JERRY CANTRELL
by Steven Blush
From Seconds Magazine • Issue #46; June-July, 1998
Transcribed by Jack
There've been tomes written on Alice In Chains - this ain't one of 'em. Instead, what we present herein are a few particularly lucid moments with the driving force of the band, guitarist Jerry Cantrell, on the eve of launching his solo career.
For those of you who have more important things to do than to sit around and study Rock History, Jerry Cantrell is a modern-day guitar hero. His fluid, harmonic power-riffage does not deliver an infinite number of notes per minute, but when was the last time you noodled some air guitar along to a six-string solo anyway?
I don't really give a rat's ass who from what out-of-fashion Grunge troupe is getting high or who's drying out. It doesn't really matter at this point if Alice's Layne Staley wasted the band's precious fifteen minutes of fame by living out the same old tired Rock Star scenario of heroin abuse followed by a convenient spiritual redemption. What does matter is that Cantrell is a purist with a passion for what he does best: delivering 100% uncut shit. His new solo record on Columbia, 'Boggy Depot', ain't another Alice In Chains record - this is carefully crafted rootsy, folksy Classic Rock chock full of cascading rhythms. As such it is melodically evocative of mid-Seventies era Who or even Creedence Clearwater Revival. To coin a phrase: it is what it is.
Seconds: How is your solo record different from your work with Alice In Chains?
Cantrell: In some ways, it wasn't really any different and in others, it was completely different. The role that I played making this record was a lot stronger. As co-producer, writer, playing instruments that I hadn't played before, and taking on a stronger role vocally, there were definitely a few different hats I was wearing.
Seconds: Is it more comfortable? Less comfortable?
Cantrell: I'm still checking it out [laughs]. Making the record was fun. It was a challenge and I stepped up to it.
Seconds: What is a 'Boggy Depot'?
Cantrell: It's in southeast Oklahoma. It's right down the road from my father's family in Oklahoma. My father and I are going to build a cattle and horse ranch there this summer.
Seconds: With Les Claypool and all the people you have playing on the record, there's a bit of a freaky side.
Cantrell: Yeah we went for it.
Seconds: Is there a sexy side to the music?
Cantrell: I think there's a lot of emotional stuff on there, feelings and vibes of all sorts. That's what you hope for when you do a record, that people are able to connect with the vibes. It's the ultimate compliment when somebody comes up to you and brings up a song. People will tell you stories about what they were doing when they were listening to that song and it's great. That's the reason we got into doing this, to create something worthwhile that touches people. I've had people tell me stories where they were in pretty bad shape and pulled out of it by listening to the music. We all have records like that.
Seconds: What records have you been listening to recently?
Cantrell: I listen to Hank Williams' stuff and I've got Hank Jr.'s greatest hits. I listen to those and a Creedence Clearwater Revival greatest hits compilation. I've been doing a lot of traveling lately so when I'm in a rental car, I'll stop and buy a couple of cassettes - and it's generally the same ones. I'll get some Eagles, Creedence, AC/DC, some Kiss here and there, and Hank Williams. Hank Williams is a great songwriter.
Seconds: Does music still give you the same kick?
Cantrell: Yeah, it's still a kick, man. It's a hell of a ride.
Seconds: I always saw a Nugent vibe in you.
Cantrell: Yeah, I dug Nugent when I was a kid.
Seconds: He was always a lead guitar player with a lower-profile singer.
Cantrell: Yeah, I hear you.
Seconds: What is the current status of Alice In Chains?
Cantrell: Well, we're pretty much where we've been, just chilling. We're not doing anything musically and we have nothing planned for quite some time. There's tons of rumors and speculation and shit but we've been together for a long time, eleven years now. That's a long time for any band. We've definitely far exceeded our expectations, but at the same time we haven't shut the door on it and said, "We're over." We have plenty of time, so it was the perfect opportunity to do this record and I plan on doing this for a while.
Seconds: What's Layne's state of mind right now? Do you talk to him?
Cantrell: Yeah, I talk to him. He's probably writing songs at home right now.
Seconds: Did success propel the personal problems?
