After that, I dont think he wanted to go on.. 7/19/94. Staley was on the sofa, illuminated by a flickering television. Im just a singer. Topics Layne Might Have Considered Fronting Audioslave. 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. A friend of hers said so and there's even an interview with Layne where he says Demri was pissed about it because it looked just like her when they could've just let her . }); Movies: Now more than ever. "@type": "ListItem", The two had argued over Staley's condition until Staley threatened to end the friendship if Starr reached out to the authorities. Demri Parrott (born Demri Lara Murphy on February 22nd 1969 - d. October 29th 1996) was the love of Alice in Chains singer Layne Staley's life.She was born in Bremerton, Seattle (WA) to Dennis Dougherty and Kathleen Austin, and had three brothers, Devin, Derek and David. Kinney claims he had an alter ego he called Steve who would stand on a chair in an upscale restaurant and pee on the dessert cart or methodically pour beer into the sconces lining a hotel hallway for the pleasure of seeing them explode seconds later. googletag.defineSlot('/98948493,22548962605/alternativenation_multisize_content_1', [[336,280],[300,250]], 'div-gpt-ad-3901802-3') 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. Eventually, his father managed to stop using. That version of the band still records and performs. Mar 14, 2016. Dope sick hurts the entire body, he horrifyingly shared. His comments given to Rubio show that Staley was aware that his mortality was on the horizon and had accepted his fate. Bob Forrest & John Frusciante Visited Laynes Home. She loved creating decopage with 30s and 40s vintage style images cut outs from wrapping paper or old greeting cards. ", "I think people would be surprised that he [Staley] was raised in the Christian Science Sunday School for twenty years," his mother, Nancy McCallum, said to Alternative Nation in 2015. "The opioid explosion in recent years tells me that people feel alone," she says. Though DuVall obviously apes Staley whenever his voice meshes with Cantrell on one of those ominous, crypt-keeper choruses, at least Black Gives Way To Blue doesnt ignore the track-mark-covered elephant in the room. 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. Brown heroin stains led from the bathroom to the living room. Gallagher had been friends with Staley since 1986, even living with him and Sleze bassist Mike Mitchell for a period in the 80s. He was 44 years old. Layne told Wright, Wow, I get to perform again. Wright was preparing to fly up to Seattle to prepare the studio for Laynes return to recording when he got the called that he had died. I didn't create myself because I would have done a hell of a better job.". dawn to dusk. I hadnt seen him in a couple of years and wasnt prepared for it. Zack de la Rocha had quit Rage Against The Machine just a few months prior, and his bandmates were looking for a new singer. Kaths death was good for only No. Nowell might have ended up being another heroin casualty of the era, but he didnt sound like a guy that needed a spike in the arm in order to get out of the bed in the morning. By the end, she was living with an older man who bizarrely drove her around unconscious for several hours before getting help. "name": "Home" She looks very similar to Staley's longtime girlfriend and eventual fianc Demri Parrott. 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. .addService(googletag.pubads()); { I can get by without them. I know he was joking, but I dont like to hear stuff like that. After a year in stores, it was selling 50,000 copies a week, eventually going on to sell 6 million. Demri Lara Parrott(February 22, 1969 - October 29, 1996) was best known for Demri Parrott her relationship with Layne Staley, the singer of rock band Alice in Chains. I am interested in rock music, creative writing, drama, and yoga. His comments given to Rubio show that Staley was aware that his mortality was on the horizon and had accepted his fate. Ill look at the coke-fueled disaster of Oasis misbegotten epic Be Here Now, and the unlikely triumph of Radioheads dystopian prog-rock masterpiece OK Computer. "@type": "ListItem", And demri parrott kinda introduced him to heroin, i believe the first time layne used it was in the backstage of a show when demri gave to him. complete: 1, The day of his death was estimated to be April 5, exactly eight years after Cobains suicide. .defineSizeMapping(mapping2) "I was about 20," he said, "and music became my only obsession to stay alive. This was neither the beginning nor the end of Staleys sufferings that he was trying to get rid of it for years. Im not going to quit doing drugs. googletag.defineSlot('/98948493,22548962605/alternativenation_multisize_anchor', [[728,90],[320,50]], 