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. Mainly, he holed up in his apartment, gaming, playing with his cat and doing drugs. Layne Staley, Demri Parrott and Debbie Murphy at the Pantera show in the Mercer Arena, Seattle. 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. Yeah we were . Layne Considered Sending A Demo To Jerry Cantrell. ", The Tragic Real-Life Story Of Layne Staley, this Alice In Chains interview with Rockline. Rooster is a spooky character study about Cantrells father fighting off demons from the Vietnam War, but it also applied to Staleys own drawn-out, unwinnable conflict. They were attached at the hip until 1994 when they split for a final time. } Layne: Nothing. Not exactly a good start to the relationship. Layne was even wearing a Metal Gear Solid video game shirt in his final public photo from Halloween 1998. It seems strange, since Staley would, of course, go on to become one of the most noteworthy figures in a genre that would present itself as the antithesis of everything bands like Mtley Cre stood for. "He was sort of a classic destroyer of hotel rooms.". ], } "item": { 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. 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. The end everyone saw coming had finally arrived. I dont wanna see people anymore and its nobodys business but mine.. In 1996, Staleys life was turned upside down when his former fiance, Demri Lara Parrott, died of a drug overdose and when she passed, so did a bit of Staley. .addSize([748, 200], [[728, 90]]) We are really really lucky people Ann. Dirt plugs you into the day-to-day slog of one addicts life; even if you don't connect with the record, you still cant help but feel a dull ache in your bones and the sting of rancid sickness in your nostrils. Brown heroin stains led from the bathroom to the living room. 5. Harder still,Nancy McCallumtold The Seattle Times that she still gets flooded with emails and letters from people all over who are experiencing addiction or love someone who is. 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. People who knew both of them well generally agree (and told me) that Layne never got over Demris death. .addService(googletag.pubads()); He wanted a teddy bear that Demri had had with her in hospital. Demri was born in Bremerton, Kitsap County, Washington, in the United States of America's Pacific Northwest. } I am interested in rock music, creative writing, drama, and yoga. I know Im dying, he starkly told Rubio. Much of the interview deals with his ongoing experiences with heroin addiction, which he claims were about to take his life. "name": "Home" The last time Kathleen Austin Demris mother saw Layne was in 1997. ] As recounted by Rick Anderson of Seattle Weekly, Staleys body was found sitting upright on the couch, his remains illuminated by a flickering television in an otherwise darkened room. var mapping1 = googletag.sizeMapping() googletag.defineSlot('/98948493,22548962605/alternativenation_multisize_anchor', [[728,90],[320,50]], 'div-gpt-ad-3901802-6') "I'm not doing well," the singer said. The Book Of Rock Lists gave Aces death most spectacular distinction based on a piece of mistaken information, repeating the legend that the shadowy balladeer killed himself during a game of Russian roulette played backstage at the City Auditorium in Houston between holiday shows with Big Mama Thornton. Demri Parrott was an American artist who was born on February 22, 1969. He said he was going back to treatment and then going to LA to do the audition in a couple of months. I had the chance to throw out all this anger by the music in order to help others. There was a stash of cocaine and two crack pipes on the table. Two years later, Alice In Chains briefly reunited to record the songs Get Born Again and Died for a boxed set. googletag.defineSlot('/98948493,22548962605/alternativenation_multisize_top_1', [[300,250],[336,280],[728,90],[970,90],[970,250]], 'div-gpt-ad-3901802-1') "@type": "ListItem", "name": "10 Surprising Stories About Layne Staley’s Reclusive Years" It took Layne Staley, Alice in Chains' lead singer, a while longer to kill himself with a speedball. Next } }); Cover for 'Alice and Chains: The Untold Story,' by David de Sola. Mike Starr said he was going to be best man at Layne and Demris wedding. Topics Producer Dave Jerden watched as Staley disintegrated after a dressing-down from Cantrell: "Layne, who had such a strong personality, had completely turned into this nothing.". "itemListElement": [ .addSize([990, 200], [[728, 90], [970, 90], [970, 250]]) Nevertheless, Alice In Chains has lived on like few bands of its time, and even in death Staley is still among the most vital singers youre likely to hear on the local modern-rock station. 