Grammy award winning guitarist/songwriter Mark Tremonti (Alter Bridge) recently spoke with Music Radar for the feature Ten Guitarists That Blew My Mind

Stevie Ray Vaughan

Tremonti: "For years, he was my favourite guitar player. I put down the Les Pauls and PRS guitars to pick up the Strat and play like him. I didn’t get too far into it, but I love what he did. Watch any footage of him playing Lenny live and you’ll instantly know he was one of the most badass guys of all-time. Pure emotion playing those massive strings… he must have had powerful fingers, man. Even though he got a lot from Albert King and Jimi Hendrix, he ended up inspiring loads of people to go down his Texas-infused route. I’ve picked up a lot of licks from him over the years, consciously and subconsciously. I never quite got 'Scuttle Buttin'' up to speed. I think I learned 'The Sky Is Crying' and 'Lenny' before I gave up and realised I’d never be Stevie Ray Vaughan!"

 Joe Bonamassa

Tremonti: "I remember being at a DVD store, back when people still bought DVDs, to pick up a bunch of guitar stuff. There was Yngwie live with an orchestra, some other thing and then third one was this dude called Joe Bonamassa that I’d never heard of. I figured he must be good if he had a DVD. The other DVDs were cool but I knew what to expect. 

Turning over to Bonamassa made me think, ‘Where the hell did this guy come from?!’ Then I found out he’d been around for a while, having played with BB King as a kid. He did this big long solo using all these volume swells. After that I had to buy all his records. When we were making Blackbird, I remember listening one of his earlier records to cop a load of licks. When I’m about to do a solo, I try to pick as many as I can along the way, trying to find inspirational moments to drive me. It might be one lick here and another there. In fact, there’s one lick in Blackbird, which is possibly my most well-known solo, that’s definitely nicked from Joe Bonamassa. Since then, he’s improved as a vocalist, guitarist, performer and businessman. He’s become this super impressive person. He’s such a fan of the guitar, he’s all in. There’s nothing else in life that gets in the way of that passion. I’ve gotten to hang with him and ask him about his picking over dinner and he just told me it was all alternate… there’s just no way I could pull off those licks at that speed like that."

Read the complete interview here.

Tremonti returns with a brand new curriculum this fall as Alter Bridge embarks on it's Walk The Sky tour cycle. Mark dives deep into songwriting and arrangements in this exclusive one-hour masterclass, performances and in-depth look at some of his most recognizable hits from Alter Bridge, Tremonti, and Creed. This is not just for guitar players, this is for all fans alike.

What you get:

- one hour group session
- Q&A with Mark
- on-stage live rig tour
- photo op with Mark
- soundcheck access

Go to this location for more details.

Alter Bridge have also confirmed their return to Europe for headline arena shows in November and December, accompanied by special guests Shinedown (all dates), Sevendust (UK dates only), and The Raven Age (all dates excluding UK).

Alter Bridge's Mark Tremonti enthuses, "We are honoured to be returning to with our friends in Shinedown, Sevendust, and The Raven Age this winter. See you all very soon, we couldn’t be happier with the lineup and can’t wait to share our new tunes with you!”

Brent Smith, Shinedown frontman adds, "It is such a profound and distinct honour to be accompanying Alter Bridge on tour this November and December. We have such deep respect for them and their fans. When the opportunity was presented to us, we jumped at the chance to be able to tour with our friends in A.B. So come one, come ALL to the rock n’ roll event of the year, and let’s celebrate...TOGETHER!"

Sevendust singer Lajon Witherspoon concludes, "So excited to come back to the UK and to be with our brothers in Alter Bridge and Shinedown. It’s going to be an amazing run!"

Dates:

November
12 - Copenhagen, Denmark - KB Hall
14 - Helsinki, Finland - Ice Hall Black Box
16 - Stockholm, Sweden - Hovet
17 - Oslo, Norway - Sentrum Scene
19 - Hamburg, Germany - Sporthalle
20 - Berlin, Germany - Columbiahalle
22 - Leipzig, Germany - Hause Auensee
23 - Warsaw, Poland - Hala Kolo
26 - Cologne, Germany - Palladium
27 - Munich, Germany - Zenith
29 - Vienna, Austria - Gasometer

December
1 - Zurich, Switzerland - Halle 622
2 - Milan, Italy - Mediolanum Forum
4 - Barcelona, Spain  St. Jordi Club
6 - Lisbon, Portugal - Sala Tejo
7 - Madrid, Spain - Vistalegre
9 - Paris, France - Olympia
10 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - AFAS Live
12 - Brussels, Belgium - Cirque Royal
14 - Nottingham, Engalnd - Motorpoint Arena
15 - Manchester, Engalnd - Arena
17 - Glasgow, Scotland - SSE Hydro Arena
18 - Birmingham, Engalnd - Arena
20 - Cardiff, Wales - Motorpoint Arena
21 - London, Engalnd - 02 Arena