'div-gpt-ad-3901802-6') But you don't write and sing songs like "Rooster" and "Would?" Two crack pipes were waiting on his coffee table, and several more used needles were uncovered when his body was moved. The frontmans ex-fiance passed away because of a drug overdose on October 29, 1996, at Evergreen Hospital in Kirkland, Washington. { Learn More{{/message}}. Hed been dead for two weeks; the tip-off that something was amiss came not from concerned family members or friends but from Staleys accountants, who noticed that he hadnt spent any money in several days. Equally important for Sublimes success was the element of mans-man machismo, which was spelled out on the album cover depicting a hulking and shirtless Nowell standing with his back to the camera and exposing his large Sublime tattoo. "I'm not doing well," the singer said. Money, status, nothing to me, Staley sings, though thats not completely trueits the money and status that allow him to live this way. She said he looked like a kid again, and at that moment there was no darkness in his life. You dont get the same singular experience listening to Godsmack (which took its name from a Dirt track), Staind, or Creed, who adopted the superficialities of Alice In Chains sonic and thematic signposts and reconfigured them into interchangeably angsty and thuddingly poppy plop-metal. In 1993, when the band was touring in support of "Dirt," Staley would walk offstage midsong to get high. Tillman claimed that Ace had been drinking heavily and goofing around when he picked up the pistol. If you are interested in promoting your band/music email altnationadvertising @gmail.com, 10 Surprising Stories About Layne Staleys Reclusive Years, Why Stone Temple Pilots May Not Make Rock Hall of Fame (But Should), Dave Grohl Reveals Parallels Between Kurt Cobain & Amy Winehouse, Adele Melts Down At Las Vegas Show In Photo, Jessica Simpson Is Exploding Out Of Top In Photo, Pearl Jam Member Reveals Truth About Tom Sizemore, Travis Scott Alleged Victim Leaks Hospital Video. .build(); 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.. Still, its the brand name that puts butts in the seats, and Alice In Chains has drawing power; Black Gives Way To Blue sold 126,000 copies its first week, good for a Billboard debut at No. Its 1987, and Staley knows how to walk the walk of the day, strutting onstage in baby blue satin suits and exuding big-cock charisma. By the end of the year, that title would belong to Radiohead. } "There is no f-----g way I'm going to do that," he shouted. Very little is known of Demri Parrott, except that she was practically worshiped by her fianc, Layne Staley. }); He was also a serious heroin addict, a habit inspired in part by wanting to mimic his heroes. "I got [a] call saying that my dad had died, [but] my family always knew he was around doing all kind of drug,"he's quoted as saying in the book. 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. Trending. 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. googletag.defineSlot('/98948493,22548962605/alternativenation_multisize_sidebar_1', [[300,600],[300,1050],[300,250]], 'div-gpt-ad-3901802-7') They are not my friends.". Staley and Parrott were no longer together when she died; because she lacked Staley's rock-star bank account, Parrott was reduced to living out a conventional junkie death, finally prostituting. Forrest says that Staleys mind clearly still worked but that he was a million miles away., Bob: Hey Layne. 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. "@id": "https://www.alternativenation.net/", He was holding a loaded syringe and was sitting on a batch of used ones. var mapping2 = googletag.sizeMapping() 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. }); The 20th anniversary of the death of late Alice In Chains frontman Layne Staleys girlfriend Demri Parrott was over the weekend. }, Demri Lara Parrott Murphy (February 22nd 1969 - October 29th 1996) was an American model, artist, and muse, and an amateur actress, girlfriend and . We are really really lucky people Ann. Learn More{{/message}}, {{#message}}{{{message}}}{{/message}}{{^message}}It appears your submission was successful. Krist Novoselic, Mark Lanegan, Mike Inez & Sean Kinney Tried To Help Layne. Layne turned a corner with two strippers into a hallway crowded with cops. "When I tried drugs, they were f****** great, and they worked for me for years," he said. She said she believes her daughter was there that night to be there with Layne as hes doing his transition., 10. A syringe loaded with a fresh supply of heroin sat in his hand; a used needle lay at his feet. The server responded with {{status_text}} (code {{status_code}}). "position": 2, I know I did my