Cantrell: Everybody in this business has got problems. When you reach a certain point of success, you're fodder for headlines. We've partied our asses off for years and made no attempt to hide it. We're not ashamed of it either. We're a Rock & Roll band, for god's sakes, not a bunch of congressmen who keep it in the closet. It's just unfortunate that it becomes the only focus. Now we choose not to talk about it. What we've gone through is no different than any other band. Now we're hearing about all this shit that happened twenty years ago - so imagine what you'll be hearing about us down the road.
Seconds: I've seen this business rip the soul out of so many people. No one's being straight with you.
Cantrell: And it's hard for you to be honest with somebody else when you're getting buttfucked every time you turn around. You try to be as careful as possible but that doesn't work all the time. These are games that we never wanted to play in the first place and won't play now.
Seconds: I know a lot of bands complain about everyone knowing their dirty laundry, how much money they make, or how often they get high.
Cantrell: I would say that everybody doesn't know about it. They may know something but a lot of the 'specifics' are rumors. It's been the case with us as well. There's a little bit of fact and a lot of color work. You can choose to either elaborate on those 'facts' or not, and we choose not to.
Seconds: In the early years of Alice In Chains, you were in the shadow of Soundgarden. Did that bother you?
Cantrell: Soundgarden's a great band and I always respected what they did but I don't feel we ripped them off. As a matter of fact, we weren't overshadowed by them; we were one of the first bands out of that whole group that started selling. We all made moves and have our things to be proud of. Musically, we stood alone. I don't hear Soundgarden in us and I don't hear Pearl Jam in Soundgarden and I don't hear Nirvana in Pearl Jam.
Seconds: What do you remember about those first tours? I remember you opening for Poison, Extreme...
Cantrell: Warrant. We played with anybody. Our motto was "Give us a gig," so that entailed taking every shit gig available. We played them all and that got us out there in people's faces. A few people here would get it, a few people there would get it, and by the time a year had rolled by, people were showing up for OUR gigs.
Seconds: You were also changing stuff because it was time for those bands to fall.
Cantrell: That's the cycle of it. If you look at the Seattle deal, it's pretty much run its course. Nobody sticks around forever with that much intensity. You know, some guys who just wanted to make music and have fun put their stamp on their world and made a sound. That don't happen very often, man, and I'm proud of it.
Seconds: Where is Seattle Rock now?
Cantrell: I don't know where it is. I've never tried to define it, I've just enjoyed it.
Seconds: But is there stuff still happening?
Cantrell: Of course there's shit going on. Pearl Jam's putting a record out right now, Chris Cornell's working on stuff of his own, Barrett Martin from the Screaming Trees is doing an R.E.M record, Mark Lanegan is doing a record with Mike McCready - which will be the second Mad Season record - and I've got my own record. There's shit happening.
Seconds: How has the city itself changed?
Cantrell: It's mellowed out. Some of the people that came there have left now, so it's nice [laughs]. It's a little more chill.
Seconds: So I guess we shouldn't be expecting any techno remixes of the new record.
Cantrell: I don't think so. It's a Rock record.
Seconds: Is Rock on the rebound?
Cantrell: Again, it's the cycle. Everything rolls around again. I don't put a lot of thought into that line of thinking anyway. I do what I do because it makes me happy.
Seconds: What are you proudest of in terms of your work?
Cantrell: All of it. Everything. Good and bad. I'm not ashamed of anything. I don't think we ever put a bad record out and we backed it up when touring.
Seconds: Do you think the problems with Layne have fucked over Alice In Chains?
Cantrell: Layne isn't the reason for our downfall per se. I don't even perceive that we've had one. He unfortunately got singled out and became the poster boy for any problem we had. That's very unfair to him.
Seconds: Didn't he go on the cover of Rolling Stone and talk about his problems?
Cantrell: He didn't go on the cover of Rolling Stone, he was put there. It was supposed to be a band shot for a story about the album and Rolling Stone decided to take a different slant on it. So they put a photo of him by himself on the cover and put their title on there. ['The Needle And The Damage Done,' Rolling Stone cover story, February 8, 1996] We had an agreement with them that was broken. You get fucked every once in a while. It happens. You've got to bring your own lubrication and you sure as hell won't get a kiss. If you spend a lot of time thinking about this shit, you start strangling yourself. You just move on from it. Like I said, we've treated the situation a certain way because we don't want to worry about it. It's very nice that we've gotten the attention that we have but there's a bad side to it too. You've got to be willing to take it because that's how life is. You don't get all sunny days. You've got to take the lumps along with the prize.
