I was about 20, and music became my only obsession to stay alive, he said. Layne was flipping through the channels and stumbled on the John Edward show Crossing Over, a show that TV Guide describes as: A psychic claims to communicate with his audiences late loved ones. ), the No. The specificity of Dirt is what makes the album so moving, and its the most obvious attribute separating Alice In Chains from the legion of bands that emerged to take its place after Staley slipped into permanent heroin hibernation. *Confusion. The two were allegedly watching a show called "Crossing Over," which is about a psychic medium that helps connect loved ones to deceased relatives. He needs his hands and arms. This was neither the beginning nor the end of Staleys sufferings that he was trying to get rid of it for years. "I'm not doing well," the singer said. googletag.pubads().disableInitialLoad(); She said after most of the crowd left at night Layne was still there, and she wanted to go swimming so Layne followed her to the pool. googletag.defineSlot('/98948493,22548962605/alternativenation_multisize_sidebar_1', [[300,600],[300,1050],[300,250]], 'div-gpt-ad-3901802-7') As an act of first-person journalism from the depths of hell, Dirt has few equals in rock history. Staley was playing video games while they talked, and pretended to listen according to Forrest. It's hard enough to lose a child. According to a transcript of a 2002 Rolling Stone article, Layne Staley spent the final years of his life in reclusive isolation, with nothing but his drugs to keep him company. Along with Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains was a primary grunge-era influence on the post-grunge bands that ruled modern-rock radio from the late 90s onward. What Happened Next? The lesson of Black Gives Way To Blue, at least as it applies to the SoCal pot-rock band Sublime, is that there really is life after death in 90s rock, provided you can retain enough of your old sound to convince people to move forward with you. Cobain agreed to pay for the product if Staley shouldered the cost of having it flown in. His friend and Screaming Trees frontman Mark Lanegan opened up about his death saying that Staley never recovered from Demris death so it was the main reason behind his death. ver: '1.0', I know who started it and they know too, but its funny I read stuff from people who make a statement as if they were there, knew her and it was fact and people believe them. *Rain When I Die. Kaths death was good for only No. People Projects Discussions Surnames The last public appearance he made was almost four years before his death when he attended his bandmate Jerry Cantrells solo concert in Seattle on Halloween in 1998. "When I haven't talked to anybody in years, and every article I see is dope this, junkie that, whiskey this that ain't my title My bad habits aren't my title. Staleys horse-addicted ghost is still Cantrells muse, only this time Staley is actually dead. Although they were no longer together, Staley was clearly devastated by the news. There will always be haters, he said in an interview with budZtv in 2010. } "@type": "ListItem", Other than that, there was no promotional concert tour for Sublime, or any new music to follow it up. Much farther down on the most spectacular rock deaths list is Layne Staley of Alice In Chains. After that, I dont think he wanted to go on., He died because he wished he had done right by the one person he knew for sure loved him for the poor butt rocker he was when he met her and hed be the first to admit it.. Gold Standard: Oscars edition - Best Director. Sean Kinney, Layne Staley, Mike Starr and Jerry Cantrell of Alice in Chains during an In-Store record promotion in Los Angeles in September 1990. They are not my friends.". The pain is more than you can handle. Seattle Weekly describes the tragic scene when police kicked in the door to Layne Staley's condo in Seattle's University District on April 19. Tom Morello later claimed that he had no recollection of ever speaking to Staley about auditioning for Audioslave, so this could be a case of Gallagher misremembering the conversation, and it having more been about Staley considering the idea of calling up the former Rage Against The Machine members. Its the worst pain in the world. He seriously, seriously hated "Rutherford." Mainly, he holed up in his apartment, gaming, playing with his cat and doing drugs. However, they decided to break up after a few years while people were waiting for an announcement about their wedding. On April 4, 2002, Starr, high on benzodiazepine, offered to call 911. 