best or what I thought would be right. On January 28, 2001, he saw Layne again at a Super Bowl party. I'm not using drugs to get high like many people think. He never made it, so Chris Cornell went and got the job.. Mainly, he holed up in his apartment, gaming, playing with his cat and doing drugs. The pain is more than you can handle. Dont try to contact any AIC (Alice in Chains) members. Her death also led to the end of Layne when he shut the world out and later died in 2002 at 34. Now for the more positive things: Demri Parrott (which I recently found out was pronounced Puh-Row) was described by everyone who knew her as a bubbly, charismatic and beautiful girl. He showed up in the recording studio toothless, emaciated and looking like an 80-year-old man. And then, our neighbor sold him a drum set, and he changed his middle name to Thomas, because he admired Tommy Lee.". Some believe that that when Layne his ex Demri Parrott died in 1996 from Drug overdose, Layne never recovered from her death and probably what caused him to fall apart beyond repair with his drug using. 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. "@type": "WebPage", This fucking drug use is like the insulin a diabetic needs to survive, he said. 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. But while the surviving members of Alice In Chains made sure to present their band as a newly evolved entity, Sublimes Bud Gaugh and Eric Wilson are trying to pick up where they were forced to leave off in 1996, when their lead singer, Bradley Nowell, died of a heroin overdose at age 28. "I know I have no chance. .addService(googletag.pubads()); Staley spent the bulk of his childhood being raised by his mom, Nancy McCallum, and her second husband, Jim Elmer, who she met at a mutual friend's Christmas party, according to David de Sola. He hadn't yet mastered singing high. ), the No. }, apstag.setDisplayBids(); The singers life was full of trauma, and drugs, at first, offered him an escape from his pain. 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.". He would never perform with Alice In Chains again. I think theres always been a little bit of death trip element [and a] survivor element, DuVall told Rolling Stone. "Alice In Chains: The Untold Story" says the two met in 1988, before Alice in Chains blew up, and that it was "love at first sight." - WORLDWIDE:- Vimeo https://vimeo.com/ondemand/whatisclassicrock2Cheers,Daniel Actually, the best of times was when everyone was just strung out on booze, coke and sex the basic musts on any rocker's CV. "Demri was here last night," Staley allegedly said. Formed in 1988, Sublime made its name by playing surf towns up and down the California coast, honing a feel-good blend of punk, hip-hop, and ska informed by Nowells multicultural upbringing in Long Beach. And it's a little comforting to think Staley at least didn't believe he was alone at the end. Forrest called back Staleys mother Nancy and told her that theyd try to help him, though he told her he didnt know if itd work. According to "sources close to the band," Staley lost his 27-year-old ex-girlfriend, Demri Parrott, to a heroin overdose later that same year. Alice in Chains was opening for Van Halen on tour in 1991 when Staley, prompted by Parrott, started using. Yeah we were . "@id": "https://www.alternativenation.net/category/rock/deep-cuts/", I know Im near death, Staley continued. googletag.cmd.push(function() { 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. "@type": "WebPage", nodes: [ If you are interested in promoting your band/music email altnationadvertising @gmail.com, Layne Staleys Haunting Wedding That Never Was Will Break Your Heart, Why Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chili Peppers & Smashing Pumpkins Are Haunted By Ghosts, 10 Candidates To Fill In For Eddie Vedder On Temple of the Dog Tour, Adele Melts Down At Las Vegas Show In Photo, Jessica Simpson Is Exploding Out Of Top In Photo, Pearl Jam Member Reveals Truth About Tom Sizemore, Travis Scott Alleged Victim Leaks Hospital Video. 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. "item": { As an act of first-person journalism from the depths of hell, Dirt has few equals in rock history. } Even though the server responded OK, it is possible the submission was not processed. ,{ 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. She attended at school in Arlington (Washington), and dropped at her . googletag.defineSlot('/98948493,22548962605/alternativenation_multisize_content_3', [[336,280],[300,250]], 'div-gpt-ad-3901802-5') The autopsy later revealed that the next day Staley plunged a speedball into his vein. !function(a9,a,p,s,t,A,g){if(a[a9])return;function q(c,r){a[a9]._Q.push([c,r])}a[a9]={init:function(){q("i",arguments)},fetchBids:function(){q("f",arguments)},setDisplayBids:function(){},targetingKeys:function(){return[]},_Q:[]};A=p.createElement(s);A.async=!0;A.src=t;g=p.