[Cover photo features Slash Ft. Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators, (L-R) Todd Kerns, Frank Sidoris, Slash, Myles Kennedy, and Brent Fitz. Photo credit to Andy Keilen.]
Fifteen years and five albums into their collaboration, Slash Ft. Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators, also known as SMKC, have released new single and video for “Flying Blind.” The track is the first glimpse of the title track from their fifth studio album, Flying Blind, which will arrive on Feb. 26, 2027, via Gibson Records.
Recorded largely live with longtime producer Michael “Elvis” Baskette at Studio Barbarosa in Florida, the 12-track album captures Slash on guitar and pedal steel, Myles Kennedy on vocals, Todd Kerns on bass, Brent Fitz on drums, and Frank Sidoris on rhythm guitar. The band completed the bulk of the record in approximately one week, often recording two songs a day with the musicians performing together in the same room.
Slash says of Flying Blind:
It’s a really fun, kind of spontaneous rock ’n’ roll record. It’s very straightforward and down-to-earth and raw.
The music video for “Flying Blind” was shot on location at The Viper Room in Los Angeles and directed by John Harvatine IV.
Created spontaneously during pre-production, “Flying Blind” began when Slash introduced a riff as the musicians were preparing to rehearse. The song developed quickly, combining SMKC’s Hard Rock drive with a melody and immediate hook that, ultimately, made it the natural choice to introduce the album.
Slash explains:
Created in the studio while we were standing there in pre-production, a riff came to me and started developing. I had nothing of that song prior to those guys coming in, and then we started up a night of rehearsal and played that riff. It came together really quickly. As for it being the first single, you never know what the first single is going to be until you’ve recorded it. When I started thinking about it, ‘Flying Blind’ just seemed to have the right kind of melodic sensibilities and a hook to make it single material.
Catch SMKC on the FLYING BLIND WORLD TOUR 2027:
