Jerry Cantrell

Jerry Cantrell biography

Jerry Fulton Cantrell Jr. (born March 18, 1966 in Tacoma, Washington) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter best known for his work with the grunge/metal band Alice in Chains, as lead guitarist, backing and co-lead vocalist, main songwriter, and co-lyricist. He performs lead vocals on his solo projects, and is part of Alice in Chains' harmonizing dual-vocal style. He resides in Los Angeles and spends time on his family ranch in Oklahoma.

Cantrell recently toured in North America supporting Alice In Chains' first new studio album in 14 years, Black Gives Way to Blue.

Early life

Cantrell noted in an interview that he was "raised on country music" as a youth and that he admires the emotion conveyed in the genre. He also considers himself "half Yankee and half redneck." However, hard rock music caught Cantrell's interest predominantly, and he bought his first guitar in his mid teens. It wouldn't be until the age of 17, however, that he began seriously playing the instrument. Cantrell would later cite groups and musicians like Jimi Hendrix, Heart, Black Sabbath, and Queensrí¿che as major influences.

Cantrell attended junior high and high school in Spanaway, Washington and, before owning his first guitar, was a member of the high school choir which attended many state competitions. His senior year, Cantrell became choir president, and the quartet sang the national anthem at basketball games and won competitions with the highest marks achievable. Cantrell has cited his interest in dark musical tones as dating back to this period: "In choir we performed a cappella Gregorian chants from the 14th and 15th centuries. It was scary church music." His choir teacher and drama teacher were, early on, his two greatest motivators toward a career in music. When Alice in Chains' first album went gold, Cantrell sent both teachers a gold record.

Cantrell's parents divorced when he was 7, and his mother died in 1987 at the age of 43.

In the mid 1980s, Cantrell began a band called Diamond Lie which included drummer Sean Kinney and bassist Mike Starr. Layne Staley, a vocalist and Cantrell's roommate, also agreed to join on the condition that Cantrell join his funk project (which ended shortly after). Diamond Lie gained attention in the Seattle area and eventually took the name of Alice 'N Chainz, then renamed Alice in Chains.

Jerry Cantrell would serve in Alice in Chains as the lead guitarist, co-lyricist, co-vocalist and main composer, until the group's near-permanent hiatus in the late 1990s, leading up to April 2002 when lead singer Layne Staley was found dead. The autopsy report later concluded that Staley had died after injecting a mixture of heroin and cocaine known as a "speedball".

Since Staley's death in 2002, the band has reformed with its surviving members. Beginning in 2005, Cantrell has joined Alice in Chains in a number of performances featuring singers such as Maynard James Keenan, Mark Lanegan, James Hetfield, Phil Anselmo, Billy Corgan, Patrick Lachman, Scott Weiland, and William DuVall. Although he acknowledges the benefits of working as a solo artist, Cantrell has expressed his happiness with being back in the band culture. On September 29, 2009, Alice in Chains, with William DuVall as vocalist, released their first record since the death of Layne Staley, Black Gives Way to Blue, and are touring in support of the album.

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