,{ At his side are two beautiful women, looking at him adoringly. I am interested in rock music, creative writing, drama, and yoga. By the next year, the band's dark and deeply pained breakthrough album, "Dirt," was rife with references to the drug. Demri was born in Bremerton, Kitsap County, Washington, in the United States of America's Pacific Northwest. Where some of the records might have been more Scarface, this one is more Shawshank Redemption.. .defineSizeMapping(mapping1) Staley was on the sofa, illuminated by a flickering television. But when theres 20,000 people out there, just loving everything, and just dancing around with smiles, nothing can stop that.. Best of 2022 Top 250 Movies Most Popular Movies Top 250 TV Shows Most Popular TV Shows Most Popular Video Games Most Popular Music Videos Most Popular Podcasts. Layne and Mark Lanegan Discussed Collaborating, We talked about [working together] from time to time, Mark Lanegan told CDNow in April 2002. That same year, Alice In Chains played its final shows with Staley, performing on MTV Unplugged in Aprilthe bands first concert in three yearsand several dates with the newly reunited Kiss, ending with a gig in Kansas City on July 3, 1996. Staley created a personal shrine in the recording studio featuring a dead puppy in a jar that he used for inspiration as he crooned lyrics like "Stick your arm for some real fun.". He was traveling with a bodyguard hired specifically to keep his drug use in check, but after the show he overdosed. According to David de Solas book Alice In Chains: The Untold Story, Layne Staley believed that the ghost of his late girlfriend Demri Parrott visited him just days before his April 2002 death. "Demri was here last night," Staley allegedly said. I never wanted [the publics] thumbs up about this fucking drug use. People who knew both of them well generally agree (and told me) that Layne never got over Demris death. "This music Layne was writing a warning. To anyone with a passing knowledge of Staleys life and music, his downfall played out like the worst kind of endingdistasteful, depressing, and all too predictable. If you have a better quality version of this photo please send it! 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. When I got there, Layne answered the door and he was back to the old Layne. Layne turned a corner with two strippers into a hallway crowded with cops. googletag.defineSlot('/98948493,22548962605/alternativenation_multisize_sidebar_1', [[300,600],[300,1050],[300,250]], 'div-gpt-ad-3901802-7') RIP Layne and Demri.. "itemListElement": [ .addService(googletag.pubads()); timeout: 2000 }, *Rain When I Die. The end everyone saw coming had finally arrived. For the bands cover design, Layne Staley provided the artwork, even painting his girlfriend Demri Parrott on the cover, when approaching the band with the design they quickly agreed with it. It was later reported that the shooter believed that Pantera was reading his mind, which suggests that the famously affable Abbott was perhaps too good at connecting with fans. "I believe that there's a wonderful place to go to after this life, and I don't believe in eternal damnation for anyone," he said to Rolling Stone in 1996. One of the purely amusing anecdotes de Sola shares concerns the night the Music Bank, the rehearsal warehouse where the band rented space, was raided in 1988. Of course he did." Whether you believe it or not, it's a hauntingly beautiful story. He reminds me of my friends from high school, who returned home from the first year of college in the summer of 1997 blasting nothing but the Sublime record. 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. I didn't create myself because I would have done a hell of a better job.". Im not going to quit doing drugs. "The opioid explosion in recent years tells me that people feel alone," she says. Much of the interview deals with his ongoing experiences with heroin addiction, which he claims were about to take his life. My liver is not functioning and Im throwing up all the time and shitting my pants. The frontmans ex-fiance passed away because of a drug overdose on October 29, 1996, at Evergreen Hospital in Kirkland, Washington. .addService(googletag.pubads()); Hes always been dead as far as most people are concerned. The2002 Rolling Stone article claimed that thedeath of ex-girlfriend Demri Parrott was one of the catalysts for Layne Staley's collapse into an isolated, drug-fueled existence that ultimately claimed his life. The engagement was called off, but she did pick out a dress. .defineSizeMapping(mapping2) Cover for 'Alice and Chains: The Untold Story,' by David de Sola. Still, its the brand name that puts butts in the seats, and Alice In Chains has drawing power; Black Gives Way To Blue sold 126,000 copies its first week, good for a Billboard debut at No. But soon he was caught in an inescapable trap that led to his premature death in 2002. "position": 4, { "The same s--t was going on again.". Staley and Parrott met in 1988 while she was working at a store called Saturdays. She was adopted by her stepfather Stephen John Parrott. { ], Though