9. Dont try to contact any AIC (Alice in Chains) members. But soon he was caught in an inescapable trap that led to his premature death in 2002. "Demri was a fashion icon in the Seattle Grunge scene. "name": "Home" Pick it up, this is a classic. googletag.cmd.push(function(){ In addition to Mark, Demris friend Ferrano agreed with him and stated that Staley died because he felt guilty about ending their relationship and not being kind to Demri who was the only person that loved him although he wasnt famous and rich back then. One of Layne Staleys friends who spoke to NME revealed that he was placed on a 24-hour suicide watch after he had learned that Demri Parrott died from an overdose. Staley's girlfriend, Demri Lara Parrott, started shooting smack and Alice in Chains got famous. So it is that Alice in Chains, with its influential blend of heavy metal and grunge, which plays on. Formed in 1988, Sublime made its name by playing surf towns up and down the California coast, honing a feel-good blend of punk, hip-hop, and ska informed by Nowells multicultural upbringing in Long Beach. Clearly, Staley maintained some of what he learned in his religious upbringing, but he wanted nothing to do with the structures it forced him into. In the Staley slot was William DuVall, who sang in Cantrells post-AIC band and sat in with Alice when the band first reunited in 2006 for a benefit concert. Even though the server responded OK, it is possible the submission was not processed. "Everyone always asks if that is Demri [Parrott, then-girlfriend of frontman Layne Staley], on the Dirt cover," he says."I think Demri's name might have been mentioned as a possible model once or twice, but it was never a serious consideration." var googletag = googletag || {}; (Terry McGinnis/WireImage). googletag.defineSlot('/98948493,22548962605/alternativenation_multisize_content_1', [[336,280],[300,250]], 'div-gpt-ad-3901802-3') simplerGPT: true, "I'm not into religion, but I have a good grasp on my spirituality. googletag.defineSlot('/98948493,22548962605/alternativenation_multisize_content_2', [[336,280],[300,250]], 'div-gpt-ad-3901802-4') Gaugh and Wilson said they had no plans to revive Sublime until they met Ramirez in 2008 and, as they later told Billboard, had instantaneous chemistry with the 20-year-old Fremont, Calif. native. We may earn a commission from links on this page. Layne and Mark Lanegan Discussed Collaborating, We talked about [working together] from time to time, Mark Lanegan told CDNow in April 2002. He was found dead on March 8, 2011, in his home in Salt Lake City as a result of a prescription drug overdose. googletag.defineSlot('/98948493,22548962605/alternativenation_multisize_content_3', [[336,280],[300,250]], 'div-gpt-ad-3901802-5') "I don't have any magic answers," she told the paper. He showed up in the recording studio toothless, emaciated and looking like an 80-year-old man. In the soaring chorus, Staley harmonizes with Cantrell on lines that spell out the catch-22 that defined his final years: Whats my drug of choice? Layne was very into his artwork during his later years, frequently buying art supplies that were scattered around his home. How close do you think that was to us, Ann? ", He then goes says his heroin habit was to blame, and he was well past the point of shooting up for fun. In 1988, Layne Staley met Demri Lara Parrot, a model who would eventually become a grunge icon. I didn't want my fans to think that heroin was cool.". ", "I think people would be surprised that he [Staley] was raised in the Christian Science Sunday School for twenty years," his mother, Nancy McCallum, said to Alternative Nation in 2015. .addService(googletag.pubads()); "name": "Layne Staleys Haunting Wedding That Never Was Will Break Your Heart" Gallagher had been friends with Staley since 1986, even living with him and Sleze bassist Mike Mitchell for a period in the 80s. The couple was defined as soulmates and everyone admired their passionate relationship. Its okay! Alice In Chains: The Untold Story author David de Sola shared some information with Alternative Nation about the wedding that never came to be between Staley and Parrott, and how the planned site of the wedding eventually was where a much sadder event took place. Thats