In an era where cutting-edge recording technology is at the fingertips of nearly every musician, Jerry Cantrell is taking a more old-school approach. The guitarist and lead singer of Alice In Chains has spent over four decades perfecting his craft, but when it comes to recording, he prefers to leave the high-tech gear to others.
“I’ve kept myself intentionally ignorant with recording gear, computers, and ProTools so that I can have somebody fly that half of the plane while I’m doing all the other stuff,” Cantrell explained in a recent interview with Guitar World (via Guitar.com). Despite advancements in digital music production tools, he remains dedicated to the process of playing his guitar without getting bogged down in the technical side of things.
For Cantrell, being a part of a team is second nature. Since 1987, he’s been a vital member of Alice In Chains, and even on his solo projects, the collaborative spirit is a constant. This was especially evident in the creation of his 2024 album, I Want Blood, which, like his past works, involved a lot of teamwork.
“For any record I’ve been involved with – whether I’m with Alice or on my own – there’s three or four months of demoing shit in my house, with a friend of mine running all the gear so I can just play guitar,” Cantrell reveals. “I like working that way – in a tandem. I’m a team player. I’ve always been more comfortable working in that regard.”
This approach has allowed him to focus on the part of the process he loves most – the music. Cantrell has consistently surrounded himself with like-minded collaborators who share his vision and help bring his ideas to life. One of the key figures in his recent solo work is producer and recording engineer Joe Barresi. Barresi, who had worked with Cantrell on his 2021 solo album Brighten and Alice In Chains‘ 2018 album Rainier Fog, joined forces with him as a co-producer for I Want Blood.
Reflecting on their partnership in a recent interview with Kerrang, Cantrell said, “Joe and I had the experience of mixing records together, with Brighten and Rainier Fog, but we’d never gone the whole way, from beginning to end. I played Joe demos of what I’d been working on and said I’d like him to partner up with me, and after a song or two he said, ‘I’m in!’ Working with Joe is awesome – he’s got this mad scientist ethos and I relate to that.”
Source: metalinjection.net
