ALICE UNCHAINED: JERRY CANTRELL HITS THE GROUND RUNNING
by Steven Batten
From Cleveland Scene Online • July 2-8, 1998
Jerry Cantrell is a man of few words when it comes to the internal chaos that has kept his main gig, Alice In Chains, sidetracked for the latter half of the '90s, a decade during which Cantrell and company helped to change the face of popular music. But get him started talking about music - particularly the music on his solo debut, 'Boggy Depot' - and Cantrell is just about the most forthright and honest artist you could ever hope to converse with.
Venturing out on his own in support of longtime pals Metallica (they'll play Blossom this Wednesday, July 8), Cantrell is looking forward to doing what he does best - playing guitar in a rock and roll band. And he's got a good one along with him. Joining Cantrell, who'll handle both guitar and vocal duties, are former Queensr˙che guitarist Chris DeGarmo, bassist Nick Rhinehart of Seattle's Old Lady Litterbug, ex-Fishbone member Chris Dowd on keyboards and Chains bandmate Sean Kinney on drums.
While Cantrell deserves kudos for putting his balls on the block and venturing into uncharted territory with 'Boggy Depot', in concert fans can expect a solid helping of the moody, muscular riffs which he used in helping to put Seattle on the musical map. Phoning Scene just days into the tour, here's what Cantrell has to say...
Scene: You once said that you didn't think you'd ever do a solo album, because a) you didn't think you could top Alice, and b) you were too sentimental about Alice to fathom playing with anybody else. How, then, did you get to this point, with 'Boggy Depot'?
Jerry Cantrell: It took some balls. I mean, Alice is a helluva thing to try to live up to, so the best thing is to not try to live up to it and just do something different. But, my writing style is what it is, so it kind of carries over.
I'm really proud of what we did before, too, so we're playing some Alice songs, as well. It's a good thing, and it's working out very well. I just never imagined myself in this scenario. But it happened, so... let's rock with it. You play the hand you're dealt.
Scene: Being a guitarist and a songwriter, you've probably got a stockpile of unfinished song ideas, if you're like most. Did you draw from that for this record?
JC: Oh yeah, definitely. I had a couple, Hurt A Long Time and Settling Down, from the latter stages of Alice, from the 'Alice In Chains' record. Those songs came from that era. But the rest of them were created during the woodshedding session previous to this record.
Scene: A lot of guitarists will talk about songs they wrote that don't surface on record until much later.
JC: Yeah, that happens. Sludge Factory, from the 'Alice In Chains' record, is a great example of that. I had that riff before we even started making records. It didn't fly, throughout the years, but it finally got its just desserts on that record. It's just really strange - at a particular time, something just won't go with the band, but maybe later it will.
Scene: Things that, perhaps, you just don't know where to go with...
JC: It's more a case of everybody not really digging on it. We generally don't throw anything down that we don't all like. That's the way we've always worked. It's just that, at a later date, somebody changed their mind. A little tweaking here and there, and it's like, "Oh, that's f**king great." "Well, that's what I was trying to tell you f**king eight years ago, dickhead."
Scene: What presented a bigger challenge with this record, knowing that'd you'd have to write the entire album on your own or that you'd be doing all of the singing?
JC: Probably the vocals, and just being up there. It's not just singing the songs. You've got to work the room. And you've got to be in touch with everybody, you know.
I definitely had some trepidation about it, because I'd never done it. But that's the whole deal with this f**king gig anyway - overcoming fear. So, in a way, it's a pretty comfortable thing, because I've done it and I have experience on stage. But it's a little more demanding, and a little more challenging.
Scene: The writing part wasn't a pressure, then?
JC: I don't think I've ever really worried about writing songs. I've always been lucky enough to come with ideas, and a lot of them. But probably the biggest concern was just whether I could hack it or not. I didn't want to do anything half-assed. I was more concerned on that level. I've never wanted to do anything unless it was full-on.
