Alice in Chains: The Untold Story

While researching this book, I had hoped to interview Rick Parashar, only to discover that he had a strict policy of not giving interviews. He passed away in August 2014 as this book was in final edits. When he and his brother Raj cofounded London Bridge Studios in 1985, they created a place where many young up-and-coming local musicians could hone their craft and record their material, including Layne Staley and Jerry Cantrell in their respective pre–Alice in Chains bands. The list of bands that recorded at London Bridge from the late 1980s through mid-1990s reads like a who’s who of the era. As if this weren’t enough, Parashar’s formidable producing talents were critical for many of these bands: Alice in Chains’s demo that got them signed to Columbia Records, as well as Sap, “Would?,” and the Dirt demo; Blind Melon’s debut album; the Temple of the Dog album; and his best-known work—Pearl Jam’s Ten. It is not hyperbole to say the Seattle grunge scene would not have been what it became without Rick Parashar. My condolences to his family and friends.

Tim Branom was a wealth of information about the Music Bank and the days of Sleze, Alice ’N Chains, Gypsy Rose, and Diamond Lie. His research and personal archive from the period are the source for many of the dates for events in the story. His network of contacts was also instrumental in getting me in touch with several sources.

David Ballenger, Scott Hunt, and Darrell Vernon were encyclopedic sources of knowledge about the history, day-to-day operations, staff, and bands at the Music Bank. I’m extremely grateful to David for letting me spend some time with him in Dallas going through his records from his days running the Music Bank. His spiral-bound notebook, which guests had to sign when visiting the Music Bank, also helped confirm accounts from other sources that Demri had been to the building and thus helped date her relationship with Layne.

James Burdyshaw was a great source in his own right about the Music Bank and the early days of Alice in Chains, and he was invaluable in helping me track down other sources.

Thanks to the surviving members of Sleze/Alice ’N Chains—Johnny Bacolas, James Bergstrom, Morgen Gallagher, Byron Hansen, Nick Pollock, and Ed Semanate—who provided crucial perspectives and insights into this formative period of Layne’s life and career. I’d especially like to thank Nick Pollock for his photos from the 1985–1989 era, which included some truly historic finds. Thanks to Ron Holt and James Bergstrom for shedding light on the short-lived 40 Years of Hate project. Thanks to Paul Plumis of the Shoreline School District for taking me on a tour of the old Shorewood High School building, where Layne did his first public performance as a lead singer with Sleze in February 1985, shortly before its scheduled demolition in the summer of 2013. Thanks to the staff at Meadowdale High School in Lynnwood who helped me review Layne’s old yearbooks and provided me with the dates he was enrolled there. Thanks to Rick Throm for sharing his stories of Layne as a student and employee.

Thanks to Matt Muasau, Bobby Nesbitt, and Scott Nutter for their memories of and insights into Diamond Lie and Jerry Cantrell’s life in Tacoma before he moved to Seattle. I’d also like to thank Bobby Nesbitt for the band publicity shots that he provided.

Thanks to Randy Hauser, who, in addition to being the first to discover Alice in Chains, provided insights about the band’s early days when he was their manager and showed me his priceless collection of Polaroids from this period.

Thanks to Lori Barbero, Randy Biro, Martin Feveyear, Maureen Herman, Jimmy Shoaf, and Aaron Woodruff for their stories of Alice in Chains on tour.

Thanks to the many journalists, editors, photographers, and publishers at The Rocket, The Seattle Times, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, and Seattle Weekly who provided real-time coverage of the music scene happening in their backyard. I would also like to give credit to the reporters and editors at Rolling Stone for their coverage of Alice in Chains over the years, which I have cited extensively. I would also like to give credit to Faceculture.com for their seven-part interview with Jerry Cantrell and Sean Kinney, which is one of the best firsthand accounts of the band’s history I’ve ever found, especially about the early days.