As Layne sat there and Ann was swimming, a huge meteor went over them and it lit up Laynes face. Demri did not get Layne started in drugs his history was prior to her and tons of people know that.. "Demri was a fashion icon in the Seattle Grunge scene. And as we're all aware, things have hardly improved in the decades since. Courtney Love, center, tried to chase down Staley following the death of Kurt Cobain (r.), to see if he might've known something about the mysterious circumstances surrounding Cobain's death. FULL FILM: https://youtu.be/qMlLfrU5fjsAlice in Chains lineup throughout the Layne Staley era consisted of Layne Staley (87 - 98), Jerry Cantre. RIP Layne and Demri.. googletag.cmd = googletag.cmd || []; It might be the least spectacular rock death of all time, in the sense that it surprised absolutely no one, including Staley himself. From the start of Dirt, youre trapped in Staleys skin, and for the next 50 minutes there will be no escape. The two had argued over Staley's condition until Staley threatened to end the friendship if Starr reached out to the authorities. Yeah we were . This actually isnt much of a departure from the sound of Alice In Chains 1.0, which was steeped in the undead Southern-rock harmonies of Staley and Cantrell. He showed up in the recording studio toothless, emaciated and looking like an 80-year-old man. You and me., 7. The book says that former Alice bassist Mike Starr was visiting Staley the day before the singer's death. "I promised that I would always be there for my children," she said to TheSeattle Times. Diffuser says that after they realized the singer hadn't spent money in a strange amount of time, Staley's mother gave the police permission to breach his door. } sid: '1366', }); 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. Demri's biological paternal grandfather was Beryl Gibson Dougherty (the son of Duncan M. "Dunk" Dougherty and . The most vocal haters of the new Sublime were from Bradley Nowells family, which issued a statement in 2009 chastising Gaugh and Wilson for carrying on the band name without their original singer and friend. "item": { Cobain agreed to pay for the product if Staley shouldered the cost of having it flown in. The album-opening Them Bones welcomes you with the screams of a man being burned alive, and it just gets more brutal from there. .addService(googletag.pubads()); She loved creating decopage with 30s and 40s vintage style images cut outs from wrapping paper or old greeting cards. It was Brads expressed intention that no one use the name Sublime in any group that did not include him, the family said, and Brad even registered the trademark Sublime under his own name. A subsequent lawsuit forced Gaugh and Wilson to tour as Sublime With Rome, but in the end they won out over Nowells family where it mattered, finally having the ability to play for the millions of people who bought Sublime records in the years after Nowells death. Layne Considered Sending A Demo To Jerry Cantrell. I am interested in rock music, creative writing, drama, and yoga. Staley and Parrott met in 1988 while she was working at a store called Saturdays. I didn't create myself because I would have done a hell of a better job.". "@id": "https://www.alternativenation.net/category/rock/deep-cuts/", According to Greg Pratos Grunge is Dead and Mark Yarms Everybody Loves Our Town: An Oral History of Grunge, many of Laynes rocker friends refused to give up on him and still tried to see him during his reclusive years. I didnt own the album because I didnt have to; if you spent time in a dorm in 1996 and 97, all you heard was Sublime, Odelay, and Dave Matthews Band. Thinking about both of them yesterday and today, and what might have been. He didnt have a great voice, but he sang like he did, using the power of his personality to give his vocals the sunny brassiness that made Sublime songs so irresistible on the radio once 1996s Sublime brought the bands music to the masses. "He would get so angry at me, he would be ready to get out of the goddamn moving car. "@type": "ListItem", That charity fights heroin dependency in the Seattle area. That same year, Alice In Chains played its final shows with Staley, performing on MTV Unplugged in Aprilthe bands first concert in three yearsand several dates with the newly reunited Kiss, ending with a gig in Kansas City on July 3, 1996. Just as Alice in Chains became famous, Staley's girlfriend, Demri Lara Parrott, introduced him to heroin. If its coming from someone, not in her obit or living in Seattle its probably not true and can certainly be verified through one of them. Staley was on the sofa, illuminated by a flickering television. Befitting a band that preferred to work spontaneously and under the influence of strong substances, Sublime