A lot of musicians like to get a second opinion from someone on new material they come up with, and for Guns N’ Roses‘ Duff McKagan, that someone in Alice In Chains‘ Jerry Cantrell.
In a new interview with the Irish publication Irish Examiner, McKagan discussed his songwriting process and briefly touched on whether Guns have been working on any new music.
The rocker just released his third solo album Lighthouse last October, which he’d worked on between touring with Guns N’ Roses. Although he is a punk rocker at heart, both Lighthouse and its predecessor, 2019’s Tenderness, consist mainly of folky acoustic songs.
“I’ve always written on acoustic guitar but it’s just in last ten years that I hold the acoustic against my chest cavity and it tells you where to sing, like don’t scream, the guitar is telling you where to sing and it’s my new kind of trick,” McKagan explained.
There were a couple of guest features on Lighthouse, including Iggy Pop, Slash and Cantrell. The latter played on a track titled “I Just Don’t Know.”
McKagan and Cantrell’s Relationship
McKagan seems to really value Cantrell’s artistic opinion, as he told the Irish Examiner that the Alice In Chains guitarist is the first person he runs his new music by.
The duo, both hailing from Seattle, has collaborated together a handful of times in the past — McKagan played bass on Cantrell’s 2021 solo album Brighten and also plays on his upcoming record I Want Blood.
READ MORE: See Sets of Rock + Metal Best Friends
“Jerry spends Christmas at my house. We’re close, he’s like an uncle to my daughters,” McKagan said of his relationship with Cantrell in an interview from last December. “[He] can rip your heart out with a cool solo.”
Duff McKagan, ‘I Just Don’t Know’ (feat. Jerry Cantrell)
New Guns N’ Roses Music
Most Guns N’ Roses fans accept that they should take any mention of new music with a grain of salt. McKagan was asked about the status of a new Guns album toward the end of the Irish Examiner interview, to which he replied, “Who’s to say? We haven’t been in the studio.”
The publication described the bassist as having a “wry smile” when he made the comment. It’s unclear whether that means anything.
“I love recording, I love the creative process, I love playing live shows but that ‘a-ha’ thing [in the studio] with Slash’s line – he always finds the right thing. that guy – and Axl [Rose] is a fucking master,” he concluded.
Top 66 Rock + Metal Bassists of All Time
Counting down the very best bassists in rock and metal history.
Gallery Credit: Loudwire Staff