Quote:Body found in home may be that of Alice in Chains singer

Group soared with grunge movement

Saturday, April 20, 2002

By CANDACE HECKMAN
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

A body was found Friday at the University District home of Layne Staley, the
lead singer of the seminal Seattle grunge band Alice in Chains.

Law enforcement sources said the body was Staley's, but would not give
specifics and referred all questions to police spokesmen -- who did not return
repeated calls for comment.

According to the Seattle Fire Department's dispatch log, an
aid response was called to Staley's last known address in
the 4500 block of Eighth Avenue Northeast in the
University District, a section of the city where many
boarding homes are located.

The Medical Examiner's office said late last night that they
responded to a call at Staley's address and found someone
who appeared to have been dead for several days.

They have not officially identified the person.

Staley, 34, wrote lyrics that dealt with the darkness of his struggle with heroin
abuse.

Alice in Chains debut album, "Facelift," was released in 1990 and the group
quickly rose to prominence along with other bands from the tight-knit local
music community like Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden; one of Pearl
Jam's first shows was as an opening act for Alice in Chains.

In 1992, the group released their critically acclaimed album "Dirt," which
featured the hit singles "Would?" and "Rooster." The band distinguished itself
from its Seattle peers with a hard, morbid sound, and Staley's music often
touched on drugs.

According to a fan Web site, Staley was born in 1967 in Kirkland.

The first instrument he played was the drums at the age of 12. He later played
in different bands around Seattle.

At a party in 1987, Staley met Jerry Cantrell, who introduced him to Mike
Starr (bass) and Sean Kinney (drums).

They decided to start a band and Alice In Chains was born.

In a 1996 interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Staley spoke of how his drug
use influenced his lyrics.

"I wrote about drugs, and I didn't think I was being unsafe or careless by
writing about them," Staley told the magazine. "Here's how my thinking pattern
went: When I tried drugs, they were (expletive) great, and they worked for me
for years, and now they're turning against me -- and now I'm walking through
hell, and this sucks."

In the same article, he said: "I'm gonna be here for a long time. I'm scared of
death, especially death by my own hand. I'm scared of where I would go. Not
that I ever consider that, because I don't."

Staley told the magazine he did not want to be seen as a rock god or martyr.

"I saw all the suffering that Kurt Cobain went through. I didn't know him real
well, but I just saw this real vibrant person turn into a real shy, timid,
withdrawn, introverted person who could hardly get a hello out ... At the end
of the day or at the end of the party, when everyone goes home, you're stuck
with yourself."

Quote:Mad Season was a masterpiece too....

Quote:At the end of the day or at the end of the party, when everyone goes home, you're stuck
with yourself."

Quote:Singer had been dead in apartment for two weeks

SEATTLE — Layne Staley, lead singer for Seattle grunge band Alice in Chains, had been dead in his North Seattle apartment for two weeks, his body surrounded by heroin-injection paraphernalia, before a relative discovered him Friday, authorities said yesterday.

The presence of drug paraphernalia and estimated time of death had not been released initially. Foul play was not suspected, and there was to be no criminal investigation, Seattle police spokesman Duane Fish said.

An autopsy was conducted on Saturday, but the cause of death would not be confirmed for as long as four weeks while toxin tests were being conducted by a state lab, the King County Medical Examiner's Office said.

Quote:had been dead in his North Seattle apartment for two weeks