is a spotty, erratic record, with more dead ends and half-formed ideas than successes. According to Alice in Chains: The Untold Story, it was love at first sight. People who knew both of them well generally agree (and told me) that Layne never got over Demris death. This past Saturday was the 20th anniversary of the death of Demri Parrott, Layne Staley's ex-fiance. } In 1993, when the band was touring in support of "Dirt," Staley would walk offstage midsong to get high. It was therapeutic and worked [for] me for a while until my dad saw my picture printed on a magazine., The singer divulged how his father became a bad influence on him. Staley created a personal shrine in the recording studio featuring a dead puppy in a jar that he used for inspiration as he crooned lyrics like "Stick your arm for some real fun.". On April 5, 2002, Layne Staley took a speedball a combination of cocaine and heroin and passed away (via Diffuser). Sublime proved to be an ideal band for a generation that approached rock music with an irreverent, hip-hop-inspired sensibility. apstag.setDisplayBids(); googletag.pubads().refresh(); Kaths death was good for only No. David de Sola writes that Staley would fly into a minor rage whenever someone referred to him by that name. Not exactly a good start to the relationship. Brown heroin stains led from the bathroom to the living room. "@type": "ListItem", Rare pictures show her to be dark-featured and pretty, with long black hair and dark eyes. It cites reports of 76 crack cocaine-related deaths in 2002, up sharply from 46 the year before, and 80 opioid deaths compared to a milder 64 in 2001. "name": "Rock Features" Gold Standard: Oscars edition - Best Director. .build(); Fortunately for Staley, Elmer appeared to be a pretty decent stepdad and even played a large role in getting young Staley into music. Perry Farrell and Kurt Cobain and all those guys did drugs, and Brad wanted to see what it was like. By the time Sublime was in the studio recording its self-titled third record, Nowell was in such rough shape that producer Paul Learyno stranger to substance abuse as a founding member of Butthole Surferssent him home before the record was completed. The couple was defined as soulmates and everyone admired their passionate relationship. "position": 3, "@type": "WebPage", He never recovered from Demris death. Kurt Cobain short-circuited death by heroin with a shotgun blast to the head in 1994. "@type": "ListItem", He was down in a hole so deep he couldnt hope to hit bottom. } However, that defensiveness had nothing to do with personal embarrassment. He'd been dead for weeks, still cradling a full syringe of heroin. "position": 2, "position": 2, Much farther down on the most spectacular rock deaths list is Layne Staley of Alice In Chains. "This music Layne was writing a warning. Fuck it, fight it, its all the same, Nowell sang on What I Got, and it was a message that resonated with millions of people that had no idea that they were bobbing their heads to a happy-go-lucky dead guy. asi: 'theadengine.com', googletag.cmd.push(function(){ In fact, it was his accountants who first noticed something might've been up. The lesson of Black Gives Way To Blue, at least as it applies to the SoCal pot-rock band Sublime, is that there really is life after death in 90s rock, provided you can retain enough of your old sound to convince people to move forward with you. apstag.fetchBids({ "When Sean got lit he was pretty unstoppable," a friend says. Best of 2022 Top 250 Movies Most Popular Movies Top 250 TV Shows Most Popular TV Shows Most Popular Video Games Most Popular Music Videos Most Popular Podcasts. "name": "Home" 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. At one point, Staley was even informed that his old man had passed away, although this wasn't true. Layne: Nothing. Seattle Weekly describes the tragic scene when police kicked in the door to Layne Staley's condo in Seattle's University District on April 19. Ive never heard someones voice hit the tape like that. .addSize([0, 0], [[300, 250], [336, 280]]) Its too late. timeout: 2000 }, On the rare occasions that he ventured out of his home, where he gorged on videogames whenever he wasnt gorging on drugs, Staley cut a hard figure: Abscesses covered his arms, and hed lost most of his teeth. 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Taproot were recording a new album with Alice In Chains producer Toby Wright in 2002, and wanted Layne Staley to sing on a song, according to Mark Yarms book Everybody Loves Our Town: An Oral History of Grunge. 