AboutBrett Collins Expertise I can answer most questions, when it comes to general info about the band. I`m a big fan of the music and have read quite a bit of info on them and the late Layne Staley.
Experience My experience in this area comes from a love for the band, and everything about them. I also have worked in radio as an announcer for almost ten years. So I bring with me just a more than average knowledge of music especially my favorite "Alice in Chains".
Publications I do music research for the radio station I work at in Canada. So nothing I have done has appeared in any publications but on the station it does all the time.
Expert: Brett Collins Date: 5/9/2008 Subject: alice in chains reserch paper
Question do you know if the band broke up? do you know what influenced them to start there band? what were some of the struggles the band went through(drugs, media)? when did the band form? what influence did the media have on Alice in chains? thank you for your time.
Answer Hi..
The band never really officially broke up because they wanted Layne to get better and come back. They seperated in 94/95 for a bit after cancelling the tour with Metallica.
They all played in other bands before the original alice lineup in around 88. Layne played drums for a while and then was singing in some bands and also lived and rehearsed at a place where bands would go to play and hangout called the Music Bank. There was an idea to use the band name with some other guys before he met Jerry Cantrell. But they never used it and so Layne met Jerry and Sean, and took the name with him for the Alice in Chains lineup.
The band went thru so many struggles, alot of then were only kept between the band and a few select people. They don't talk about all of the struggles and mostly keep it to themselves. But yes drugs were a major part of it. They all had their own struggles when it came to that. Even the orginal bassist Mike Starr, who was getting clean after Layne died. The media was a huge influence on the guys, because they printed all the dirt about the drugs and stuff. That's why Layne never took the media seriously, because that is all they wanted to write about. For example when Layne made the cover of Rolling Stone around 96, he apparently was trying to get clean again since the last time he tried was just before the "Alice in Chains" album in 95. The writer talked about how he saw marks on Layne in suspicious places on his body, that article really took a toll on him and everyone around him. Because they found out through the magazine what was going on with him, and he apparently was using again. His mom apparently hated that article because it confirmed that he was doing it again. Although it was a great article though for the reason that Layne did talk very freely about drugs and where he was at in that time. But things looked good for him and the band, they were touring a bit again and doing shows. Then it all stopped after Layne's girlfriend Demri passed away from a bacterial infection from the drugs she was doing. Alice went on a break, even though the band hung out at Layne's house and played video games and drank beer. They hung out and were there for each other in that moment, Layne was really sad. But they slowly began to do their own thing as Jerry did his solo debut and Mike Inez and Sean Kinney also played on Jerry's solo album and other stuff. Then in around 97 Layne moved out of his house and moved into his apartment condo. Put mostly everything into storage, and lived a much simpler and quiet recluse life. Around 2000 he didn't talk to no one. Before that he had Mark Lanagan from mad season move in with him apparently while Mark was trying to get clean. Then it was nothing, he didn't call people back and let messages pile up. He obviously didn't like going out in public, so the drugs were delivered to him. Even some of the guys in the band used to go to his building and call him, and nothin'. He showed up around 2001 to his family's house, his sister had a kid and he surprised everyone when he came out. Apparently in the last year in his time he was doing a anime cartoon for his newly born newphew.
In a nutshell that's what was going on in his life. Of course there was so much to the guy than just the drugs, his art, he wanted to write an biography, he wanted to get married, he had started his own solo album as well.
