When an artist is part of a hugely successful band, it can definitely be scary when they go off on their own to try something different — even a band as big as Alice in Chains. Jerry Cantrell, who just released his solo album Brighten this past October, admitted that he still feels pressure when it comes to putting out new material.
Cantrell’s first solo venture was 1998’s Boggy Depot, followed by Degradation Trip in 2002 and its successor Degradation Trip Volumes 1 & 2 later that year. However, his next couple of projects were with Alice in Chains again, once they recruited William DuVall to fill the void of the late Layne Staley, so Brighten was the guitarist’s first batch of solo material since then.
And he told Loudwire Nights host Toni Gonzalez that he stills feels pressure each time he makes new music.
“Sure it does, yeah,” Cantrell said laughing. “That never changes, that’s what keeps you driven and motivated. I think if you’ve had some success in your past, I think that’s an even more motivating thing because you wanna keep that going. There’s an audience out there that is receptive to what you’re saying and to what you’re throwing out there.”
“You want to make sure that, first off, you’re satisfying yourself. It’s a personal thing, I get off on that. I get off on taking the gamble and, in a very human way, not knowing that you can do it,” he continued. “First and foremost, you have to please yourself, and then secondly, is this a worthy addition to what you’ve done in the past? Thankfully, I’ve answered yes on that every time. I imagine when the answer is no, it’s probably time to hang it up.”
Cantrell is heading out on tour in March in support of Brighten, see the full schedule here. To hear more about the album and the rocker’s take on social media, tune into Loudwire Nights tonight at 7PM ET.
Loudwire Nights with Toni Gonzalez airs nightly starting at 7PM ET. You can tune in anytime, from anywhere right here or by downloading the Loudwire app.
Jerry Cantrell, ‘Brighten’
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