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. .defineSizeMapping(mapping1) You're not wrong if you're picking up on a bit of resentment at the end there. Part of what makes Dirt an impressive artistic achievement is that much of the album was written or co-written by Cantrell, who performed a sort of method songwriting by infusing a junkies hopelessness and guttural desperation even into songs that didnt directly address addiction. apstag.init({ .addService(googletag.pubads()); William DuVall later replaced Staley and Duff McKagan joined on rhythm guitar. "item": { { My strengths and my talent are my title," he said. Whether you believe it or not, it's a hauntingly beautiful story. The host focuses on a section of his studio `gallery and makes references to those who have `crossed over.He also conducts one-on-one sessions with audience members and celebrity guests., While watching Crossing Over, Layne turned to Mike and said, Demri was here last night. Whether or not he still spoke to his bandmates was also up for debate. Forrest says that Staleys mind clearly still worked but that he was a million miles away., Bob: Hey Layne. Staley couldnt bring himself to join Cantrell on stage after being asked, and a photo taken of him backstage is the last image of the singer before his death. Im not doing well. .addSize([748, 200], [[728, 90]]) Cover for 'Alice and Chains: The Untold Story,' by David de Sola. A year later, though, drummer Sean Kinney painted a different story, saying, "I talk to Layne, but we don't hang out. 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. "The opioid explosion in recent years tells me that people feel alone," she says. googletag.defineSlot('/98948493,22548962605/alternativenation_multisize_content_3', [[336,280],[300,250]], 'div-gpt-ad-3901802-5') Layne Believed Girlfriends Ghost Visited Him Just Prior To His Death. I had the chance to throw out all this anger by the music in order to help others. Most people who love Sublime today are fans of a band that Nowell hasnt been a living member of for 15 years. 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. Gaugh and Wilson tried as best as they could to capitalize on Sublimes unexpected and poorly timed success, signing a deal to release a series of archival records collecting early songs, outtakes, and remixes, starting with 1997s Second Hand Smoke. Don't try to contact any AIC members. In October of that year, his former girlfriend and fellow drug addict Demri Parrott died of bacterial endocarditis. "position": 1, Im going to die like thisthis is it. For years, Kinney had tried reaching out to Staley three times a week, either by phone or, when he was in town, yelling at the window of his nondescript Seattle condo. Staley goes on to discuss how he got back in touch with his dad years after giving up trying but only because Phil had seen his photo in a magazine and, realizing he was rich, hit him up for drug money. Less sympathetic listeners might dismiss Junkhead as the empty lamentation of a rock-star addict, but Staley wasnt looking for pity. Dirt, in particular, became an important touchstone. Much of the interview deals with his ongoing experiences with heroin addiction, which he claims were about to take his life. Listening to music you love to hear is fun, period.Rome Ramirez, on replacing Bradley Nowell as the new singer of Sublime, So sing just like him, fuckers/It wont offend him/Just me/Because hes dead.Pearl Jam, 4/20/02, written for Layne Staley. 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. googletag.cmd = googletag.cmd || []; It certainly rejiggers the list: Guitarist Terry Kath of MOR jazz-rock band Chicago (as well as the city of Chicago) died under similar circumstances in 1978, holding a gun he thought was unloaded to his head and mistakenly offing himself in front of his wife and one of his stage crew members. }); An updated version of The Book Of Rock Lists would probably be topped by Dimebag Darrell Abbott, the former Pantera guitarist who was gunned down onstage by a crazed fan during a performance with his band Damageplan on Dec. 8, 2004 at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio. His comments given to Rubio show that Staley was aware that his mortality was on the horizon and had accepted his fate. "@id": "https://www.alternativenation.net/category/rock/deep-cuts/", "@type": "BreadcrumbList", .addService(googletag.pubads()); When Nowell finally pushed his luck with heroin too far in a San Francisco hotel room on May 25, 1996, his band wasnt yet famous enough to warrant much media attention for the tragedy. The book says that former Alice bassist Mike Starr was visiting Staley the day before the singer's death. "The same s--t was going on again.". Demri Lara Parrott Murphy (February 22nd 1969 - October 29th 1996) was an American model, artist, and muse, and an amateur actress, girlfriend and later fiancee of Alice in Chains singer Layne Staley . Search for Bradley Nowell videos on YouTube and youll find a smattering of interview clips recorded a year or so before he died. His skin was grey, dark circles under his eyes. So two weeks later [our mutual friend] was having a Super Bowl party. asi: 'theadengine.com', He was holding a loaded syringe and was sitting on a batch of used ones. 