Alice In Chains singer/guitarist Jerry Cantrell discussed his ‘holy shit’ reaction to early Nirvana shows in a new Premier Guitar interview.
“I think the big picture is that there are so many creative people that were all in sync without planning anything out. There was just a vibe. And I think we have a bit more individuality than other places in the States because we’re just up in the corner, in our little outpost, wedged up next to another country. So I think that geographical isolation probably added to it.
I’m just really proud to have gone through that. The fucking bar got set so fucking high, even before the rest of the world knew about it. We’d be going to each other’s shows and be like, “Holy shit!” You’re seeing Nirvana, or seeing [Mother] Love Bone, our early shows, or the fucking Screaming Trees, or Mudhoney. And a lot of other bands that were important.
It was a distillation of a movement. And it was centralized to our hometown, which was unbelievable. The music still stands the test of time. And they’re some of the finest people that I’ve ever met in my fucking life and some of the people that I’ve known the longest in my life. They’re good friends. Good friends, good music … dude!”
