So two weeks later [our mutual friend] was having a Super Bowl party. Staley's girlfriend, Demri Lara Parrott, started shooting smack and Alice in Chains got famous. Her death also led to the end of Layne when he shut the world out and later died in 2002 at 34. As for fans that object to another man heading up Sublime, Ramirez seems content to play the haters gonna hate card. complete: 1, 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. By the time Staley actually was a star, he traded in the poufy-haired bravado of glam for the vein-popping gutter grime of Alice In Chains. That was the last time Staley would do a major tour. But that was contingent on him having the energy and focus to be able to work, and I guess that didnt materialize., 5. 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. RIP Layne and Demri.. 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. Ramirez grew up on Sublime records, and based on this clip of Sublime With Rome performing the hit Wrong Way in 2010 on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, he was hired for his ability to make Nowells demise seem like a mere inconvenience that temporarily kept the band off the road. But its a surprisingly decent addition to the Alice In Chains canon. Its a very difficult thing to explain. 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. Wright contacted Staley shortly before his death and Staley agreed to record the song, privately in a studio in Seattle. Ramirez had been playing Sublime songs for much of his life when he hooked up with Gaugh and Wilson, learning them shortly after picking up the guitar at age 11. "I know I'm dying," Staley is reported to have said. } "I don't give a f*** if you f****** believe me or not, dude. There was more to Nowell than living life like the world was one big smoke-filled Chevy van. Gallagher had been friends with Staley since 1986, even living with him and Sleze bassist Mike Mitchell for a period in the 80s. Thinking about both of them yesterday and today, and what might have been. Layne Thomas Staley wasn't born Layne Thomas Staley. Jane's Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro recently tweeted about late Alice In Chains frontman Layne Staley and Layne's girlfriend Demri Parrott, who died in 1996. After a year in stores, it was selling 50,000 copies a week, eventually going on to sell 6 million. .addSize([748, 200], [[728, 90]]) Thats terrible, Mom. { In a very real way, both men remain the most important members of their respective bands. By 1998, Staley already seemed on last legs. The single Down In A Hole is a pained expression of romantic loss that became a metaphor for chemical longing in Staleys hands. In 1996, Staleys life was turned upside down when his former fiance, Demri Lara Parrott, died of a drug overdose and when she passed, so did a bit of Staley. Staley wasnt the sort to hedge his bets when it came to calling his own drug-related death. 2. pubID: '434bb5e4-3704-4b75-b36c-785a444462bd', .addService(googletag.pubads()); 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. Kinney, though, continued to have fun the old-fashioned way on the Shi--y Cities tour in 1992. His skin was grey, dark circles under his eyes. - WORLDWIDE:- Vimeo https://vimeo.com/ondemand/whatisclassicrock2Cheers,Daniel "@id": "https://www.alternativenation.net/", Pick it up, this is a classic. That night, Alice in Chains bassist Mike Starr, who had just been tossed from the band, claimed he actually died and came back as he bounced from shooting up with one famed musician to the other. } Starr himself had drug issues and, like Staley, succumbed to their power. He seriously, seriously hated "Rutherford." Since both Staley and Cobain were smackheads and ran with the same musicians, the assumption was he might know something. And then, our neighbor sold him a drum set, and he changed his middle name to Thomas, because he admired Tommy Lee.". .defineSizeMapping(mapping2) "Everyone always asks if that is Demri [Parrott, then-girlfriend of frontman Layne Staley], on the Dirt cover," he says."I think Demri's name might have been mentioned as a possible model once or twice, but it was never a serious consideration." 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. Then he relapsed again. She was of Native American (Cherokee), Irish, Scottish, Welsh, English, and Swiss-German descent. googletag.defineSlot('/98948493,22548962605/alternativenation_multisize_content_2', [[336,280],[300,250]], 'div-gpt-ad-3901802-4') Thinking about both of them yesterday and. Staley was found dead, toothless and weighing only 86 pounds, in his Seattle apartment in 2002. She said after most of the crowd left at night Layne was still there, and she wanted to go swimming so Layne followed her to the pool. ", It's hard to tell if Staley would agree or disagree with his mom's take. Alice in Chains was opening for Van Halen on tour in 1991 when Staley, prompted by Parrott,. (Handout). This fucking drug use is like the insulin a diabetic needs to survive, he said. They began dating a short time after they saw each other. simplerGPT: true, Forrest had gained a reputation at the time as being someone who could communicate with addicts, he had helped Frusciante get clean in 1997. .addService(googletag.pubads()); "@context": "http://schema.org", 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. 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.. } Rare pictures show her to be dark-featured and pretty, with long black hair and dark eyes. Money goes to the Therapeutic Health Services (THS), which runs the Layne Staley Memorial Fund. "@id": "https://www.alternativenation.net/category/rock/deep-cuts/", Kaths death was good for only No. Johns a guitar player. He ended up in the hospital. The book says that former Alice bassist Mike Starr was visiting Staley the day before the singer's death. 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. In a lawsuit filed after Staley's death, his mother, Nancy Layne McCallum, alleged that at one point in the mid-'90s, her son tried to withdraw from the band to take care of his issues, but Silver forcefully pointed out that if he did, he would be putting 40 people out of work. Staley erupted, then yelled at him whenever he tried to take more pills. I just believe that I'm not the greatest power on this earth. Neither Demri's mother nor Layne's stepfather have been able to confirm that. If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available. Both Jerry Cantrell, the other engine driving Alice in Chains, and drummer Sean Kinney openly talk about their sobriety these days, but are none too specific about the substances, other than booze, at the source of their addictions. It's too late. This portable projector plays your movies in crisp, high-contrast, 1080p detailno matter where you are. 