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. Nowell was musically precocious as a child, able pick out a tune on his guitar after only hearing it once. "@type": "WebPage", At his side are two beautiful women, looking at him adoringly. Cover for 'Alice and Chains: The Untold Story,' by David de Sola. But that was contingent on him having the energy and focus to be able to work, and I guess that didnt materialize., 5. }, Ten weeks after Nowells funeral, Sublimes label, Geffen, went forward with plans to release the bands new record, though the original title, Killin It, was understandably ditched. about the Dirt cover were awhile ago, but that's Mariah, not Demri. googletag.defineSlot('/98948493,22548962605/alternativenation_multisize_sidebar_1', [[300,600],[300,1050],[300,250]], 'div-gpt-ad-3901802-7') 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. Layne was very into his artwork during his later years, frequently buying art supplies that were scattered around his home. googletag.pubads().disableInitialLoad(); The end everyone saw coming had finally arrived. But rather than a heartwarming reunion between father and son, his dad's habits rubbed off on him when he was trying to stay clean. "@type": "ListItem", He needs his hands and arms. Days passed before his accountant sent up an alert that Staley hadn't been withdrawing any money. It was therapeutic and worked for me for a while, until my dad saw my picture printed on a magazine." Next "@type": "BreadcrumbList", { Throughout, Cantrells off-kilter, shotgun-blast-to-the-intestines guitar work acts as a queasy counterpoint to Staleys dead-man-walking howling. "They were obviously coked out because they (the strippers) started b----ing up one side and down the other to the point where Layne actually told them to shut up because they were making it worse than it needed to be," according to one observer. Cantrell recalled to Charles R. Cross of Rolling Stone how he met his lead singer: Its a Seattle party, and Staley is standing in the middle of it all, his hair dyed a bright glam-rock pink and teased with a hair clip atop his tiny frame. "And now they're turning against me, and now I'm walking through hell, and this sucks. Gaugh and Wilson said they had no plans to revive Sublime until they met Ramirez in 2008 and, as they later told Billboard, had instantaneous chemistry with the 20-year-old Fremont, Calif. native. In 2011, at the age of 44, he too died of an overdose, as per Rolling Stone. Then Kurt shot me, and then Layne shot me after that and I died, for like 11 minutes.". In the Staley slot was William DuVall, who sang in Cantrells post-AIC band and sat in with Alice when the band first reunited in 2006 for a benefit concert. ROCK IS DEAD? .addSize([990, 200], [[728, 90], [970, 90], [970, 250]]) Finally, Starr left angry. By the next year, the band's dark and deeply pained breakthrough album, "Dirt," was rife with references to the drug. So it is that Alice in Chains, with its influential blend of heavy metal and grunge, which plays on. Demri Parrott probably is referenced in the most AIC songs that we know of: *Love, Hate, Love. "name": "Rock Features" Over a torturously slow metal-blues riff, Staley denounces the hypocrite norm, running their boring drills, and commits himself to consuming whatever drugs are available to him. 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. She was around five feet tall-maybe even shorter-and was stunningly beautiful. 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.. Layne said, Did you see that? But when the band was recording in Los Angeles during the Rodney King riots in 1992, Staley would hit the scary streets, desperate to score. ver: '1.0', He thought it was very rock n roll, you know, Nowells widow Troy Dendekker said. That model was to be Mariah O'Brien, whom Schenck had shot previously for the cover of Spinal Tap's "Bitch School" single. Staley erupted, then yelled at him whenever he tried to take more pills. }, Hide the drugs!' And as anyone who knows anything about IV drugs can tell you, the veins in the hand are used only after all the other veins have been tapped out.". I know Im near death, Staley continued. Layne Thomas Staley wasn't born Layne Thomas Staley. They were attached at the hip until 1994 when they split for a final time. "item": { One of the many drenched-in-drug moments revealed in David de Sola's new book, "Alice in Chains: The Untold Story," has Cobain and Staley striking a deal while