terrible, Mom. The story of his decline began on July 3, 1996, after Staley left the stage following a warm-up set for KISS. By this point he had quit [Alice In Chains], he had lost most of his teeth, and weighed barley 100 pounds. Starr himself had drug issues and, like Staley, succumbed to their power. Topics He'd been dead for weeks, still cradling a full syringe of heroin. I didnt own the album because I didnt have to; if you spent time in a dorm in 1996 and 97, all you heard was Sublime, Odelay, and Dave Matthews Band. Then, two things changed. They are not my friends.. Fortunately for Staley, Elmer appeared to be a pretty decent stepdad and even played a large role in getting young Staley into music. "Don' try to talk about this to my sister Liz. She also created a path for herself as a model, artist, muse, and actress who died of a drug overdose on October 29, 1996, at the age of 27. "In 5thgrade, he [Staley] borrowed his Uncle Bob's trumpet, so that was his first instrument," said Nancy McCallum, Staley's mother, according to Northwest Music Scene. }); .addService(googletag.pubads()); Diffuser says that after they realized the singer hadn't spent money in a strange amount of time, Staley's mother gave the police permission to breach his door. They found the deceased singer sitting upright, surrounded by drugs and drug paraphernalia, cans of spray paint, spent needles, and unspent cash, all illuminated by a flickering TV. Neither Demri's mother nor Layne's stepfather have been able to confirm that. He looked like an 80-year-old version of himself, Seattle music journalist Jeff Gilbert told Prato. Jane's Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro recently tweeted about late Alice In Chains frontman Layne Staley and Layne's girlfriend Demri Parrott, who died in 1996. She did not use heroin until with him. } Im telling you: Demri was here last night. Demris mother, Kathleen Austin, heard this story from Mike Starr after Laynes death and relayed the story to David de Sola (and it was corroborated by Jason Buttino). The server responded with {{status_text}} (code {{status_code}}). She then ignored directions from the officer on the scene to stay outside, entered the house, and sat next to her son's body. But when theres 20,000 people out there, just loving everything, and just dancing around with smiles, nothing can stop that.. 3. In Greg Pratos Grunge is Dead, Laynes mother Nancy revealed that Layne was a video game freak. He had a big screen TV, 5 games 5 different gamers. She was adopted by her stepfather Stephen John Parrott. She says she hopes that her son's music will shed light on the disease of addiction that ultimately took his life. Money goes to the Therapeutic Health Services (THS), which runs the Layne Staley Memorial Fund. } "He would get so angry at me, he would be ready to get out of the goddamn moving car. By the time Staley actually was a star, he traded in the poufy-haired bravado of glam for the vein-popping gutter grime of Alice In Chains. Demri's biological paternal grandfather was Beryl Gibson Dougherty (the son of Duncan M. "Dunk" Dougherty and . Ill look at the coke-fueled disaster of Oasis misbegotten epic Be Here Now, and the unlikely triumph of Radioheads dystopian prog-rock masterpiece OK Computer. Far Out Magazine details one of Layne Staley's final interviews, as published in "Layne Staley: Angry Chair." "@type": "ListItem", Of course he did." Then he relapsed again. I didn't create myself because I would have done a hell of a better job.". .addService(googletag.pubads()); Trending. Ramirez grew up on Sublime records, and based on this clip of Sublime With Rome performing the hit Wrong Way in 2010 on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, he was hired for his ability to make Nowells demise seem like a mere inconvenience that temporarily kept the band off the road. "@id": "https://www.alternativenation.net/10-surprising-stories-about-layne-staleys-reclusive-years/", But his love of Tommy Lee wasn't the only reason he swapped out his middle name. "@type": "WebPage", Alice In Chains 2.0 became a band with two lead singers, with Cantrell frequently dueting with DuVall or taking lead vocals on his own. "The opioid explosion in recent years tells me that people feel alone," she says. One of the many drenched-in-drug moments revealed in David de Sola's new book, "Alice in Chains: The Untold Story," has Cobain and Staley striking a