Jerry Cantrell Launches 'I Want Blood' Spoken-Word Series

Jerry Cantrell’s recently released album, I Want Blood, is being reimagined as a spoken-word series, with new versions of the album tracks debuting every Thursday, and featuring video animations by Boy Tillekens. The first installment is for “Vilified,” which can be viewed below.

In a recent episode of the Lipps Service podcast, Cantrell shared how the spoken-word pieces came to be: “I wanted to do something special, try to do something cool, and I’ve never done a spoken word recitation of the lyrics, and I thought it might be kind of cool to have it on the B-side of ‘Vilified.’ I recorded it, and it sounded cool. I thought maybe it needs some music or something, and I was sitting there with Maxwell Urasky, my demo partner. He’s a really talented musician, and he said ‘Let me mess around with it for a night.’ He came back the next day with that piece of music, and it sounded killer. I brought it in to Joe Barresi and he said, ‘Man, you should do this with all of them.’

So I sent it out to my friends, and they hadn’t heard the songs, which I thought was really cool. I got this creative stew going of sending the lyrics out to people, having them come up with the music, and sending it back. We ended up with nine pieces of really interesting takes on the lyrics, but the music is done by creative partners of mine, and it has nothing to do with the real music, so it is truly a standalone piece.”

Additional collaborators on the project include Barresi, Greg Puciato (Better Lovers, The Black Queen), Roy Mayorga (Ministry), Gil Sharone (Stolen Babies, Team Sleep), Rani Sharone (Stolen Babies), George Adrian (The Maybirds), composer Vincent Jones, and producer Michael Rozon.

The spoken-word version of “Vilified” arrives as Cantrell heads out on his first tour supporting the critically-acclaimed album, I Want Blood. The five-week tour kicks off on Jan.31 in Niagara Falls, with Filter opening on all dates. Tickets are available now here.

I Want Blood was recorded at Joe Barresi’s JHOC Studio in Pasadena, Calif., and features contributions from Duff McKagan (Guns N’Roses), Mike Bordin (Faith No More), Robert Trujillo (Metallica), Greg Puciato (Better Lovers, ex-Dillinger Escape Plan), Gil Sharone (Team Sleep, Stolen Babies), and Lola Colette.

Jerry Cantrell tour dates:

January 31 Niagara Falls, ON Fallsview Casino Resort

February 1 Sayreville, NJ Starland Ballroom

February 2 Portland, ME Aura

February 4 Boston, MA Citizens House of Blues Boston

February 5 New York, NY Irving Plaza

February 7 Silver Spring, MD The Fillmore – Silver Spring

February 8 Bensalem, PA Parx Xcite Center

February 11 Huntington, NY The Paramount

February 12 Norfolk, VA The NorVa

February 14 Raleigh, NC The Ritz

February 15 Atlanta, GA Buckhead Theatre

February 16 Louisville, KY Mercury Ballroom

February 18 Columbus, OH The Bluestone

February 19 Indianapolis, IN Murat Egyptian Room at Old National Centre

February 22 St. Louis, MO The Hawthorn

February 23 Chicago, IL The Vic Theatre

February 25 Tulsa, OK Tulsa Theater

February 26 Houston, TX House of Blues Houston

February 27 San Antonio, TX The Aztec Theatre

March 1 Mesa, AZ The Nile Theater

March 2 Las Vegas, NV House of Blues Las Vegas

March 4 Los Angeles, CA The Belasco

March 5 Ventura, CA The Majestic Ventura Theater

March 7 Spokane, WA Knitting Factory - Spokane

March 8 Portland, OR Wonder Ballroom

March 9 Seattle, WA Moore Theatre

Jerry Cantrell is an iconic American troubadour, celebrated for his distinctive guitar playing, soulful vocals and profound songwriting. Known for his work in both Alice In Chains and as a solo artist, the GRAMMY-nominated musician has sold in excess of 30 million albums, has been named one of the greatest guitar players of all time by both Guitar World and Rolling Stone, and has been instrumental in shaping the sound of modern rock music. Over his career, he has released six studio albums with Alice in Chains, three solo full-lengths, has had his music featured in films from Cameron Crowe, Judd Apatow and Ben Stiller and made cameos in “Deadwood” and “Jerry Maguire.”

Photo credit: Darren Craig

To post a comment, you must register and login.