"The only thing different about this situation is not having the longtime confidants and friends around to bounce ideas off," says Alice in Chains guitarist Jerry Cantrell about his first solo album, Boggy Depot, which will be released by Columbia in March. "It was something to get used to. It was an insecure feeling, but what that translates to is that you're growing."

Depot features performances from Les Claypool (Primus), Rex Brown (Pantera), and Fishbone's Norwood Fisher and Angelo Moore. Alice in Chains drummer Sean Kinney plays the entire album, and bassist Mike Inez appears on one track. "I'm playing a lot of things I've never played before," says Cantrell. "There are some piano songs, and a little Hammond B-3 organ there, too. I think that if you listened to anything that [Alice in Chains] did in the past, we've done a variety of stuff. This record is in the same vein. There's a lot of variety an cohesion to it, as well. I'm interested to see what people think of it."

Cantrell says he will be touring behind the album, possibly in late spring or early summer. He is also quick to squelch speculation about Alice in Chains' future, saying the band are on hiatus.

"We're definitely not history," he stresses. "We've been together for 11 years now, and that's a long time for any band to be together. We've been really lucky to have made it this far and make some great music. I really miss playing and writing songs, and this seemed like a perfect opportunity to do this."