MTV ONLINE CHAT (W/ JERRY CANTRELL) TRANSCRIPT
Produced by MTV Networks • July 22, 1998
MTVRock: Welcome Jerry Cantrell to the MTV Arena.
Jerry: Hey what's going' on?
MTVRock: Alice In Chains' guitarist and songwriter, Jerry Cantrell, has taken a temporary break from the band to try his hand as a solo artist. The long-locked rocker recently released his first lone effort, BOGGY DEPOT, on Columbia Records. Boggy Depot features 12 new compositions penned by Cantrell. In addition to writing all of the songs and doing all of the vocals on his LP, Jerry also plays guitar and piano on the album. He is joined on the record by a bevy of talent, which reads like the alt rock Musicians' Union roster. Fishbone's Norword Fisher, Pantera's Rex Brown, Primus' Les Claypool and AIC's Mike Inez & Sean Kinney.
MTVRock: Let's get to the questions... XtankX opens the floor with this one, "What influenced you to become a musician?"
Jerry: I wanted to rock, man! Whatever I listened to, I guess. AC/DC
MTVRock: UnKle Ed wants to know, "Love the Album Jerry, my ? is this, do you feel that your style has influenced or will influence a generation like EVH,Hendrix,or Page?"
Jerry: Hell, I don't know... that's a nice thought.
MTVRock: Guitrfrek has a techie question, "What strings and picks do your use? What are your amp settings?
Jerry: I use Dunlop picks, D Markley strings, 0.46 to .099. I use all kinds of amps... Bogners, Marshalls, Maces, you name it, Boogie... whatever, I use a lot of amps.
MTVRock: AICKinney has question, "What was your inspiration for the song 'Between'?"
Jerry: Between... I think I was really in a Hank Williams kick for a while. I just came up with the riff. It's a traveling song.
MTVRock: AdReNIYn1 has this question, "Did you purposely make BOGGY DEPOT more mellow than your AIC stuff?"
Jerry: I don't really purposely do anything... whatever I do at the time... a natural thing. I think the album is heavy as well... I wouldn't call it a mellow record.
MTVRock: We've had a lot of questions concerning AIC - and here's one from AFM4n349 who asks, "What are the plans for Alice In Chains?"
Jerry: We don't have any right now.
MTVRock: KeysaSoze asks, "Will you and Chris Degarmo continue to work together following the tour."
Jerry: I don't know. We're having a great time on this tour. It's been really fun. It's been a very cool thing...
MTVRock: KScott460 wants to know, "Jerry, was that really you with the fish hooks in your face on the Boggy CD and tour t-shirt or was it superimposed over some other Pisces' face?"
Jerry: No it's me. The hooks are actually attached to my head... but not to my face. They were attached to my face with a surgical adhesive... and then I pulled the strings...
MTVRock: Metalica asks this question, "Jerry, what did you think of the sod fight that occurred on July 10 in Detroit? Thanks for kickin' butt!"
Jerry: Well, it's not good for anybody that wants shows to happen there. We can play a lot of different places. Something like that will shut a place like that down. It cut our set short...and screwed up some electrical equipment...
MTVRock: Wayne 3D has this question, "What led you away from the speed tapping technique that you said you once performed?"
Jerry: I don't know. I've never really played that way. When I was younger I was into Van Halen. I played like that and it was really brief, but nothing on record.
MTVRock: CrepnDeth wants to know, "Hey Jerry, I saw you play last night in Hartford. Damn you rocked, I was just wondering where you came up with the idea of closing with 'Dark Side of the Moon'."
Jerry: Oh, it was just something that in rehearsals for this tour we messed around with and it sounded great. So we started playing it out shows and people dug it. But it's not a song that you can play earlier... it's definitely got "closer" written all over it.
MTVRock: Ecrivez asks, "Jerry, what is your all time favorite band? What about your hero?"
Jerry: I really don't have an all-time favorite band or hero. I like a lot of different thing. I can name a bunch, but to pick one out would be pointless. There's a lot of great bands out there... I'm touring with one.
MTVRock: Sabre1684 asks, "Inside the little book thing of your Boggy Depot album there's a little picture of you on a porch with a man in rocking chairs. I was wondering who he was?"