Scene: There's definitely a consistency in quality here to your work with Alice, not necessarily in sound and songs, but...
JC: It's sound and songs, too. A lot of that's just the way I write. I really don't have any desire to do anything differently. I'm very comfortable in a certain area, and there's a certain style to my writing. If that carries over, that's great. That's a compliment.
I certainly didn't want to lose anybody, pull a f**king 180 and start playing ska. It's not in me. You go with what you know.
Scene: You've got another decent group of people working with you on this record.
JC: Yeah, and it's the same with the live band, as well. It's been a really cool thing. Number one, thinking of guys that you'd like to play with, or guys that you've maybe talked with about playing together. And then years down the road to have it actually happen, and have everybody interested in it. We had a lot of players on the record, and we've got some different players live. It's just been working out really well.
Scene: It seems like there must have been a really loose vibe to making this record.
JC: It was, in some respects. And in others, it was pretty nerve-wracking. But that was more my trip than anybody else.
Scene: It's cool that you guys can all get together like that. Is that indicative of things settling down a bit since Seattle happened, if you will?
JC: When we were kings? [laughs] I don't think the players or the music have changed at all. It's just the public's perception of it. I don't think it's any different. There's good shit going on now like there was when it was huge, and like it was before anybody knew where the f**k we were. That was all just a press thing.
There definitely was a reason for all the press that we got. There was great music made during those years. The '90s were pretty much our time, and it was f**king cool. It's something that will probably never happen again, with that magnitude, from that city. That type of thing doesn't happen that often, let alone in one city. But for that many bands in any one area, to get that prominent or to create that valid of music. It was just a real special thing, and it just happened to be our town. Very cool.
Scene: One thing that really stood out about that time frame was that the Seattle bands really supported each other. In that sense, it's not surprising that so many were successful.
JC: There was kind of a mutual appreciation, and an unspoken brotherhood. It was very cool. Rather than some scenes... some scenes?... I'm not even going to use that word... some groups, where things get hot, you'll find a lot of bands one-upping the others, or dissing them or not even saying anything.
For us, it wasn't about being rock stars. It was about the music. You wanted to go out and get rocked. There were a number of bands that could do it for you, and we saw them all. It was all about music, and the appreciation of music. We were all pretty familiar with each other, and I think there was a lot of mutual respect. There still is.
Scene: You have an incredible chemistry with Sean, especially for a guitarist and drummer. You can't really point to too many other examples of that, save for maybe the Van Halens, as brothers, or Lars and James from Metallica. Usually, it's the singers and guitarists that have that kind of rapport.
JC: We're just f**king bros, man. In Alice, it was definitely a four musketeers vibe, always was. He's just a very creative person, beyond just being an incredible drummer. We both have a lot of the same kind of attributes and mutual likes. We complement each other really well. Some things that I won't see, he does, and vice versa. It's just always been a great thing.
Scene: You've been talking about touring with Metallica for years, and now it's finally happening.
JC: I was just joking with Lars about it - we didn't get to do it as Alice, but at least he gets half of Alice this way [laughs].
Scene: Is it strange at all to have Days Of The New opening, given that they've taken such a huge cue from Alice?
JC: That's natural, too. Everybody starts somewhere. If we were that important, to be that kind of an influence on somebody, that's great. They're very young, too. It'll be very interesting to see how they evolve. Stone Temple Pilots are a pretty good example of a band who were pretty influenced by what was going on in Seattle, then developed into a great f**king songwriting band on their own. You've got to be flattered, and I am.
Scene: It seems that doing this record and tour have been a great experience for you so far. Is this something that you'll want to do again?
JC: I plan on doing this for a while. We don't have anything going on with Alice, and we probably won't for some while. It's definitely something I'm having fun doing, and I'm looking forward to finishing this year up touring. We'll do two or three months after Metallica on our own, both here and outside of the country, and then we'll make another record.
Scene: You really seem to have made the most out of your situation.
JC: Well, I hope so. You always hope that you do.