the bands were on tour in Rio de Janeiro. adServer: 'googletag', Addiction was a constant throughout Staleys short life, which he tried his hardest to break out from but sadly didnt make it, and his music serves as a memory of his distinct talent. Self: 1991 MTV Video Music Awards. Her death also led to the end of Layne when he shut the world out and later died in 2002 at 34. A year after his death, a rare interview emerged with Staley that hed given with Argentinean writer and music fan Adriana Rubio, titledLayne Staley: Angry Chair A Look Inside the Heart and Soul of an Incredible Musician. One of the purely amusing anecdotes de Sola shares concerns the night the Music Bank, the rehearsal warehouse where the band rented space, was raided in 1988. I invested a lot of money on treatments. } Demri was born in Bremerton, Kitsap County, Washington, in the United States of America's Pacific Northwest. (Handout). However, they decided to break up after a few years while people were waiting for an announcement about their wedding. Parrott was born in Bremerton, Washington to Kathleen Austin and Dennis Dougherty on February 22, 1969. { hp: 1, Demri Lara Parrott Murphy (February 22nd 1969 - October 29th 1996) was an American model, artist, and muse, and an amateur actress, girlfriend and later fiancee of Alice in Chains singer Layne Staley. They couldnt have a chance to get back together as both of them died tragically in a short time after their break-up. apstag.setDisplayBids(); "Since that call I always was wondering, 'Where is my dad?' I dont give a fuck if you fucking believe me or not, dude. In addition to Mark, Demris friend Ferrano agreed with him and stated that Staley died because he felt guilty about ending their relationship and not being kind to Demri who was the only person that loved him although he wasnt famous and rich back then. "Go f-----g do it now.". I dont wanna see people anymore and its nobodys business but mine.. Starr, after a stint on VH1's "Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew" and "Sober House," overdosed on prescription drugs in 2011. On the other, Staley's affair with heroin got serious fast. So it shouldn't surprise anyone least of fall fans of his timeless music, the millions of people who cite him as an inspiration, or anyone familiar with rock star biographies that despite his success, he lived a hard life and died too young. googletag.defineSlot('/98948493,22548962605/alternativenation_multisize_content_1', [[336,280],[300,250]], 'div-gpt-ad-3901802-3') Bob: Your Moms worried, man. ", He then goes says his heroin habit was to blame, and he was well past the point of shooting up for fun. He said he was going back to treatment and then going to LA to do the audition in a couple of months. This portable projector plays your movies in crisp, high-contrast, 1080p detailno matter where you are. 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. For Nowell, being dealt a shitty hand was a fact of life, but so was the pleasure of smoking killer bud, and acknowledging the former didnt necessarily negate the latter. "position": 1, He seriously, seriously hated "Rutherford." ", It's hard to tell if Staley would agree or disagree with his mom's take. Demri Parrott was former ex-girlfriend of singer Layne Staley from Alice in Chains. Im telling you: Demri was here last night. Demris mother, Kathleen Austin, heard this story from Mike Starr after Laynes death and relayed the story to David de Sola (and it was corroborated by Jason Buttino). He looked like an 80-year-old version of himself, Seattle music journalist Jeff Gilbert told Prato. "itemListElement": [ In the soaring chorus, Staley harmonizes with Cantrell on lines that spell out the catch-22 that defined his final years: Whats my drug of choice? In Greg Pratos Grunge is Dead, Laynes mother Nancy revealed that Layne was a video game freak. He had a big screen TV, 5 games 5 different gamers. At the time of his death in 2002, neither Kinney nor AIC guitarist Jerry Cantrell had spoken to Staley for more than two years. Alice in Chains was opening for Van Halen on tour in 1991 when Staley, prompted by Parrott,. apstag.init({ But soon he was caught in an inescapable trap that led to his premature death in 2002. googletag.defineSlot('/98948493,22548962605/alternativenation_multisize_content_2', [[336,280],[300,250]], 'div-gpt-ad-3901802-4') 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. Following his death in 2002, Screaming Trees frontman told Rolling Stone, He never recovered from Demris death. Demri Lara PARROTT Left this world October 29, 1996; born in Bremerton, Wa, on Feb 22, 1969 and attended school in Arlington. 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. 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