Alice in Chains: The Untold Story

The summer of 1989 was an interesting time, just before careers were about to take off. According to Krisha Augerot, Kelly Curtis’s assistant, “It was just an epic kind of summer, where there was a lot of parties and we’d go to the beach all the time, just a fun time. A lot of socializing, and just really good times, a really hot, fun summer.” This would become the subject of the Mad Season song “Long Gone Day.” “It’s interesting that he felt the same way … Kristen Barry rented a house where Screaming Trees practiced in the basement. Her band practiced in the basement. Alice in Chains was happening. All those bands were happening.” According to the Above liner notes, the song was “inspired by those who shared this memory.” The notes mention by name Augerot, Demri, Layne and Demri’s close friend Fabiola Gonzalez, Cole Peterson and Rich Credo of the band Sweet Water, and Kristen Barry. Absent from the list was Sweet Water’s Paul Uhlir, who, according to Augerot, had an off-and-on relationship with Demri during this period.

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According to the band’s official biography from the summer of 1989, they were trying to decide if they were the “Jay Leno of heavy metal” or the “all-male Partridge Family.” The same biography notes claim that Alice in Chains is “currently the only unsigned band to receive regular airplay on KISW’s ‘New Music Hour.’” Their live credentials included opening for the Bullet Boys, Tesla, and Great White.19

“Even before we got signed, we had a lot of big shows and some arena shows through a friend of our manager’s,” Layne said. These early arena shows caused him a bit of stage fright. “I think the first time with Great White and Tesla, I was dry-heaving behind the bass cabinet. It was like halfway through the set until I actually realized where I was.”20

Press from this period shows the buzz around the band in the months before getting their record deal. KISW’s Damon Stewart, in February 1989: “To all A&R types—Alice in Chains, remember that band—they’re gonna be huge, and they RAWK!”21

Tower Records’s publication Pulse, in April 1989: “The latest conquest for the Alan/Silver team is a band called Alice in Chains. Emerging from the studio with one of the most original demos in memory, this little rat pack should have labels eating out of its hand in no time.”22

The Seattle Times, May 19, 1989: “Alice in Chains may be the next Seattle-based hard-rock band to land a major contract. Representatives of several labels, including RCA and Columbia, are set to check out the quartet at its show tonight at the Bellevue VFW Hall.”23

Don Kaye, writing in his Deathvine column for Kerrang, July 15, 1989: “This band should be huge, and I wanna say you heard it here first. Alice in Chains is the name, they’re from Seattle, and it’s sleazy, bluesy rock with needle-sharp hooks and monster riffs that would do Metallica proud. Emotive vocals, funky, dirty grooves, and a totally original yet heavy-edged sound guarantee some big things.”24

From the September 1989 edition of Rip: “Alice in Chains is rumored to be the next big thing from Seattle. The four-piece have only been together for one year and are already attracting the attention of major-label A&R departments.”25

One of their most important fans during this period was Don Ienner, who had recently been hired as president of Columbia Records. “I flipped out the first time I heard their demo tape,” he said. Timing was also a critical factor. The buzz around Alice in Chains happened when the label was trying to get a foothold in the hard rock/heavy metal market. “They came to us at a time when we were hungry for music,” Ienner told Rolling Stone. Another crucial business ally at this early point in their career was Nick Terzo, a rep who had been involved in the band’s music publishing and who later joined Columbia’s A&R team. “Everybody thought I was getting the worst of the bunch. But to me they were a diamond in the rough.”26

It was a slow start on the business side. Ken Deans and Sean Kinney estimated that negotiations between the band and CBS Records went on for about eight months by the time the deal was signed.27

“We had good managers and great lawyers, and we were trying to retain things that you can’t usually keep when you’re a new band,” Sean explained.

“Like your publishing,” Jerry added.

“We were fortunate to do that, but … when you’re young like that, you’re like, ‘Fuck! Let’s just do this. We’re gonna get a record deal,’” Sean said. “But we waited it out, and it ended up working out for us.”28