четверг, 11 августа 2011 г.
ALICE IN CHAINS: A STEP BEYOND LAYNE'S WORLD by ROB ANDREWS
When one is offered the rare opportunity to converse with Alice In
Chains vocalist Layne Staley, that offer always comes with what might be
best called a conditional guarantee. Apparently nobody, including Staley
himself, knows exactly how communicative the mercurial frontman is going
to be on any given day. Much like his fellow Seattle resident Eddie
Vedder, Staley lives in a world of his own--a world often inhabited by
demons of all shapes and sizes. On some days those demons are friendly,
and a quick witted, almost loquacious Staley is allowed to come out and
play. But at other times those demons are nasty, and they imprison
Staley behind a veritable wall of silence and solitude. So when we sat
down with Staley for this interview, to promote AIC's latest EP, Jar Of
Flies, it was with the words of the band's publicist still ringing in
our ears; "If you find him uncooperative, you can always speak to Mike
Starr." Thankfully, ol' Layne was on his best behavior this day.
HP=Hit Parader LS=Layne Staley
HP: First off, where did the title Jar Of Flies come from?
LS: It came from a science experiment (AIC guitarist) Jerry Cantrell did
when he was in the third grade. They gave him two jars full of flies.
One of the jars they overfed, the other jar they underfed. The one they
overfed flourished for a while, then all the flies died from
overpopulation. The one they underfed had most of the flies survive all
year. I guess there's a message in there somewhere. Evidently that
experiment had a big impact on Jerry.
HP: How do you think the fans who got off on the heavy riffs of your
first two albums will react to the softer side of the band pressofter
side of the band
LS: To be honest, we don't really concern ourselves with that. It's
great if the fans love what we do and the guys at the record company
like it. But the bottom line is that we've got to love it. We had just
gotten off the road where we had traveled something like 50,000 miles,
and played ear-blasting music every night. We just wanted to go into the
studio for a few days with our acoustic guitars and see what happened.
We never really planned on the music we made at that time to be
released. But the record label heard it, and they really liked it. It
was more their idea to release it than it was ours. For us, it was just
the experience of four guys getting together in the studio and making
some music.
HP: Is this more acoustic direction something the band plans on
exploring more in the future?
LS: Maybe. We never plan anything like that. When we get together and
start writing and recording we never have any idea where it's going.
That's part of the fun. You've got as good a guess as we do where this
band will be a year from now. My guess is that we'll be cranking it up
again on the next record, but who knows?
HP: Alice In Chains have become media darlings over the last two years.
Do you enjoy that kind of attention?
LS: Honestly, it really makes no difference to us. If we're on MTV or
magazine covers or not has absolutely no impact on the music we make.
Sometimes I wish all those people would just go away. Most of them don't
really seem that interested in the music, they just want to stick their
nose in where it doesn't belong. We try to be real nice and friendly to
people, but sometimes they take advantage of that.
HP: You don't think the press has been fair with you?
LS: I really don't think about it one way or the other. They can say
whatever they want. It really has no impact on me. I just don't think
they're accurate that much of the time.
HP: What has the success of the band meant to you? Have you been able to
fulfill any of your dreams through the money you've made?
LS: Yeah, actually it's been kind of cool. I always wanted to build a
studio in my home, and now I've been able to do that. When the band has
some new ideas we want to try out, now we've got a place to do it. We
don't have to worry about booking studio time or anything like that.
HP: As you look ahead, when do you imagine you might begin work on a new
album?
LS: We've already started writing new things. We're always writing. We
have a few ideas, but who knows when a record might be done? We'll go
and record when we feel we have enough material. With us, that could be
next week or next year. Actually, I'm pretty sure the way things are
going that we'll have a new album out before the year is over.
HP: When you're writing lyrics, what serves to motivate you?
LS: Just about anything and everything. I tend to write about whatever's
in my head at the moment. I can't say it's any particular thing. It's
not like I pick up the newspaper or watch the news for inspiration. It's
nothing that calculated. It could be something I feel or something I
notice around me. It's really hard to say.
HP: Do you think there'll be any extra pressure on the band this time
around considering how well your first two albums have done?
LS: Why should there be? You've got to notice the pressure before it has
any affect on you. We're kind of oblivious to things like that. We don't
look at the sale charts to see how many records we've sold. We know when
we've done something good. The only pressure this band will ever feel is
living up to our own expectations.
Biography
Alice in Chains are one of the most influential American rock bands of the early ’90s. Drawing equally from the heavy riffing of metal and the gloomy strains of grunge, the band developed a bleak, nihilistic sound that balanced grinding metallic riffs with subtly textured acoustic numbers. They were hard enough for metal fans, yet their dark subject matter and punky attack placed them among the front ranks of the Seattle-based grunge bands. While this dichotomy helped the group soar to multi-platinum status with their second album, 1992’s Dirt, it also divided them. Guitarist/vocalist Jerry Cantrell always leaned toward the mainstream, while vocalist Layne Staley was fascinated with the seamy underground. Such tension drove the band toward stardom in their early years, but following Dirt, Alice in Chains suffered from near-crippling internal tensions that kept the band off the road for the remainder of the ’90s.