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];g.parentNode.insertBefore(A,g)}("apstag",window,document,"script","//c.amazon-adsystem.com/aax2/apstag.js"); "@type": "WebPage", "When I haven't talked to anybody in years, and every article I see is dope this, junkie that, whiskey this that ain't my title My bad habits aren't my title. 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. var mapping1 = googletag.sizeMapping() simplerGPT: true, 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. Staley's girlfriend, Demri Lara Parrott, started shooting smack and Alice in Chains got famous. I didn't want my fans to think that heroin was cool.". Along with Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains was a primary grunge-era influence on the post-grunge bands that ruled modern-rock radio from the late 90s onward. According to a transcript of a 2002 Rolling Stone article, Layne Staley spent the final years of his life in reclusive isolation, with nothing but his drugs to keep him company. (1969-1996) model, artist, grunge icon, beautiful soul simplerGPT: true, I'm telling you: Demri was here." "item": { Tough-guy posturing linked hip-hop with hard rock, and it would come to define the rap-rock hybrid that dominated mainstream rock radio in the late 90s. "@context": "http://schema.org", At his side are two beautiful women, looking at him adoringly. As for fans that object to another man heading up Sublime, Ramirez seems content to play the haters gonna hate card. He had already lost a finger or two from his veins collapsing and not getting enough circulation to his hands I remember seeing him from a distance, and I thought, Thats the oldest punk rocker Ive ever seen., Flash back about 15 years, and Staley is a dramatically different, happier, and more spandex-friendly person. } Money goes to the Therapeutic Health Services (THS), which runs the Layne Staley Memorial Fund. Alice In Chains frontman Layne Staley had one of the mightiest voices in rock history and alongside Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder and Nirvana's Kurt Cobain, among others was one of the greatest figures to come out of the grunge movement that originated in his native Seattle, Washington. Layne was even wearing a Metal Gear Solid video game shirt in his final public photo from Halloween 1998. 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. .defineSizeMapping(mapping1) The end everyone saw coming had finally arrived. ", The Tragic Real-Life Story Of Layne Staley, this Alice In Chains interview with Rockline. 3. 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. .addService(googletag.pubads()); Far Out Magazine details one of Layne Staley's final interviews, as published in "Layne Staley: Angry Chair." Where some of the records might have been more Scarface, this one is more Shawshank Redemption.. Yes, Staley, born Layne Rutherford Staley on August 22, 1967, picked the middle name "Thomas" because he was a fan of Mtley Cre drummer Tommy Lee. Does taking Russian roulette out of the equation make Aces death any less spectacular? "@context": "http://schema.org", (Volume 2) Castaway, Chemical Tribe, What it Takes, Dying Inside, Siddhartha, Hurts Don't It? She will know it sooner or later. "@type": "ListItem", !function(a9,a,p,s,t,A,g){if(a[a9])return;function q(c,r){a[a9]._Q.push([c,r])}a[a9]={init:function(){q("i",arguments)},fetchBids:function(){q("f",arguments)},setDisplayBids:function(){},targetingKeys:function(){return[]},_Q:[]};A=p.createElement(s);A.async=!0;A.src=t;g=p.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];g.parentNode.insertBefore(A,g)}("apstag",window,document,"script","//c.amazon-adsystem.com/aax2/apstag.js"); When I got there, Layne answered the door and he was back to the old Layne. adServer: 'googletag', But Staley, of course, never did. Layne: Nothing. 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. In June 1992, the albums post-production was complete and the album was 100% complete by the end of June. googletag.defineSlot('/98948493,22548962605/alternativenation_multisize_top_2', [[336,280],[300,250]], 'div-gpt-ad-3901802-2') He told her as a kid that he excelled at swimming, he said I loved to dive into water. He said the water felt like a whole other world. "In 5thgrade, he [Staley] borrowed his Uncle Bob's trumpet, so that was his first instrument," said Nancy McCallum, Staley's mother, according to Northwest Music Scene. But all too often, McCallum doesn't know what to say; she's just another grieving parent whose kid happened to be famous and touch lives. Demri was born in Bremerton, Kitsap