After topping the charts as the guitarist for Creed, Mark Tremonti is stepping out of his comfort zone for his next project. Well, more correctly, he’s taking his fans out of their comfort zone with a Frank Sinatra cover album, Tremonti Sings Sinatra.
Speaking with Billboard about the album, Tremonti said it’s, “the most exciting musical project I’ve ever been involved in.” Making sure the effort comes off as authentic as possible, the rocker recorded the tracks with more than a dozen of Sinatra’s touring musicians, as well as Mike Smith, his musical director.
Also important to note is that Tremonti will not be profiting from the album. The newly suit and tie-adorned musician, inspired by his daughter Stella, will be donating proceeds to the National Down Syndrome Society.
At the same time, the project will be used to launch Tremonti’s Take A Chance For Charity initiative. He hopes to use the initiative to challenge fellow artists to “step out of their comfort zones” for charity.
As for why he chose Sinatra, Tremonti continued in his Billboard interview, “when I would sing along with it, his vocal range just suits me. When I sing Sinatra stuff, I’m not having to stretch out and sing outside of my range like I do with the rock stuff, which is a perfect thing for a singer. I can’t do this with Michael Jackson or Prince, but I can do it with Frank Sinatra and people in that lower register.”
Most freeing about the album for Tremonti is the aspect of doing it for charity. He describes it as a “get out of jail free card” with his fans, ” as you do it for charity, people say, ‘What a good person!’ and then they might say, ‘Y’know, he’s got a decent voice. I’m gonna go deeper into what they’re doing musically.’ I want to have this roll into as many other people, with as many different backgrounds, as possible.”
Tremonti Sings Sinatra comes out on May 27.