On the latest episode of the Broken Record podcast, Alice In Chains founder and solo songwriter Jerry Cantrell joins host Leah Rose to discuss his affinity for art that exists in the shadows, being 20 years sober, and plenty more.
LISTEN NOW: Broken Record | Jerry Cantrell
Cantrell released his fourth career solo album, I Want Blood, in October of 2024, and admits "I'm really digging that people are connecting with it. That's always the first goal; you start off every song, or collection of songs, or album trying to satisfy an audience of one, or four, or five -- the group of you. It's really trying to make something that you guys are excited about or I'm excited about, so that box obviously gets checked with the decision to release. I wouldn't put something out that I didn't think was good," he laughs.
"I'm really excited about the songs, the energy, the performances, the people I got to create this music with," he adds. "The thing I guess I'm grateful for is that people seem to see that there's a lot of challenge to this, the writing and execution of the album, and that makes me feel good because I certainly felt like my face was pressed against the ceiling of my abilities on all levels of this album."
"That's a good place to be," Jerry admits. "Being in a slightly uncomfortable headspace he says, allows you to "reach a branch you might not even be reaching for. You feel like you're flailing about, and that's where you find some really cool stuff, instead of trying to be safe."
Now twenty years sober, Cantrell explains that throughout his career he's penned music while under the influence and while straight, "and I've written some really good songs both ways. I think both ways work. I've lived through a period in my life where it worked, and then it didn't work."
"If something's not working for you, you've gotta find a new way to do it. I went through that change personally about 21 years ago," he says, "and I think I'm still writing as impactful -- to me anyway -- impactful, weird, f***ed up music like I made when I was f***ed up. I don't really think that's a requirement; it is part of the mythos of being a musician and an artist. I think everybody has to go through that period. I knew that was attractive and appealing to me, even with all of the signposts of early deaths and it not working out for people."
"At some point, it stopped working for me," he continues. "Some of the guys I was playing with right after I got sober, Billy Morrison [of Circus Diablo], [Jane's Addiction's Dave] Navarro, Matt Sorum [of Guns N Roses], [The Cult's] Billy Duffy, guys who had been through partying and then gone through the other side... All those guys still rock as far as I last checked, and I think I'm doing OK as far as the music element."
Listen to the full Broken Record podcast episode with Jerry Cantrell now streaming -- Plus, follow along with Alice In Chains Radio and more on the free Audacy app.
Related