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. During those years, Staley became a recluse and barely left his apartment. Guns not loaded, see? Tillman recalled Ace saying as he pointed it at his head and, with a smile, pulled the trigger. They are not my friends.". *Rain When I Die. in 1998 that he and the other guys in Alice frequently hung out with Staley at his place, playing video games and having a grand old time. I just believe that I'm not the greatest power on this earth. ,{ However, they decided to break up after a few years while people were waiting for an announcement about their wedding. In 1988, Layne Staley met Demri Lara Parrot, a model who would eventually become a grunge icon. hp: 1, According to this Alice In Chains interview with Rockline on July 19, 1999, Staley wrote the song "Get Born Again" to target what he saw as "religious hypocrisy." "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. I know Im near death, Staley continued. apstag.init({ Money, status, nothing to me, Staley sings, though thats not completely trueits the money and status that allow him to live this way. .addService(googletag.pubads()); In 2011, at the age of 44, he too died of an overdose, as per Rolling Stone. He'd been dead for weeks, still cradling a full syringe of heroin. Demri was born in Bremerton, Kitsap County, Washington, in the United States of America's Pacific Northwest. Because he'd been a recluse for so long, friends and family who might've found him earlier didn't think it was particularly odd they hadn't heard from him during that time. Movies: Now more than ever. The difference on Black Gives Way To Blue was, as the title suggested, a shift in perspective. This portable projector plays your movies in crisp, high-contrast, 1080p detailno matter where you are. Demri was passionate about many things and excelled in art and theater. 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. Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. ", He then goes says his heroin habit was to blame, and he was well past the point of shooting up for fun. Its okay! Days passed before his accountant sent up an alert that Staley hadn't been withdrawing any money. apstag.init({ Alternative Nation published a similar article in September 2014, but we are now publishing a new version with a couple of new stories. "position": 3, The server responded with {{status_text}} (code {{status_code}}). Alice in Chains was opening for Van Halen on tour in 1991 when Staley, prompted by Parrott, started using. }); The 20th anniversary of the death of late Alice In Chains frontman Layne Staleys girlfriend Demri Parrott was over the weekend. "There is no f-----g way I'm going to do that," he shouted. Less sympathetic listeners might dismiss Junkhead as the empty lamentation of a rock-star addict, but Staley wasnt looking for pity. An appearance at Cypress Hills Smokeout Festival followed in October, and the bands first tour commenced in April 2010. I know why youre here. Equally important for Sublimes success was the element of mans-man machismo, which was spelled out on the album cover depicting a hulking and shirtless Nowell standing with his back to the camera and exposing his large Sublime tattoo. But that was contingent on him having the energy and focus to be able to work, and I guess that didnt materialize., 5. She said he looked like a kid again, and at that moment there was no darkness in his life. Rare pictures show her to be dark-featured and pretty, with long black hair and dark eyes. This was neither the beginning nor the end of Staleys sufferings that he was trying to get rid of it for years. ], (1969-1996) model, artist, grunge icon, beautiful soul How close do you think that was to us, Ann? Then, two things changed. She was adopted by her stepfather Stephen John Parrott. At that point, Staley had already been to rehab after an intervention. complete: 1, Layne Believed Girlfriends Ghost Visited Him Just Prior To His Death. The show goes on, but Layne Staley and Bradley Nowell are still in the spotlight. Staley had actually died on April 5, 2002 eight years to the day after fellow Grunge rock frontman Kurt Cobain had taken his own life but his body wasn't found until April 19,according to Ultimate Classic Rock. dawn to dusk. Starr, after a stint on VH1's "Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew" and "Sober House," overdosed on prescription drugs in 2011. Thinking about both of them yesterday and today, and what might have been. Despite his numerous attempts to get clean, Staleys body was discovered in his Seattle condo, with toxicology reports finding his death was the result of an accidental overdose. But everyone starts somewhere. Demri's obituary. If it had been a novel, a good editor would have cut out all the monotonous material about Staley holing up for years in his apartment, so sick that he made his busy corps of dealers bring drugs to his front door, and finished the story closer to 1996, the year he unofficially limped away from the world and Alice In Chains, then one of the biggest hard-rock bands in the land. ] Who doesnt want to go to a concert to hear their favorite songs, regardless of whos singing or whos playing it? I don't live his lifestyle, so his house isn't the healthiest place to be around. By the end of the year, that title would belong to Radiohead. Starr left Staley's place later that day. complete: 1, Staley erupted, then yelled at him whenever he tried to take more pills. .addService(googletag.pubads()); pubID: '434bb5e4-3704-4b75-b36c-785a444462bd', This portable projector plays your movies in crisp, high-contrast, 1080p detailno matter where you are. Now touring as Sublime With Rome, Gaugh and Wilson are playing their old songs with Rome Ramirez, a singer born the same year that Sublime played its first show. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357). An eyewitness account from Thorntons bassist Curtis Tillman contradicts this story. The group didnt release another album with Staley following their eponymous third studio album in 1995, which gave Alice In Chains their first number one record in the United States. RIP Layne and Demri.. In 1993, when the band was touring in support of "Dirt," Staley would walk offstage midsong to get high. I felt so sad for him, and I missed him. var googletag = googletag || {}; And I thought, oh, for heaven sake, listen to his music. The book notes he was missing teeth and struggling to breathe. 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. He said, In his arm? Its too late. Now for the more positive things: Demri Parrott (which I recently found out was pronounced Puh-Row) was described by everyone who knew her as a bubbly, charismatic and beautiful girl. Close to a dozen more stints in rehab were in his future. Both Jerry Cantrell, the other engine driving Alice in Chains, and drummer Sean Kinney openly talk about their sobriety these days, but are none too specific about the substances, other than booze, at the source of their addictions. Description: Demri Lara Parrott Murphy (February 22nd 1969 - October 29th 1996) was an American model, artist, and muse, and an amateur actress, girlfriend and later fiance of Alice in Chains singer Layne Staley. .addService(googletag.pubads()); googletag.defineSlot('/98948493,22548962605/alternativenation_multisize_content_3', [[336,280],[300,250]], 'div-gpt-ad-3901802-5') Of course he did." Learn More{{/message}}. 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. As Starr stormed out, Staley begged him to stay, saying, "Not like this. In a lawsuit filed after Staley's death, his mother, Nancy Layne McCallum, alleged that at one point in the mid-'90s, her son tried to withdraw from the band to take care of his issues, but Silver forcefully pointed out that if he did, he would be putting 40 people out of work. 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 wore vintage costumes, long skirts with docs, lots of vintage style 30s and 40s jewelry. A stiff cocktail of drugs composed of cocaine, codeine, and morphine was rattling around his ravaged, 86-pound frame. 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. "name": "Home" But those successes, which include singles like What I Got and Santeria frontloaded in the first half of the record, made Sublime a leftfield and shockingly prescient smash, predicting and capitalizing on musical trends that were just taking hold when Nowell died. schain: { Its not AC/DC roaring back to life with Brian Johnson on Back In Black, but its not the embarrassment it seemed destined to be either. 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). "itemListElement": [ But all too often, McCallum doesn't know what to say; she's just another grieving parent whose kid happened to be famous and touch lives. Austin got that bear back after it was found in Laynes things after his death. 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. { By early 2001, it had been a couple of years since he had seen his old friend, so he was very surprised when he ran into him at a party. But its a surprisingly decent addition to the Alice In Chains canon. 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.. However, she goes on to say that her late son was "shocked to find that God isn't going to dig you out of every tunnel that you put yourself in to. I can get by without them. I know he was joking, but I dont like to hear stuff like that. Kinney claims he had an alter ego he called Steve who would stand on a chair in an upscale restaurant and pee on the dessert cart or methodically pour beer into the sconces lining a hotel hallway for the pleasure of seeing them explode seconds later. He was traveling with a bodyguard hired specifically to keep his drug use in check, but after the show he overdosed. 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. Here he is backstage on the Warped Tour looking like one of the many shirtless, deeply tanned, and blond bros lurking in the audience. Dont try to contact any AIC (Alice in Chains) members. But while the surviving members of Alice In Chains made sure to present their band as a newly evolved entity, Sublimes Bud Gaugh and Eric Wilson are trying to pick up where they were forced to leave off in 1996, when their lead singer, Bradley Nowell, died of a heroin overdose at age 28. "He finally kicked heroin use, and I'm still fighting," the singer said. Forrest says that Staleys mind clearly still worked but that he was a million miles away., Bob: Hey Layne. googletag.defineSlot('/98948493,22548962605/alternativenation_multisize_top_2', [[336,280],[300,250]], 'div-gpt-ad-3901802-2') Layne said, Did you see that? "I promised that I would always be there for my children," she said to TheSeattle Times.