of Jeff Buckley’s famous Telecaster when he used it onstage in 2019: “I truly didn’t feel worthy of it” appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Source: www.guitar-bass.net
