jerry cantrell
30 Signature Guitars for Modern Artists
For decades, having a signature guitar was reserved for classic rock legends — the Claptons, the Hendrixes, the Pages, the SRVs and EVHs. But that’s no longer the case. From pop-punk to heavy metal, alt-country to neo-soul, modern artists of all genres and backgrounds are getting signature guitars from companies big and small. Among the titans of the industry, that intentional shift came with a new generation being put into decision-making positions. “When I started, it was largely classic rock and very much a pantheonic Hall of Fame,” Fender’s Executive VP for Products Justin Norvell says of the early 2000s. “It was an end-of-an-iconic-career kind of thing. But it was my feeling that it should be something that people can use to reflect back upon themselves. A Telecaster can mean James Bu...
SPIN Presents Lipps Service With Jerry Cantrell
On this week’s episode of SPIN Presents Lipps Service, host Scott Lipps spoke with Alice in Chains guitarist Jerry Cantrell. The guitarist released his latest solo album, Brighten, last Friday. Lipps and Cantrell discuss the record along with how Chris Cornell’s daughter, Lily Cornell Silver, brought him to tears, his relationship with Eddie Van Halen, how Alice in Chains formed, and much more. Since it began in 2018, the acclaimed podcast has featured many of the biggest voices and personalities in music, including exclusive interviews with Red Hot Chili Peppers singer Anthony Kiedis, David Lee Roth, Shepard Fairey, Courtney Love, Dove Cameron, Mick Fleetwood, Nikki Sixx, Perry Farrell and many, many more. In the last episode, Lipps caught up with his longtime friend Nikki Sixx of Motley ...
How Elton John, Duff McKagan and the Pandemic Shaped Jerry Cantrell’s Latest Solo Album
Welcome to the latest edition of The Offramp! Each month, rock writer Corbin Reiff will highlight some of the most dynamic artists and projects going on in music today. Throw on the turn signal, crank up the stereo and enjoy the ride! “I don’t ever sit down with the intent of writing about something,” Jerry Cantrell tells SPIN over the phone. “The music generally speaks to me and evokes an emotion. Or it lines up with something that I’m feeling or thinking or have experienced…and that can kind of sometimes lead you. To me, it’s like wildly swinging around in the fucking dark until you fucking latch onto something. And then you kind of build out from there.” As the lead guitarist and chief songwriter in Alice in Chains, Cantrell has spent 30 years swinging through the darkness, pulling toge...
56 Musicians Predict the 2021 NFL Season
Only a few things are certain in this world: death, taxes and the NFL dominating the fall (and winter). Last year’s weird season ended in the familiar fashion of Tom Brady winning the Super Bowl. Snore. This year, with fans returning to full capacity stadiums, it *should* feel like the NFL of recent memory for fans, players and coaches alike. Just like we have for the past two seasons, we’ve asked our expert panel of musicians how they think the season will unfold for their favorite teams. On top of the usual crew, we’ve added a bunch more who aren’t afraid to hit the mat in support of their favorite team. The one wrinkle that threw off a lot of those 8-8 predictions? The 17 game season. It will lead to more strange things and having an extra game to cheer or jeer will make the rest of the...
30 Artists Reflect on 30 Years of Pearl Jam’sTen
The story has been told thousands of times, but it bears repeating: Pearl Jam should never have happened. The ’90s had just begun. In March 1990, the promising Seattle rock band Mother Love Bone was about to unveil their debut album. But on the eve of the release, the band’s lead singer, Andrew Wood, died tragically of a heroin overdose. His band members, guitarist Stone Gossard and bassist Jeff Ament were blind-sided, devastated, and decided to end the band. Over the next few months, Gossard slowly found his way back to music. He made a few demos that landed in the hands of a surfer from San Diego via Chicago who got them from ex-Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Jack Irons. The surfer’s name was Eddie Vedder. The songs he sent back? “Alive,” “Once,” and “Footsteps.” Pearl Jam formed around t...
Facelift Turns 30: Musicians Salute Alice in Chains’ Debut Album
“Dark.” That word came up the most as SPIN spoke to nine musicians about Facelift, the groundbreaking debut album from grunge gods Alice in Chains. Thirty years later, it’s the ultimate description for the album’s bleak sound, anchored by the tortured lyricism of frontman Layne Staley and guitarist Jerry Cantrell. While 1992’s Dirt is widely considered Alice in Chains’ masterpiece, 1990’s Facelift introduced the world to Staley’s hypnotic voice and the band’s ominously groovy approach. The album — released this very day, three decades ago — explored somber lyrical themes like death, drugs and censorship. And on classic songs like “Love, Hate, Love,” “Bleed the Freak,” “Sea of Sorrow” and the MTV-endorsed “Man in the Box,” they helped define the ...
Alice In Chains’ Jerry Cantrell on Metallica’s James Hetfield: ‘He’s the Godfather’
Today James Hetfield turns 57 and Jerry Cantrell of Alice in Chains paid tribute to the Metallica frontman, heaping praise on someone he calls “the Godfather.” “What makes James such a great frontman is his physical presence,” he told Metal Hammer magazine. “Nobody else commands the same kind of respect and attention without it being self-seeking or egocentric. He’s all about the music; all about the fun and the celebration and the connection with the fans. And that, to me, is really inspiring. Especially because he’s done this for so long, and he’s been at the top of his game for so long and he continues to search for a deeper meaning. He took an underground thing and took it worldwide.” Cantrell pointed out that Metallica was “a...
