Alice in Chains' Layne Staley found dead
by Jon Zahlaway
SoundSpike News
Apr 20, 2002, 12 09 pm EDT
UPDATE: Authorities have confirmed that Alice in Chains frontman Layne Staley was found dead in his Seattle residence on Friday (4/19). He was 34.
Staley's body was found at his apartment on Friday night, but, because of its "state of decomposition," was not positively identified until the Seattle King County Medical Examiner's office completed an autopsy on Saturday afternoon, a spokesperson for the examiner's office said.
The cause of death has not yet been determined.
Staley had on numerous occasions openly admitted to his struggles with drugs, and drug addiction was a frequent theme in his lyrics.
In his 2001 biography of original Alice in Chains bassist Mike Starr, titled "Unchained," author John Brandon wrote that Staley seemingly became consumed by his drug use following the mid-'90s death of a girlfriend identified as Demri, whom Brandon claims died of a drug-related illness.
Starr's father, John Starr, is quoted in the book as saying, "Layne's living in a room [in a Seattle residence] that's completely surrounded with surveillance equipment. He's carrying a gun. He's doing crack and heroin. He can't take his gloves off--his hands are so f---ed up from the hypodermic [needles]."
Staley, Starr, guitarist Jerry Cantrell and drummer Sean Kinney formed Alice in Chains in Seattle during the late '80s, and released their debut album, "Facelift," in 1990. The album spawned the group's breakthrough hit "Man in the Box," and secured the band's place in the pantheon of early '90s Seattle-based acts--which also included Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden--credited with ushering in the grunge scene.
Alice in Chains went on to release two additional full-length albums (1992's "Dirt" and 1995's "Alice in Chains) and two EP's (1992's "Sap" and 1994's "Jar of Flies"). Collectively, the releases featured numerous hit singles, including "Got Me Wrong," "Rooster," "Would?," "No Excuses," "Grind," "Heaven Beside You" and others.
Gold-certified "Sap" is the only one of the group's original releases to fall short of platinum or multi-platinum status. "Dirt" is the group's best-selling release, according to the Recording Industry Association of America, which in May of 2000 certified the album quadruple-platinum for shipping 4 million copies in the U.S.
Following its '92/'93 touring cycle in support of "Dirt," the group did not tour behind any of its subsequent releases, but did give a 1996 performance on "MTV's Unplugged," which was released in album form later that same year. The group also performed at the first four dates of KISS' 1996 reunion tour.
In addition to his work with Alice in Chains, Staley fronted a side-project dubbed Mad Season, which also featured Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready, Screaming Trees' drummer Barrett Martin and bassist John Baker Saunders. Staley appeared on the group's self-titled 1995 debut, but declined to participate in the follow up, which instead featured Screaming Trees' singer Mark Lanegan.
Following the 1996 release of "Alice in Chains Unplugged," Columbia went on to issue in 1999 a three-disc box-set titled "Music Bank"--named after the Seattle rehearsal space that the band started out in--and a companion disc titled "Nothing Safe: Best of the Box." The label also released in late 2000 a live set simply titled "Live," and last year issued "Alice in Chains Greatest Hits."
Cantrell has pursued a solo career in recent years, and released in 1998 his solo debut, "Boggy Depot," on which Kinney and second Alice in Chains bassist Mike Inez both played. He plans to release in June a follow up titled "Degradation Trip," which features former Faith No More drummer Mike Bordin and former Suicidal Tendencies bassist Robert Trujillo.
A timeline outlining Alice in Chains' career is featured in the biography section of the band's official website .
source:SoundSpike
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