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. But having the circumstances of their death constantly rubbed in your face because so many others are experiencing addiction must be difficult. "@type": "WebPage", .addSize([0, 0], [[320, 50]]) "It would make him madder than f***," said Nick Pollock, one of Staley's former bandmates, who claimed he used to call his buddy variations of "Rutherford" just to mess with him. But as far as the public was concerned, Staley lived out the rest of his doomed existence as the ghost of grunges skeezy past. "Demri was a fashion icon in the Seattle Grunge scene. Cover for 'Alice and Chains: The Untold Story,' by David de Sola. dawn to dusk. That model was to be Mariah O'Brien, whom Schenck had shot previously for the cover of Spinal Tap's "Bitch School" single. "It was only five or six shows, and by the end of the last one, it was cops, ambulances, and, 'Get on the plane! } The specificity of Dirt is what makes the album so moving, and its the most obvious attribute separating Alice In Chains from the legion of bands that emerged to take its place after Staley slipped into permanent heroin hibernation. He was 44 years old. I wrote the following tweetstorm to remember her (and him) for the occasion: Most, if not all of that material was in my book, where Layne and Demri's relationship and her . Parrott was born in Bremerton, Washington to Kathleen Austin and Dennis Dougherty on February 22, 1969. Mike Starr said he was going to be best man at Layne and Demri's wedding. They broke up, in part because she couldn't accept his relentless womanizing. So it is that Alice in Chains, with its influential blend of heavy metal and grunge, which plays on. .addService(googletag.pubads()); He wanted a teddy bear that Demri had had with her in hospital. And it's a little comforting to think Staley at least didn't believe he was alone at the end. Dirt plugs you into the day-to-day slog of one addicts life; even if you don't connect with the record, you still cant help but feel a dull ache in your bones and the sting of rancid sickness in your nostrils. { 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. For the first time, there were problems with his vocals. googletag.pubads().refresh(); googletag.defineSlot('/98948493,22548962605/alternativenation_multisize_anchor', [[728,90],[320,50]], 'div-gpt-ad-3901802-6') 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. ROCK IS DEAD? But when theres 20,000 people out there, just loving everything, and just dancing around with smiles, nothing can stop that.. Layne was very into his artwork during his later years, frequently buying art supplies that were scattered around his home. Layne Believed Girlfriends Ghost Visited Him Just Prior To His Death. Demri did not get Layne started in drugs his history was prior to her and tons of people know that.. .addService(googletag.pubads()); One of Layne Staleys friends who spoke to NME revealed that he was placed on a 24-hour suicide watch after he had learned that Demri Parrott died from an overdose. It's the worst pain in the world. 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. "item": { I know Im near death, Staley continued. "@type": "ListItem", Does taking Russian roulette out of the equation make Aces death any less spectacular? } Guns not loaded, see? Tillman recalled Ace saying as he pointed it at his head and, with a smile, pulled the trigger. 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. The singers life was full of trauma, and drugs, at first, offered him an escape from his pain. One way she's contributed to the fight is by helping run the Layne Staley Tribute Concert, which the article says is an annual celebration of Alice in Chains' contributions to music. "Since that call I always was wondering, 'Where is my dad?' "When I tried drugs, they were f****** great, and they worked for me for years," he said. Do you think that almost hit us, Ann? I changed my number. My strengths and my talent are my title," he said. .build(); 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. asi: 'theadengine.com', 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. According to David de Sola's 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.. 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 had just gotten pretty much the entire Nerf arsenal, so we went to war. "itemListElement": [ Layne and Mark Lanegan Discussed Collaborating, We talked about [working together] from time to time, Mark Lanegan told CDNow in April 2002. }); "This f****** drug use is like the insulin a diabetic needs to survive. Its okay! Description: Demri Lara Parrott Murphy (February 22nd 1969 - October 29th 1996) was an American model, artist, and muse, and an amateur actress, girlfriend and later fiance of Alice in Chains singer Layne Staley. 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.defineSlot('/98948493,22548962605/alternativenation_multisize_content_2', [[336,280],[300,250]], 'div-gpt-ad-3901802-4') }, asi: 'theadengine.com', In 2011, at the age of 44, he too died of an overdose, as per Rolling Stone. Layne didnt get in, but sat in a chair sipping a beer. Despite his numerous attempts to get clean, Staleys body was discovered in his Seattle condo, with toxicology reports finding his death was the result of an accidental overdose. }); From the start of Dirt, youre trapped in Staleys skin, and for the next 50 minutes there will be no escape. They were attached at the hip until 1994 when they split for a final time. She said he looked like a kid again, and at that moment there was no darkness in his life. googletag.cmd.push(function() { Demri Lara PARROTT Left this world October 29, 1996; born in Bremerton, Wa, on Feb 22, 1969 and attended school in Arlington. She said she believes her daughter was there that night to be there with Layne as hes doing his transition., 10. ), the No. He looked like an 80-year-old version of himself, Seattle music journalist Jeff Gilbert told Prato. Next I didn't create myself because I would have done a hell of a better job.". 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. He was reporting on his own ongoing dissolution, giving the play-by-play on his soul being ripped away from him. 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. { 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. Gold Standard: Oscars edition - Best Director. In June 1992, the albums post-production was complete and the album was 100% complete by the end of June.