Boggy Depot - Background

Background

In 1996, after Alice in Chains opened for the first Kiss reunion show in Detroit, Jerry Cantrell began work on his first solo album. With the help of producer Toby Wright, whom he'd previously worked with in AIC, Cantrell worked on the album through 1997. Columbia originally gave a projected October '97 release date which had to be postponed greatly. Early net sources gave the tentative album title as "Bogey Depot."

In February 1998, Cantrell spoke about the status of Alice in Chains and his new solo project:

"Well, there's really nothing's up with Alice in Chains. We've been together for 11 years now, and we've done a lot of great music together and accomplished a lot of things and that's very special to me. We're a part of a group of fans that really put their stamp on the map, actually, on the world for that matter, and far surpassed where we probably initially thought we'd get to. So that's cool. That's in the books, and that's something we did and something to be proud of. But there also comes a point in the life of any band, I think, that it's time to change, and time to try new things"

Cantrell and Columbia launched his official website, JerryCantrell.com, in March 1998 to promote Boggy Depot. This would feature song clips and the "Cut You In" music video. It also included QuickTime video interview footage where Cantrell explained that he had been wanting to venture into solo territory for a while and, with Alice in Chains at a standstill, finally had the chance. However, in the June 1998 issue of Guitar World, Cantrell made it clear that his solo venture was actually a reluctant response to Alice in Chains' diffusing:

"It's something I never really wanted to do, but the way things have played out, it's like, why not? To be honest, I'd just be happy being the lead guitarist and singer for Alice in Chains. It's always been my first love, and always will be, but the situation being what it is... we've been together for a long time, and right now it's kinda played out. . . Now I've got to step up to the plate and take a few swings."

Boggy Depot incorporates piano, organ, and country elements, namely in the tracks "Hurt a Long Time" and "Between." Cantrell confirmed that as a child he was "raised on country music" and that he admires the strong emotion conveyed through the genre. However, the ominous guitar styles previously heard in Alice in Chains are undeniable in tracks like "Jesus Hands" and "Keep the Light On." The tracks "Settling Down" and "Hurt a Long Time" were originally introduced during the recording sessions for Alice in Chains' self-titled album in 1995, but the group chose not to record them. As such, they were the oldest and longest-awaited songs to be introduced on Boggy Depot.

Boggy Depot features both bassist Mike Inez and drummer Sean Kinney of Alice in Chains. This further incited fans to regard it as a "lost" Alice in Chains record or as a follow-up to their 1995 self-titled release. Three other well-known bassists also contributed to the album: Rex Brown of Pantera, John Norwood Fisher of Fishbone, and Les Claypool of Primus. Cantrell credited his relationships to some of these musicians to Lollapalooza '93 where their bands often collaborated on stage.

A wide variety of equipment was utilized for the recording of Boggy Depot. In terms of amplifiers, Cantrell used the Peavey 5150 head given to him by Eddie Van Halen as well as Marshalls, Fenders, and Soldanos. The band used a lot of old RAT pedals and an Electro-Harmonix distortion on "Jesus Hands." According to Cantrell, they also used "vintage crappy mikes" including one that Toby Wright bought for $20 at a pawn shop. Cantrell used largely the same guitars as he had in Alice in Chains, including the G&L Rampage, '52 Goldtop Les Paul, and old Stratocasters and Telecasters. He also bought Nancy Wilson's Les Paul Junior which he used heavily and satisfyingly played a new '50s-era Les Paul that Gibson sent him. Cantrell also intermixed guitars on certain songs; for instance, in "Dickeye," a Goldtop was used for the left channel while his white Les Paul reissue went on the right.