Formed in 1987 by Staley, guitarist Jerry Cantrell, bassist Mike Starr, and drummer Sean Kinney, the band was first named “Alice N’ Chains”, and later changed to “Alice in Chains”. Combining the unique voice and intense delivery of Staley with the evocative songwriting and vocal harmonies of Cantrell, Alice in Chains created an immediately identifiable sound that also proved to be quite versatile as their repertoire grew to include both driving, angry rock songs and mellow acoustic compositions. The unique vocal harmonies of Staley and Cantrell included overlapping passages, and dual lead vocals. Alyssa Burrows said the band’s distinctive sound “came from Staley’s vocal style and his lyrics dealing with personal struggles and addiction”. Staley’s songs were often considered “dark”, with themes such as drug abuse, depression, and suicide, while Cantrell’s lyrics dealt more with personal relationships.
Although Alice in Chains has been labeled grunge, alternative rock, and hard rock, Jerry Cantrell identifies the band as primarily heavy metal. He told Guitar World in 1996; “We’re a lot of different things… I don’t quite know what the mixture is, but there’s definitely metal, blues, rock and roll, maybe a touch of punk. The metal part will never leave, and I never want it to”. Alice in Chains has cited musical influences such as Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, and Metallica.
Jerry Cantrell’s guitar style combines what Stephen Erlewine of All Music Guide called “pummeling riffs and expansive guitar textures” to create “slow, brooding minor-key grinds”. While down-tuned distorted guitars mixed with Staley’s distinctive “snarl-to-a-scream” vocals appealed to heavy metal fans, the band also had “a sense of melody that was undeniable,” which introduced Alice in Chains to a much wider pop audience outside of the heavy metal underground.
The band found commercial and artistic success in the early 90’s, primarily through the release of Dirt which also highlighted Staley’s increasingly apparent addiction to heroin. The band appeared on the successful lollapalooza tour in 1993 and released the Jar Of Flies EP in 1994, but often found its attempts to follow up success in the studio or on the road to be hampered by Staley’s erratic, drug-fuelled behaviour. Former Ozzy Osbourne bassist Mike Inez came to replace Starr and the band would eventually record a third studio LP as well as a performance of MTV Unplugged. Ultimately, however, Alice in Chains would fail to maintain a consistent career in the post-grunge music world and limped into hiatus when Cantrell turned his attention to solo projects (which often included contributions from Kinney and Inez). Staley finally succumbed to his affliction when he overdosed in April 2002.
Although Alice in Chains never officially disbanded, Staley became a recluse, rarely leaving his Seattle condominium following the death of his fiancée in 1996, due to bacterial endocarditis. “Drugs worked for me for years”, Staley told Rolling Stone in 1996, “and now they’re turning against me, now I’m walking through hell”. In 1998, Staley reunited with Alice in Chains to record two new songs, “Get Born Again” and “Died”. Originally written for Cantrell’s solo album, the songs were released in the fall of 1999 on box set, Music Bank. The set contains 48 songs, including rarities, demos, and previous album tracks. The band also released a 15-track compilation titled Nothing Safe: Best of the Box, serving as a sampler for Music Bank, as well as the band’s first greatest hits compilation. The band’s last official releases include a live album, simply titled Live, released on December 5, 2000, and a second greatest hits compilation, titled Greatest Hits in 2001.
After a decade battling drug addiction, Layne Staley was found dead in his condominium on April 19, 2002. An autopsy revealed Staley died from a mixture of heroin and cocaine 14 days previously. In his last interview, which was given months before his death, Staley admitted, “I know I’m near death, I did crack and heroin for years. I never wanted to end my life this way”. Cantrell, shaken by the death of his friend and band mate, dedicated his 2002 solo album, Degradation Trip, to Staley.
Jerry Cantrell, Mike Inez and Sean Kinney reformed and played shows in late 2005 and early 2006 with a variety of guest vocalists, including Billy Corgan, Pat Lachman, Wes Scantlin, Maynard James Keenan, Ann Wilson and Phil Anselmo. For their European and U.S. tours of mid-late 2006, William Duvall (Comes With the Fall) performed lead vocals.
Vocalist for Comes With the Fall, William DuVall, joined Alice in Chains as lead singer during the band’s reunion concerts. Velvet Revolver and ex-Guns N’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan also joined the band for the reunion tour, playing rhythm guitar on selected songs. Before the tour, Kinney mentioned in an interview that he would be interested in writing new material, but not as Alice in Chains. However, AliceinChains.com reported that the band has begun writing new material, with DuVall on lead vocals. In September 2009 the band released their first studio album since 1995. The album is called ‘Black Gives Way to Blue’ and is a surprisingly good album and is received worldwide with good critisism. During the last months of 2009 they tour Europe and almost everywhere the shows are sold out.
Alice in Chains has sold more than twenty million albums in the United States (and an estimated 40 million worldwide), released two number-one albums and 19 top 40 singles, and has received six Grammy nominations. The band was ranked number 34 on VH1’s 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock. Alice in Chains has had a large impact on many bands, such as Godsmack, who, according to Jon Wiederhorn of MTV, “have sonically followed Alice in Chains’ lead while adding their own distinctive edge”. Godsmack singer Sully Erna has also cited Layne Staley as his primary influence. Staind has covered Alice in Chains’ song “Nutshell” live, which appears on the compilation The Singles: 1996-2006, and also wrote a song entitled “Layne”, in Staley’s dedication, on the album 14 Shades of Grey. Other bands that have been inspired by Alice in Chains include Taproot, Puddle of Mudd, Smile Empty Soul, Creed, Nickelback, Cold and Tantric. Metallica, who originally influenced Alice in Chains, in turn said they always wanted to tour with the band, citing Alice in Chains as a major influence on the vocal melodies for Metallica’s eighth studio album St. Anger.
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