Alter Bridge 

"I think the main thing I want out of getting out and doing some press is that everybody knows about this band. That it exists," Tremonti says. "And that we're going on tour."

The Alter Bridge lineup consists of three former members of Creed -- Brian Marshall, Scott Phillips, and Tremonti -- with former Mayfield Four vocalist Myles Kennedy taking on the role of Scott Stapp. So the elephant in this room -- and in every interview Tremonti's done lately -- is "Why did Creed break up?"

Tremonti's tired of talking about it, and we don't really care, so we discuss shredding. And baseball. The guitarist is good friends with Padres pitcher David Wells. Former Cleveland reliever Jason Grimsley (of "Let's crawl above the ceiling and steal Albert Belle's corked bat from the umpires' locker room" fame) is close enough to be thanked on the One Day Remains liner notes. And Red Sox outfielder Johnny Damon is a neighbor and wannabe rocker.

A recent, extremely unscientific sample reveals that four out of five white guys in major-league uniforms have two favorite bands -- Metallica and Creed. Would Tremonti have an explanation?

"I just think that athletes are less artsy than your average person," he says. "They're just more All-American, blue-collar kind of people, and that's why a lot of ballplayers like All-American rock and roll. And that's kind of how we are, you know."