Jerry: That's my uncle. Victor Lane. My great uncle.
MTVRock: GONE82198 asks, "Do you consider "Grunge" to be dead with all of the other types of music becoming more popular?"
Jerry: Well, I hope the term "grunge" is dead. I hate hearing that term. It's basically rock and roll. And rock and roll is definitely not dead.
MTVRock: CUZT0MIZE wants to know, "Jerry...I heard you gave up pre writing your solos do you improvise live or basically just learn what you did off the cuff in the studio?
Jerry: I do both. I always have. If we come up with a strong idea that works... why mess with it? Other times it's better just to cut loose. It just depends.
MTVRock: EricZ asks, "Jerry, have you accomplished all of your dreams? If not, what's left?"
Jerry: There's plenty left. Plenty, although I've accomplished a few.
MTVRock: SoccerFox wants to know, "What other songs from your album are you going to release?"
Jerry: I'm not sure. We're discussing it right now. Maybe "Dickeye." Possibly "Keep the Light On," "Between." I really haven't decided yet.
MTVRock: Untwisted wants to know, "How old did were you when you got your 1st guitar?"
Jerry: Probably 14 or something like that. I didn't really start playing seriously until I was 16 or 17. It just kind of sat in the closet for a while until I got the bug.
MTVRock: LowMan420 wants to know, "What's been the best part about touring with Metallica."
Jerry: I think it's just really cool... great to tour.. play with a bunch of friends. The crowds have been very great. We canceled some tours with Alice... so it's making good of an old debt... It's been fun.
MTVRock: JenInTheB wants to know, "Quite a few artists from 90's rock bands have been coming out with solo albums lately (you, Scott Weiland, James Iha). How do you feel about this? Do you think it's a trend?"
Jerry: I don't really think about it.
MTVRock: XxChEsCax asks, "Have you ever thought of giving a concert in Nicaragua (Central America)?"
Jerry: We've actually played Sao Paulo and Rio... I would certainly like to play more shows anywhere we haven't been. It's great that we have people down there that dig it.
MTVRock: MoleMann9 wants to know about the Monkey Man, "Jerry, I have a question about the song 'Between'... who or what is the monkey man you refer to in Seattle? I gotta know! Thanks!"
Jerry: It's my dog. Monkey. I got blue tick coon hound. Its name is Monkey.
MTVRock: EerieBell wants to know about your future, "Will you be doing another solo album?"
Jerry: Definitely. I expect another record mid-next year. Summertime.
MTVRock: LDesch699 wants to know about life as a STAR, "What's it like being a rock star?"
Jerry: Pretty frickin' bad ass.
MTVRock: JackoREM has this question, "Jerry, are you in touch with your feminine side?"
Jerry: I guess. Whatever... I like being in touch with feminine insides.
MTVRock: Queen9382 wants to know, "Do you ever feel scared to go on tour not knowing what will happen?"
Jerry: Not really. It's fun. You know. it's a kick in the pants. If you haven't played in a while, you might get butterflies in the stomach... but it's just excitement.
MTVRock: BigMelbo wants to know, "Where did most of the inspiration to make your new album come from?"
Jerry: I don't know.
MTVRock: LDesch699 wonders, "What type of guitar do you like best?"
Jerry: I play a lot of different guitars. I guess my favorite is the G&L-- the rampage. Strats, Les Pauls, whatever.
MTVRock: We only have time for one last question, as Jerry is super busy on the road. It comes from CandyPoop, "What advise do you have for aspiring artists?"
Jerry: Do whatever makes you happy... don't let anybody ever tell you different... A parting comment - I want to thank everybody for coming out and supporting us.... Thanks for coming online and chatting! We'll be back around real soon on our own. And we'll see you when we get there. Thanks!
MTVRock: Thanks to Jerry for chatting with us! And now...the big moment... And the winner of "Jerry Cantrell's Muscle Car Madness" is - Amy Watson from North Carolina. She has won herself the '71 Dodge Challenger that was used in Jerry Cantrell's video for "Cut You In." We also threw in a free trip to LA to meet Jerry Cantrell backstage. Congrats AMY! Thanks everyone for your participation...and have a great night!
