http://s255.photobucket.com/albums/hh128/taylorandwade/?action=view¤t=SHIRTLES.jpg
Quote: Whatever dramas are going on in my life, I always find that place inside my head where I see myself as the cleanest, tallest, strongest, wisest person that I can be.
He was another great rock star tragedy. Born Layne Thomas Staley to Nancy and Phil Staley in Kirkland, Washington on August 22, 1967, he was your average kid. His mother Nancy recalls this incident: “When he was two, he was standing in front of a grocery store and a dog bit him. He had lowered his jaw and the dog bit into Layne's face. He had severe bites in his cheek and his lip, and tooth marks on his throat. Something told me... you know... your instinct or what you thought would be right, it would be to grab the child away, but my instinct said: “don't touch him.” I think the dog went around Layne a little bit and realized that it wasn't another dog, it was an innocent child and it stopped! I picked Layne up; he went into shock a little bit as we were going to the emergency room. The doctor put some stitches in his cheek and... then the heating pad had to be on his pillow at night for 2 weeks and I said: “Honey, you have to leave your cheek on the heating pad so that it keeps warm and it will heal better, the doctor asked us to do that,” and I would check him in the middle of the night to be sure and... you'd expect him to be turning around and find him in all kinds of positions, but there he would be with his little cheek sleeping on the pad! I always thought that was a lot of discipline for a two year old boy, to discipline himself to do that...! “
After his parents divorced and his mother later remarried, he took the surname of his step-father, going by the name Layne Elmer until he was a teenager. He started out playing drums until he picked up a mic one night at a friend's, the rest is history.
In the mid 1980's, influenced by the band KISS, he formed his own glam band named Sleze. (slezy I know) They played mostly schools and nightclubs until Staley met guitarist Jerry Cantrell at a party in 1987. The two hit it off well, and started their own band together, known as Alice N Chainz. Layne was still singing for Sleze, but he got tired of doing both, so Jerry won the day. Later it was changed to Alice in Chains, ironically, named for a woman who had been 'chained' by drugs and had freed herself. With bassist Mike Starr and drummer Sean Kinney, the lived and practiced at the now legendary Music Bank in Seattle. It was a run down place but to the guys it was home sweet home. Layne wrote letters to his mom and tried to live a stable life, at least while he was young.
They were signed with Columbia Records in 1989. This was at a time when Seattle was becoming the new musical mecca for the US, and bands such as Nirvana, Mudhoney, Soundgarden, and Mother Love Bone (later Pearl Jam) were becoming overnight sensations.
Their first single We Die Young, written about Seattle gang violence did well, and their first smash hit was Man in the Box. Their first album Facelift went gold in 1990 and later albums also did well. In 1992, Layne broke his foot in an ATV accident that led to him using a wheelchair and crutches to perform on stage, and perform he did! On that same tour With Ozzy, bassist Mike Starr left the band to spend more time with his family, and was replaced by former Ozzy Osbourne bassist Mike Inez.
Alice in Chains appeared in the 1992 Cameron Crowe film called Singles, and their song Would? from that movie won an MTV award for Best Video from a Film. They also recorded the song A Little Bitter and What The Hell Have I for the Last Action Hero soundtrack. In 1993, their EP album Jar of Flies debuted at Number One on the Billboard 200 chart, becoming the first EP to ever do so.
Throughout the band's rise to fame, rumours of Layne's heroin use were beginning to surface, and the band ended up cancelling a 1994 summer tour with Metallica after Layne began using heroin yet again after a 1993 stay in rehab. The band was on hiatus, and Layne joined the supergroup Mad Season, which featured Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready, Screaming Trees drummer Barrett Martin, and John Baker Saunders from The Walkabouts. They had several hit songs together, such as Lifeless Dead, I'm Above, and River of Deceit.
Layne's heroin use was beginning to affect his ability to perform, so the band opted not to tour yet again in late 1995, which only added to the drug use rumors. The media was very unkind to Layne. He had a deep dislike for the media and once said: Every article I see is dope this, junkie that, whiskey this - that ain't my title.
Alice in Chains came back into the spotlight on April 10, 1996 to perform on MTV's Unplugged. Layne looked very pale and he kept his entire body covered, including his hands. July 3, 1996 was Alice in Chains final performance with Layne at a show in Kansas City, Missouri.
In October of 1996, his fiancee Demri Parrott, died as a result of bacterial endocarditis. She was also a heroin addict as well. It is considered by most people that her death pushed Layne over the final edge as it were. He became a recluse in his own condominum in Seattle's University district. He lived at 8th Avenue NE - Grandview Plaza - Unit 5C. I won't list the entire address as someone lives there now.
This is his door as it looks today (certainly NOT the door of a rockstar), his call buzzer (his was the next to last button), and his mailbox.
He rarely went out, and rarely ever allowed anyone inside. Layne did come back into public one last time in 1997, when Alice in Chains was nominated for a Grammy award for Best Hard Rock Performance for their song Again. They were nominated several times for Grammy awards but never won, unfortunately.
