CANTRELL GOES SOLO AND UN-CHAINED
by Adrian Bromley
From Jam Music! • April 3, 1998
TORONTO - Jerry Cantrell, guitarist extraordinaire for brooding Seattle rock 'n' roll outfit Alice In Chains, isn't the type of guy to sit around and wait for things to happen. He has the drive and initiative to keep the ball rolling, and that's one of the main reasons for the release of his debut solo disc, 'Boggy Depot'.
While on hiatus from Alice In Chains (more on that later), Cantrell has ventured out into solo territory with his interesting solo effort on which he wrote, sings, plays guitar, and coproduces. As one would expect, 'Boggy Depot' cruises through some familiar Alice In Chains-ish territory consisting of darkened landscapes of guitar-driven numbers, but also offers us soft melodic numbers that utilize Cantrell's vocal style to the fullest.
"Some of the stuff (on 'Boggy Depot') had been thrown around when we were touring and writing with Alice In Chains (AIC), but a bulk of this material was written after we did the 'MTV Unplugged' special and a few shows with KISS," he said during a recent interview.
"A lot of this stuff is very fresh. In terms of songwriting for this record, it was much like any other time you sit down and write a song. You get these creative periods that come along, as well as those mental blocks and you have nothing flowing."
Is there a certain way he approaches songwriting?
"I really have no set approach to songwriting. I mean, I don't write like Falco," he says, laughing. "I'm just me. I am doing things the way I have always done things, except the difference is in a different venue not working with AIC. Also I am taking on some more responsibility and some greater jobs for myself. Hopefully in the world of songwriting and making records, I am going forward with my material every time and I have succeeded again and pushed the envelope. I am really happy with the way it turned out."
'Boggy Depot' wasn't literally a solo project. Among those lending a hand were drummer Sean Kinney (AIC) and a varied array of bass players: Rex (Pantera), Norwood (Fishbone), Les Claypool (Primus) and other AIC bandmate, bassist Mike Inez.
"It was great having all those people wanting to help out and lend a hand for the record. Many of them were busy, but we accommodated them all. It was a blast to have such great friends and musicians helping."
One question that has dogged Cantrell throughout his interviews for 'Boggy Depot' is, "Will there be another Alice In Chains record?"
In the past three years, AIC have had endured several stop-and-start situations in terms of touring and recording material. For a band that had no problem releasing five records from 1991-1995 (three albums, two EPs), it has been a struggle to get any kind of recording process going in the last few years, apart from the 'MTV Unplugged' special/recording in 1996.
Plagued by supposed band turmoil and singer Layne Stayley's insistent drug habit, the future of the band is up in the air. It was against that background that Cantrell ventured into the studio to write and record his solo album.
"I never really had an intention to do this while we were going with AIC," says Cantrell. "Right now the time is right and it seems like the right thing to do.
"I'm taking this whole thing with AIC one day at a time. We as a band don't really have anything planned and I don't think you will see anything for quite a while. There has been a lot of speculation and stuff written and some mudslinging about the whole thing, and I think that not only pisses the band off, but the fans as well. We keep trying to do as much as we can and at this point in time we have decided to let it lie for a while."
Seeing the success that AIC has garnered over the years and the amount of interest that has surfaced around Cantrell's solo effort, is he at all nervous about putting 'Boggy Depot' out?
"It's kind of wild as you try not to say much about the new record in the press when you are working on it, because it then becomes concrete fact with what the record is to be like. Then there is an anticipation to fill that. I'd rather keep my mouth shut and wait till I have stuff to talk about. Let people hear it and make their own judgment, as well."
He concludes, "I just wanted to make a record that, number one I was happy with and number two, that I felt I could pull off live," he concludes.
"And I think I succeeded in both aspects."