deal while the bands were on tour in Rio de Janeiro. "It would make him madder than f***," said Nick Pollock, one of Staley's former bandmates, who claimed he used to call his buddy variations of "Rutherford" just to mess with him. (Instrumental), She Was My Girl, Pig Charmer, Anger Rising, S.O.S., Give It a Name, Thanks Anyways, 31/32.Brighten (Jerry Cantrell solo record) consists of 9 tracks: Atone, Brighten, Prism of Doubt, Black Hearts and Evil Done, Siren Song, Had to Know, Nobody Breaks You, Dismembered, Goodbye.PAYPAL: https://bit.ly/2RlNUWCWHAT IS CLASSIC ROCK? Its too late. Where some of the records might have been more Scarface, this one is more Shawshank Redemption.. You're not wrong if you're picking up on a bit of resentment at the end there. Layne Thomas Staley wasn't born Layne Thomas Staley. I dont go broke, and I do it a lot. Even as his habit kept Alice In Chains off the road and out of the studio, Staley still had more than enough money to ensure that hed always have a steady supply of the substances he craved. }, Demri Parrott was an American model. She was born Feb. 22, 1969, in Bremerton. "@id": "https://www.alternativenation.net/category/rock/deep-cuts/", But its a surprisingly decent addition to the Alice In Chains canon. He was already pretty reclusive in 1996, but after her death, there were only three recordings that I know of (Despiseley Brothers, 2 AIC songs, and a Pink Floyd cover for a movie soundtrack). Search for Bradley Nowell videos on YouTube and youll find a smattering of interview clips recorded a year or so before he died. Hes wearing gold Elvis sunglasses and talking about partying with the other bands on tour and hanging with champion skateboarder Remy Stratton. FULL FILM: https://youtu.be/qMlLfrU5fjsAlice in Chains lineup throughout the Layne Staley era consisted of Layne Staley (87 - 98), Jerry Cantre. When Nowell finally pushed his luck with heroin too far in a San Francisco hotel room on May 25, 1996, his band wasnt yet famous enough to warrant much media attention for the tragedy. Sean Kinney would try to visit Layne at his home, and he frequently called him to no avail. "@context": "http://schema.org", I invested a lot of money on treatments. Can you try to talk sense to him?, Forrest agreed to, and he and Frusciante visited Staley at his Seattle condo. "I know I'm dying," Staley is reported to have said. I never wanted [the publics] thumbs up about this fucking drug use. "I told him I was sorry this was how it turned out.". If its coming from someone, not in her obit or living in Seattle its probably not true and can certainly be verified through one of them. hp: 1, Layne Considered Sending A Demo To Jerry Cantrell. But as far as the public was concerned, Staley lived out the rest of his doomed existence as the ghost of grunges skeezy past. "position": 1, What's not known is if they finally connected. Some believe that that when Layne his ex Demri Parrott died in 1996 from Drug overdose, Layne never recovered from her death and probably what caused him to fall apart beyond repair with his drug using. Staley and Parrott, by then his fiance, went to rehab together at least once. This idea was explored to an almost nauseating degree on 1992s Dirt, an unrelentingly grim collection of songs about how people should never, ever shoot heroin. dawn to dusk. In 2011, at the age of 44, he too died of an overdose, as per Rolling Stone. googletag.defineSlot('/98948493,22548962605/alternativenation_multisize_anchor', [[728,90],[320,50]], 'div-gpt-ad-3901802-6') apstag.fetchBids({ Demri Lara Parrott Murphy (February 22nd 1969 - October 29th 1996) was an American model, artist, and muse, and an amateur actress, girlfriend and . But Staley wouldnt see or talk to his bandmate. ,{ But Staley, of course, never did. RIP Layne and Demri.. It cites reports of 76 crack cocaine-related deaths in 2002, up sharply from 46 the year before, and 80 opioid deaths compared to a milder 64 in 2001. Zack de la Rocha had quit Rage Against The Machine just a few months prior, and his bandmates were looking for a new singer. Layne told Wright, Wow, I get to perform again. Wright was preparing to fly up to Seattle to prepare the studio for Laynes return to recording when he got the called that he had died. "Since that call I always was wondering, 'Where is my dad?' We are really really lucky people Ann. As Starr stormed out, Staley begged him to stay, saying, "Not like this.