He did frequent a bar near his home called the Rainbow Bar & Grill (now called Fusion). The bar is located on the corner of 8th Avenue and 45th Street. According to an employee of the Rainbow, a neighborhood bar close to Staley’s condo, the singer was a frequent patron, stopping by at least once a week. 'He minded his own business,' said the employee, who wished to remain anonymous. Staley would never buy anything to drink, the employee said, but would simply sit at a small table in the back corner of the bar and 'nod off. We just left him alone'.
There were rumors that Layne had AIDS or that he stayed out of sight because he was missing fingers or that he had gangrene. None of these are true. Layne was fully intact when he passed away, and although he was very frail and ill from his prolonged heroin use, he did not have AIDS.
On April 19, 2002, a woman called Seattle police to report that she had not heard fom Staley in over two weeks. The police arrived at Layne's condo, along with Layne's mother and step-father Jim Elmer. 'When police kicked in the door to Layne Staley's University District apartment on April 20, there, on a couch, lit by a flickering TV, next to several spray-paint cans on the floor, not far from a small stash of cocaine, near two crack pipes on the coffee table, reposed the remains of the rock musician.'
The 6'1 Staley only weighed 86 pounds when his body was found. He had apparently been dead for at least two weeks. The King County coroner listed the official cuase of death as 'acute intoxication due to the combined effects of an opiate and cocaine'. Layne died after injecting what's known as a speedball, the same lethal combination that took the lives of John Belushi in 1982 and River Phoenix in 1993. What's spooky, is that the coroner ruled that Layne had died on April 5, 2002, exactly eight years to the day after Kurt Cobain took his own life.
A memorial was held on April 20, 2002 at the Seattle Center's International Fountain, where only about 200 people showed up. Flowers and candles were left along with several messages to the fallen star. His family and bandmates released this statement:
'On April 19, 2002, our friend Layne Staley was found dead in his home. The official cause of death is still unknown. Yesterday, we all managed to come together in Seattle; it's good to be with friends and family as we struggle to deal with this immense loss … and try to celebrate this immense life. We are looking for all the usual things: comfort, purpose, answers, something to hold on to, a way to let him go in peace. Mostly, we are feeling heartbroken over the death of our beautiful friend. He was a sweet man with a keen sense of humor and a deep sense of humanity. He was an amazing musician and an inspiration and comfort to so many. He made great music and gifted it to the world. We are proud to have known him, to be his friend, and to create music with him. Layne struggled greatly for the past decade. We can only hope that he has at last found some peace. We love you, Layne. Dearly. And we will miss you … endlessly.'
Layne body was cremated and a private memorial service was held for him on April 28, 2002 on Bainbridge Island in Washington's Puget Sound. It was attended only by family and friends, along with Alice in Chains members of course, and other music personalities. Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell, joined by Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart, sang a rendition of the Rolling Stones’ “Wild Horses.” His ashes were scattered on the San Juan Islands where Layne's family used to take vacations when he was a child.
Layne was regarded by many as a very funny and sweet guy, shy and quiet most of the time. He loved video games, Sonic the Hedgehog and Grand Theft Auto were among his favorites. He dearly loved his two cats, Sadie and Petey. After Layne's death, Sadie now resides with Jerry Cantrell at his Oklahoma ranch. Petey was given to a friend of Layne's several years before. He was a gifted artist, one of his drawings even being used for the cover of Mad Season's album Above.
After Layne's death, his mother started a non-profit organization to assist those with treatment and recovery from heroin addictions. The Layne Staley Fund is an awesome cause to support and Nancy is a wonderful lady. The LSF holds a tribute concert every year in August around Layne's birthday that hosts many recognizable music names, and all proceeds are donated to Thereputic Health Services of Seattle to help people overcome their addictions. Visit www.laynestaleyfund.com for all the info on this great cause!
Trivia Facts: Layne was given the nickname Blanche by Jerry because of his pale hair.
Layne and Sleze member Steve Stoner advertised drum lessons, and Layne ended up becoming a singer anyway. :-P
When Layne broke his foot in 1992, the x-ray was used on t-shirts that were sold during the tour.
In New York City, after coming across two homeless men in the streets, Layne and Jerry invited them back to their hotel room, fed them, and gave them some cash and tickets to their show.
After Layne's death, Eddie Vedder of Pearl jam wrote a song called 4/20/02 in memory of Layne and the day he heard the news. Aaron Lewis of Staind also wrote a song in Layne's memory called 'Layne''.
Layne Staley was listed at #27 on Hit Parader's list of Heavy Metal's All Time Top 100 Vocalists.
NOTES JUST FOR SCOTT NOT FAD PAGE:
The folder I attached contains all the pics you can link into the article. Please let me know if there is anything else you need.
Thanks go to my friend Natalie Drobel for the condo pics and to my best friend Machel Morton for the Rainbow Room pic and some of the facts for the article. I wish I knew where Layne was cremated but maybe you will have better luck with that. The ''unidentified woman'' everyone talks about calling the cops is so obviously Layne's mom Nancy, which you can tell from the birthdate on the incident report.
I tried not to make it too much, if you want me to do anything else to it just let know! I am honored to contribute to your site I just adore it! I'm hooked!! lol
Taylor Howard
PS: I'm having trouble getting my hands on the mailbox and pics of the Music Bank, but I should have them VERY soon and I will send them along when I get them!