County, Washington, in the United States of America's Pacific Northwest. Other (false) rumors emerged, claiming that Staley had contracted gangrene by shooting up and had body parts ranging from fingers to an entire arm amputated. Demri Lara PARROTT Left this world October 29, 1996; born in Bremerton, Wa, on Feb 22, 1969 and attended school in Arlington. var mapping2 = googletag.sizeMapping() She was the fiance of musician Layne Staley. "@id": "https://www.alternativenation.net/layne-staleys-haunting-wedding-never-will-break-heart/", And as we're all aware, things have hardly improved in the decades since. } ", At this point, Staley was too weak to fight on and admitted to having accepted that the drug would get the better of him sooner or later. .addSize([0, 0], [[320, 50]]) ROCK IS DEAD? Demri Parrott was former ex-girlfriend of singer Layne Staley from Alice in Chains. Yes, Staley had been experiencing heroin addiction for years by the time this 1995 article which was titled "Alice In Chains' Layne Staley: Needle and Damage Done" came out. Throughout, Cantrells off-kilter, shotgun-blast-to-the-intestines guitar work acts as a queasy counterpoint to Staleys dead-man-walking howling. Pick it up, this is a classic. As Starr stormed out, Staley begged him to stay, saying, "Not like this. 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. 99 talking about this. He was down in a hole so deep he couldnt hope to hit bottom. Sean Kinney would try to visit Layne at his home, and he frequently called him to no avail. The book says that former Alice bassist Mike Starr was visiting Staley the day before the singer's death. My biggest dream is to become a world-renowned writer. schain: { Neither Demris mother nor Laynes stepfather have been able to confirm that. Hes always been dead as far as most people are concerned. According to Ferrano, even though everyone around them knew that they decided to accuse Parrott of causing Staleys addiction and depression. Alice in Chains was the first of grunge's big four to break out, but Nirvana clearly won the to-the-death competition. } "@type": "WebSite", Demris friend Amber Ferrano denied the claims saying: It started after she died. They began dating a short time after they saw each other. "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. "And now they're turning against me, and now I'm walking through hell, and this sucks. It might be the least spectacular rock death of all time, in the sense that it surprised absolutely no one, including Staley himself. "@type": "BreadcrumbList", At one point, Staley was even informed that his old man had passed away, although this wasn't true. "name": "Home" I dont wanna see people anymore and its nobodys business but mine.. This past Saturday was the 20th anniversary of the death of Demri Parrott, Layne Staley's ex-fiance. The couple was defined as soulmates and everyone admired their passionate relationship. "name": "10 Surprising Stories About Layne Staley’s Reclusive Years" The2002 Rolling Stone article claimed that thedeath of ex-girlfriend Demri Parrott was one of the catalysts for Layne Staley's collapse into an isolated, drug-fueled existence that ultimately claimed his life. Starr was likely the last one to see him alive. .addService(googletag.pubads()); 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. Can you try to talk sense to him?, Forrest agreed to, and he and Frusciante visited Staley at his Seattle condo. Not exactly a good start to the relationship. Nevertheless, Alice In Chains has lived on like few bands of its time, and even in death Staley is still among the most vital singers youre likely to hear on the local modern-rock station. "Layne shot me up first a couple of times. She was adopted by her stepfather Stephen John Parrott. apstag.fetchBids({ "They asked if he believed in God? What Happened Next? Wright contacted Staley shortly before his death and Staley agreed to record the song, privately in a studio in Seattle. 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. She wasn't far behind, having immediately clocked out of work and raced home, flying past five police cars who, thankfully, didn't try to stop her. Staley had actually died on April 5, 2002 eight years to the day after fellow Grunge rock frontman Kurt Cobain had taken his own life but his body wasn't found until April 19,according to Ultimate Classic Rock. googletag.enableServices(); googletag.defineSlot('/98948493,22548962605/alternativenation_multisize_top_2', [[336,280],[300,250]], 'div-gpt-ad-3901802-2') Demri was born in Bremerton, Kitsap County, Washington, in the United States of America's Pacific Northwest. She also has Demris engagement ring that Layne gave her. According to The Book Of Rock Lists by Dave Marsh and Kevin Stein (1981 ed.