Dec. 5, 2024, LOS ANGELES – Jerry Cantrell recently released the 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 here.
In a recent episode of the Lipps Service podcast, Jerry 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 Jerry 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 at jerrycantrell.com/tour.
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. The album is available on CD, digitally, and multiple 2LP vinyl variants, which include the spoken word version of the nine-song album: https://bio.to/JerryCantrell.
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
