1987-2002, 2005-Layne StaleyVocals, guitar1987-2002
Jerry CantrellGuitar, vocals1987-
Mike StarrBass1987-1993
Sean KinneyDrums1987-
Mike InezBass1993-
William DuVall Vocals, guitar2006-
Alice in Chains came out of the early '90s grunge scene that included Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden. Their debut album,
Facelift, was released in 1990 but didn't pick up steam until a year later, thanks to "
Man In The Box." Because there were no grunge arena headliners, they had to open for bands like Van Halen, Anthrax and Poison.
Lead singer Layne Staley died on April 5, 2002, at age 34 from an accidental overdose of heroin and cocaine, but his body wasn't discovered until April 19. His death was discovered when his accountants noticed he hadn't withdrawn any money in two weeks. They informed his former manager, Susan Silver, who then contacted Staley's mother, Nancy McCallum. Already concerned that she hadn't heard from him for two weeks, McCallum called the police, who found the body.
Jerry Cantrell and Layne Staley met at a house party in Seattle in 1987. Staley invited Cantrell, who needed a place to stay, to move in with him at the Music Bank, a round-the-clock rehearsal complex where they also worked. Alice in Chains later named their 1999 box set Music Bank after the place.
In 1994, Layne Staley formed Mad Season with Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready, Screaming Trees drummer Barrett Martin, and bassist John Baker Saunders. Their only studio album, Above, came out in 1995. Around the same time, Mike Inez of AiC played bass on Slash's Snakepit's debut album, It's Five O'Clock Somewhere, also released in 1995.
Cantrell goes on extensive hunting trips, sometimes for days at a time. When Alice in Chains was touring with Van Halen in 1991, they had a few weeks off in November before the tour resumed in Memphis on December 2. AiC didn't make that show because Cantrell was on a hunting trip and forgot that November had only 30 days. To make sure it didn't happen again, Columbia Records gave him a calendar.
Inez was a member of Ozzy Osbourne's backing band before joining Alice in Chains.
The band released their last album with Layne Staley in 1995 and ceased touring in 1996, but they didn't officially break up until 2002 when Staley was found dead. The group reunited in 2005 and performed some shows with guest vocalists until 2006, when William DuVall, who had been in various bands around Atlanta, signed on. Their first album with DuVall was Black Gives Way to Blue in 2009.
Since Layne Stanley's death there have been several songs written in his honor, including "
Layne" by Staind from their 2003 album
14 Shades of Grey, and Pearl Jam's "
4/20/02," released as a hidden track on their 2003 compilation
Lost Dogs. Eddie Vedder wrote "4/20/02" on April 20, 2002, the day he learned of Staley's death.
Alice In Chains appear in Cameron Crowe's 1992 movie Singles as a bar band, and Jerry Cantrell also had a role in Crowe's 1996 film Jerry Maguire, where he plays the long-haired CopyMat employee who makes copies of the screed that Tom Cruise circulates through his office. His line: "That's how you become great, man. Hang your balls out there."
Crowe also wanted Cantrell to play the bassist of the fictional band Stillwater in his 2000 film Almost Famous, but Cantrell turned him down because he was busy working on his solo album Degradation Trip. The role went to Mark Kozelek from indie band Sun Kil Moon.
For their 1996 MTV Unplugged performance, Mike Inez wrote in marker on his acoustic bass, "Friends don't let friends get Friends haircuts." This was thought to be a jab at Metallica, whose newly short-haired members were in the audience, but Inez said the phrase referred to hairstyles popularized by the TV show Friends. He heard it from Sean Kinney's then-girlfriend, Jen Riley, and wrote it on his bass. The Metallica members laughed about it backstage.
"Get Born Again" and "Died," recorded in 1998, were Layne Staley's last songs with Alice in Chains. His final studio recording was a cover of Pink Floyd's "Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2)" with the supergroup Class of '99 for the soundtrack to The Faculty.
Layne Staley is the one who thought up the band name. "It started out as a joke, and after a while it seemed to be the best name that we could think of," Jerry Cantrell explained.
