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Alice in Chains Try to Convince Fans of Life After Layne Staley
July 24, 2009 – Does Alice in Chains have legs without Layne Staley? He’s a hard act to follow. Though his last years with the band, before he died in 2002, were not considered his best work, by far, Staley remains one of the most charismatic, powerful figures in the Seattle grunge scene.

Now Alice in Chains is set to release their first album in 14 years, “Black Gives Way to Blue” on September 29.
 
Guitarist Jerry Cantrell and drummer Sean Kinney were at Virgin Records in New York unveiling the project on Tuesday.

Cantrell told MTV news, "There are songs about our relationships with each other, there are songs about my brother, there are songs I wrote for my dog, there are songs Layne wrote for his girlfriend. We didn't just write about f---ing drugs, its there, but it's an easy catchphrase and I find that that's kind of a drag sometimes living inside of that... But there are a lot of other subjects that we wrote about, and on this record there are a lot of subjects we brought to it. There's a lot to address, and from the time we stopped to where we are now, that's all on the record."

The guitarist does understand some people will never accept William DuVall as a replacement to Staley but he’s hoping for the best.  He says, "The bands changed. I get that, but some of the [questions] are kind of annoying, like, 'How could you call yourself Alice in Chains?' Well, because it's our f---ing band. And we decided as a group that we can live up to that name, and we will, and it's our choice. But it's cool that it strikes such a chord and that it's so personal to everybody, and we dig that."

That might be the problem for some older Alice in Chains fans, it is a different band. – by John Beaudin

Live’s Ed Kowalczyk Set for 8th Annual Layne Staley Tribute & Benefit Concert
July 14, 2009 – As the world mourns Michael Jackson’s death we are reminded of the plethora of dead Rock stars that left us because of drugs. One of the biggies is Layne Staley. The former Alice in Chains lead singer died from years of heroin addiction. His disturbing decline led to the singer dying, by himself, in his apartment crouched over, the victim of one last speedball. Some say he lied there for two weeks before someone finally found him.

Staley was a huge part of the Seattle’s Grunge movement and on Aug 22 friends and fans will pay tribute to the singer. The eighth Annual Tribute & Benefit Concert will feature Live’s Ed Kowalczyk and Second Coming at Showbox Market in Seattle, Washington.

Each year the show is also a birthday celebration for Staley who would have been 42 on the day of the tribute show. Appropriately or ironically he was born during the “Summer of Love” in 1967. Organizers like to look at the event as a celebration of his life while dealing with the true issue that killed him.

As with previous years all proceeds and profits from silent auctions and merchandising will go to the Layne Staley Fund which helps people battling with drug abuse.

Donations are also welcomed at

Layne Staley Fund
P.O. Box 40531
Bellevue, WA 98015

Go to the official site http://www.laynestaleyfund.com/tribute.php

Alice in Chains Finally Finish New Project
April 13, 2009 – Though Layne Staley is long gone, the band Alice in Chains has finished their long awaited album with William DuVall as lead singer and the band issued the following statement:

“As most of you who have been paying attention have already figured out, the new Alice In Chains album is finally complete. We've been in the studio since October, and since it all began we celebrated 6 major holidays, elected a new President of the United States, crowned new World Series and Super Bowl champs, endured fires, earthquakes, & blackouts in and around Los Angeles, took a 2 1/2 week break to go to Australia, and to cap it all off, William & Jerry finally euthanized their beards.

This long, arduous process is complete, and although there's still a lot of work to be done, the songs are in the can and that's the most important thing.

So what can I tell you when I look back on the last six months?

I can tell you that the monotony of 12 to 16 hour days in the studio can be broken up by multiple costumes & hair styles, hours and hours of dice games, any sort of dialogue delivered in a heavily accentuated southern drawl, and a slew of special guests dropping by the studio.

Most of all I can tell you that some amazing songs were written and recorded. From the heaviest riff-dripping gut puncher to the most sadly beautiful song I think this band has ever recorded, I honestly believe that this album will return Alice In Chains to the top of the hard rock heap.

So now the next few months are dedicated to things like album artwork, lining up interviews & press, shooting videos, planning tours, and figuring out whether to bury Jerry & William's beards at sea or donate them to science.

Hopefully these new songs will strike a chord and make a similar impact on all of you out there that were moved by this band in the first place. These songs have definitely done that with me, and frankly I'm getting pretty sick and tired of loving this stuff alone, so I can’t wait for it to be released so it'll become your favorite record of 2009 and we can discuss it at the shows.

So clear a slot in your CD shelf and schedule maternity leave from work in September, because the long drought will be over soon...

Baldy."

Alice In Chains Reunion Brings Back Memories of Layne Staley Tragedy
Oct 6, 2008 – Rock ‘n’ Roll heaven is overcrowded by music Gods who thrived as much on substance abuse as they did their own craft. Alice in Chains lost their lead singer Layne Staley on April 5, 2002. He died of a drug overdose, from a mixture of heroin and cocaine known as a speedball. He was found 14 days after his death and doctors figured the singer who was over 6 feet weighed a little over 80 pounds when he died. How does a band recover from this kind of personal storm? Especially when Staley wrote half of the songs in their catalogue. They didn’t for a while. Alice in Chains tried replacing Staley with William DuVall who had worked with Chains guitarist, Jerry Cantrell in 2006 but the timing was not right.

After much reflection the band says they are finally ready to record and tour again. DuVall is back as replacement lead singer and their first album of new material in 13 years is being recorded this month.

Band associate Baldy wrote this update on their official website. “The guys gathered in a rehearsal studio in North Hollywood for the last few days of July and the first few days of August, and began running through the new material and shaking off the rust. Then October will arrive and Alice in Chains will reconvene to record the new album. THE NEW ALBUM!!!!! FINALLY!!!!! So as 2008 winds down, band activity will be gearing up, and at some point in 2009 you'll finally hear what I've been raving about for the last several months.”

It’s hard not to reflect on Layne Staley as his bandmates reunite. I’m sure they are as well. For a guy with a long history of heroin addiction he sure could write songs. In fact many of his lyrics tackled his person struggles and addictions. Dave Jerden who produced the bands ‘Dirt’ album was shocked at Staley’s appearance during the recording of the album, saying, "Staley weighed 80 pounds.” Some industry insiders say he sometimes wore a wool ski mask to hide his face.

In his last known interview in 2002 Staley talked about his demons,  "I'm not using drugs to get high like many people think. I know I made a big mistake when I started using this shit. It's a very difficult thing to explain. My liver is not functioning, and I'm throwing up all the time and shitting my pants. The pain is more than you can handle. It's the worst pain in the world. Dope sick hurts the entire body.”

Here’s hoping the band finds that spark again. They went down some tough journey’s with their lead singer but they are the ones who survived. Alice in Chains got stuff to do. The new album is expected in early 2009. – by John Beaudin