Mark Lanegan on touring with Alice in Chains and partying with Layne Staley
Mark Lanegan of Screaming Trees witnessed everything that the late 1980s and early 1990s grunge scene had to offer. He was a well-respected member of the scene and was never afraid to throw himself into whatever action arose. Reflecting on his memories, Lanegan recalled a wild 1992 tour with Alice in Chains in his memoir Sing Backwards and Weep.
Detailing his experiences, Lanegan wrote: “In November of 1992, we began another two-month tour of the States. This time playing in the middle slot on a bill with Alice in Chains headlining. Off stage, it was an insane, dark, drug and alcohol-fuelled frat party from start to finish, with Layne [Staley] and I raising hell, behaving like teenagers, staying up for days on end. We partook of whatever drugs came our way. Heroin, cocaine, painkillers, anything.”
He added: “On one particularly pleasing night, Alice in Chains bassist Mike Starr pulled Layne and me aside. ‘This chick I was hanging out with gave me this and told me you guys might want it.’ He pulled a large bottle out of his coat. Layne and I both grabbed for it at the same time while trying not to look too eager. ‘Thanks Mike, yeah we can probably find something to do with it’. We spent several days shooting it in a hazy bliss. When it was gone, we resumed drinking like madmen until we were able to get out hands on some opiates again.”
An excessive penchant for drug use would ultimately be the downfall of Layne Staley. In 1996, he largely withdrew from society and from around 1999 onwards, he lived on a diet of cocaine, heroin and meal supplements. Staley would tragically pass away in 2002 from an overdose.
Lanegan continued his recalling of the tour, writing: “One night, while riding on Alice’s bus with Layne, we go so shitfaced we tore apart the back lounge of the bus in a drunken frenzy, leaving a huge mess. Susan Silver had come out and joined the tour for a few dates in her capacity as Alice’s co-manager. The next day, I was ashamed to receive a kind yet stern talking to from my now ex-manager who told me that Layne and I were to clean up the mess immediately and that I was no longer allowed to ride on their bus.”
He added: “I witnessed some of the greatest performances I had ever seen by anyone. Alice in Chains was like some massive apocalyptic machine on stage. No matter what shape Layne was in, no matter how little sleep he had, he would fucking kill it every night.”
Lanegan died in February this year. Like Staley, he suffered deeply from drug and alcohol addiction, although he would maintain a period of sobriety for over a decade up to his death. His memoir, Sing Backwards and Weep, is a beautiful book, filled to the brim with anecdotes like the one above.