DuVall obviously apes Staley whenever his voice meshes with Cantrell on one of those ominous, crypt-keeper choruses, at least Black Gives Way To Blue doesnt ignore the track-mark-covered elephant in the room. FULL FILM: https://youtu.be/qMlLfrU5fjsAlice in Chains lineup throughout the Layne Staley era consisted of Layne Staley (87 - 98), Jerry Cantrell (87 - 98), Sean Kinney (87 - 98), Mike Starr (87 - 93) \u0026 Mike Inez (93 - 98).Alice in Chains post-Layne Staley has consisted of William DuVall (06 - Present), Jerry Cantrell (05 - Present), Sean Kinney (05 - Present) \u0026 Mike Inez (05 - Present).The We Die Young EP consists of three tracks: We Die Young, It Ain't Like That, Killing Yourself.Facelift consists of twelve tracks: We Die Young, Man in the Box, Sea Of Sorrow, Bleed The Freak, I Can't Remember, Love, Hate, Love, It Ain't Like That, Sunshine, Put You Down, Confusion, I Know Somethin (Bout You), Real Thing.Sap consists of 5 tracks: Brother, Got Me Wrong, Right Turn, Am I Inside, Love Song.Dirt consists of 13 tracks: Them Bones, Dam That River, Rain When I Die, Down in a Hole, Sickman, Rooster, Junkhead, Dirt, God Smack, Iron Gland, Hate to Feel, Angry Chair, Would?Jar of Flies consists of 7 tracks: Rotten Apple, Nutshell, I Stay Away, No Excuses, Whale \u0026 Wasp, Don't Follow, Swing on This.Self-titled consists of 12 tracks: Grind, Brush Away, Sludge Factory, Heaven Beside You, Head Creeps, Again, Shame in You, God Am, So Close, Nothin' Song, Frogs, Over NowThe MTV Unplugged performance consisted of 13 songs: Nutshell, Brother, No Excuses, Sludge Factory, Down In A Hole, Angry Chair, Rooster, Got Me Wrong, Heaven Beside You, Would?, Frogs, Over Now, The Killer Is Me. Alice in Chains was the first of grunge's big four to break out, but Nirvana clearly won the to-the-death competition. Layne Considered Sending A Demo To Jerry Cantrell. "name": "Home" Can you try to talk sense to him?, Forrest agreed to, and he and Frusciante visited Staley at his Seattle condo. They broke up, in part because she couldn't accept his relentless womanizing. You dont get the same singular experience listening to Godsmack (which took its name from a Dirt track), Staind, or Creed, who adopted the superficialities of Alice In Chains sonic and thematic signposts and reconfigured them into interchangeably angsty and thuddingly poppy plop-metal. 5. I dont wanna see people anymore and its nobodys business but mine.. 3. What's not known is if they finally connected. Courtney Love, center, tried to chase down Staley following the death of Kurt Cobain (r.), to see if he might've known something about the mysterious circumstances surrounding Cobain's death. } This past Saturday was the 20th anniversary of the death of Demri Parrott, Layne Staley's ex-fiance. He looked like an 80-year-old version of himself, Seattle music journalist Jeff Gilbert told Prato. He insisted he wanted to play down his addiction because he was worried that wearing it on his sleeve would turn fans on to drugs, which had gone from a fun hobby to a life-threatening burden. She then ignored directions from the officer on the scene to stay outside, entered the house, and sat next to her son's body. This portable projector plays your movies in crisp, high-contrast, 1080p detailno matter where you are. Krist Novoselic, Mark Lanegan, Mike Inez & Sean Kinney Tried To Help Layne. .addSize([748, 200], [[728, 90]]) Do you think that almost hit us, Ann? On one hand, the two bands got up to some hilarious business pranking each other. 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. As an act of first-person journalism from the depths of hell, Dirt has few equals in rock history. He showed up in the recording studio toothless, emaciated and looking like an 80-year-old man. By the end, she was living with an older man who bizarrely drove her around unconscious for several hours before getting help. As for fans that object to another man heading up Sublime, Ramirez seems content to play the haters gonna hate card. Its known that both Parrott and Staley were struggling with their drug addiction problems for a very long time until the young couples early and unexpected deaths. His will to live went with her. "I know I'm dying," Staley is reported to have said. Alice In Chains frontman Layne Staley and model Demri Parrott's relationship started as a fairytale but turned out a tragic love story that people can still remember. By the end of the year, that title would belong to Radiohead. He ended up in the hospital. 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.. That was the last time Staley would do a major tour. As Layne sat there and Ann was swimming, a huge meteor went over them and it lit up Laynes face. Search for Bradley Nowell videos on YouTube and youll find a smattering of interview clips recorded a year or so before he died. There will always be haters, he said in an interview with budZtv in 2010. "He finally kicked heroin use, and I'm still fighting," the singer said. "Don' try to talk about this to my sister Liz. "itemListElement": [ In 2011, at the age of 44, he too died of an overdose, as per Rolling Stone. dawn to dusk. googletag.cmd.push(function() { Learn More{{/message}}, {{#message}}{{{message}}}{{/message}}{{^message}}It appears your submission was successful. Cobain agreed to pay for the product if Staley shouldered the cost of having it flown in. "It was only five or six shows, and by the end of the last one, it was cops, ambulances, and, 'Get on the plane! Johns a guitar player. Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready remembered this version of Staley being funny and lucid, and without a doubt he was not reluctant to be a star.. On the other, Staley's affair with heroin got serious fast. 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. googletag.cmd.push(function() { From rough beginnings to the deadly experiences with hard drugs that stole his prime and took his life to his final years as a recluse, these are the tragic details of one of rock history's greatest voices. .addSize([0, 0], [[300, 250], [336, 280]]) According to The Book Of Rock Lists by Dave Marsh and Kevin Stein (1981 ed. "position": 3, Learn More{{/message}}. } adServer: 'googletag', Alice in Chains was opening for Van Halen on tour in 1991 when Staley, prompted by Parrott,. Demris friend Amber Ferrano denied the claims saying: It started after she died. He was reporting on his own ongoing dissolution, giving the play-by-play on his soul being ripped away from him. In fact, it was his accountants who first noticed something might've been up. The pain is more than you can handle. Perry Farrell and Kurt Cobain and all those guys did drugs, and Brad wanted to see what it was like. By the time Sublime was in the studio recording its self-titled third record, Nowell was in such rough shape that producer Paul Learyno stranger to substance abuse as a founding member of Butthole Surferssent him home before the record was completed. 9. googletag.pubads().disableInitialLoad(); Following his death in 2002, Screaming Trees frontman told Rolling Stone, He never recovered from Demris death. Staley was playing video games while they talked, and pretended to listen according to Forrest. ROCK IS DEAD? .addSize([990, 200], [[728, 90], [970, 90], [970, 250]]) .addService(googletag.pubads()); Club tells us, the year 1996 seems to have marked the start of his slow, sad downfall. ", At this point, Staley was too weak to fight on and admitted to having accepted that the drug would get the better of him sooner or later. Brown heroin stains led from the bathroom to the living room. Actually, the best of times was when everyone was just strung out on booze, coke and sex the basic musts on any rocker's CV. He was also a serious heroin addict, a habit inspired in part by wanting to mimic his heroes. ", The Tragic Real-Life Story Of Layne Staley, this Alice In Chains interview with Rockline. 1 most spectacular death in rock history ended the life of singer Johnny Ace, whose biggest hit, Pledging My Love, surged to the top of the Billboard rhythm and blues chart about two months after his untimely demise on Christmas day 1954. *Referenced briefly in "Don't Follow" ("Forgot my woman, lost my friends / Things I'd done and where I've been") *Referenced in "Again" ("Your weak will won't help her heal her heart") -- Demri was suffering from . Thats terrible, Mom. I think maybe the percentage has been a bit inverted [on the new album]. I think theres always been a little bit of death trip element [and a] survivor element, DuVall told Rolling Stone. .addService(googletag.pubads()); Alternative Nation published a similar article in September 2014, but we are now publishing a new version with a couple of new stories. apstag.init({ "I never wanted to end my life this way," he continued, lamenting but ultimately accepting his decision to start using crack cocaine and heroin years before. 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. "He would get so angry at me, he would be ready to get out of the goddamn moving car. Even sadder, Seattle Weekly says Staley's death contributed to the reversal of an encouraging decline in drug overdoses in the Seattle area. They had chosen Kiana Lodge on Bainbridge Island as the wedding venue, thats why the private invitation-only memorial service for Laynes family and close friends was held there in 2002. "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. Staley's final public performance was in Kansas City, Mo., in 1996. Don't leave like this.". Gallagher had been friends with Staley since 1986, even living with him and Sleze bassist Mike Mitchell for a period in the 80s. ", He then goes says his heroin habit was to blame, and he was well past the point of shooting up for fun. According to "sources close to the band," Staley lost his 27-year-old ex-girlfriend, Demri Parrott, to a heroin overdose later that same year. Staley was found dead, toothless and weighing only 86 pounds, in his Seattle apartment in 2002. Would you agree, because I kind of would after reading from many of the fan theories? I just believe that I'm not the greatest power on this earth. googletag.pubads().disableInitialLoad(); pubID: '434bb5e4-3704-4b75-b36c-785a444462bd', timeout: 2000 },