Layne Staley -- vocals Jerry Cantrell -- guitar Mike Inez -- bass Sean Kinney -- drums |
Here is a brief look at how the band has progressed over the years:
EARLY
1987
AIC forms in Seattle.
APRIL
1989
After being pursued by several record companies, the band signs with
Columbia, after learning Mitch Miller was no longer head of
A&R.
JUNE
1990
Columbia releases the band's first EP, We Die
Young.
AUGUST
1990
AICs' debut album, Facelift, is
released. "We Die Young" becomes a Top
5 metal hit.
SEPTEMBER 1990
First U.S. tour date at the Marquee Club in
Westminster, CA. An overflow crowd of 20 elbows its way in.
OCTOBER
1990
Band sells out New York's Cat Club for Halloween.
NOVEMBER 1990
AIC tours with Iggy Pop, introduces songs
"Dirt" and "Rooster" to audiences, who don't give a flying
f**k.
DECEMBER 1990
The band sells out the Moore Theater in
Seattle. The concert was filmed by acclaimed director Josh Taft, and later
becomes Live Facelift, the band's home
video release.
JANUARY
1991
Nominated for an American Music Award for Favorite Heavy Metal Artist.
They lose.
AIC films
movie debut, playing part of a sleazy bar band in Cameron Crowe's film, Singles.
They perform the song "Would?". Oscar
buzz begins on the set.
"Man In The Box" is released,
and makes an interminable 26-week climb into the Top 20. Video plays on MTV for
16 weeks.
FEBRUARY 1991
Band tours Europe with Megadeth. They're
nominated for a Grammy for Best Heavy Metal Performance. They lose
again.
MAY
1991
"Clash Of The Titans" Tour with Slayer, Anthrax, and Megadeth commences.
Band debuts the song "Would?" at
Starplex in Dallas -- the crowd responds by tearing up the Grassy
Knoll.
The famed
"Combo-pack," pairing the Facelift
album with the Live Facelift home
video, is released. The album charts for the first time, nine months after its
release.
AUGUST
1991 through JANUARY 1992
Band tours with Van Halen. Eddie thinks the
band needs some wardrobe tips and buys everyone new Doc Martens and plaid shirts
(including some for himself).
AUGUST
1991
AIC make their national network television debut on ABC-TV's "In
Concert" Show. They steal the show.
SEPTEMBER 1991
Jerry Cantrell blows his chance for rock
immortality when, while skydiving with Megadeth's Dave Mustaine, his parachute
opens, and he lands safely.
Facelift is certified
gold.
NOVEMBER 1991
AIC records SAP, their second EP. The album title comes from a
dream Sean Kinney had in which, at a press conference, he announces the band's
new album is titled "SAP". The band
decides not to mess with fate.
DECEMBER 1991
While hunting in the woods with his brother,
Jerry Cantrell believes November has 31 days - he misses December 1st concert
with Van Halen. Columbia buys him a pocket calculator for
Christmas.
AIC is
voted Best New Band in readers' polls in RIP Magazine and Guitar For the
Practicing Musician.
MARCH
1992
AIC plays congenial hosts to the nation as they take "Entertainment
Tonight" on a visual tour of the Seattle music scene - pool halls, rock clubs,
and other revered dens of decadence.
APRIL
1992
Recording begins on the new album Dirt, with Dave Jerden and the band decides to
co-produce. They record through June.
JUNE
1992
Sean Kinney redecorates his apartment by throwing his coffee table out
the window.
AUGUST
1992
"Would?" becomes AICs' biggest
hit to-date, setting the stage for Dirt.
SEPTEMBER 1992
Dirt
is released. Written entirely by the band, Dirt paves a grim descent into a fine and private
hell. Clearly, AIC is on a collision course with some dark
destiny.
Layne runs
over himself while popping a wheelie with his 4-wheel ATV - breaks his foot but
not his spirit. Undaunted, he completes Ozzy Osbourne tour in wheelchair and on
crutches, never missing a date.
JANUARY
1993
The band performs at two massive festivals in South America. Mike Starr
reaches the top of the mountain, then retires. Bassist Mike Inez joins, causing
music world to engage in "Bewitched"-style debate: who was the better,
Darren?
FEBRUARY 1993
European headline club tour gets underway.
Several European countries dissolve into civil war, a coincidence?
APRIL
1993
AIC returns to U.S. to record songs "A Little
Bitter" and "What The Hell Have
I" for the soundtrack to Last Action Hero. The band predicts the
film will be the top box office champ of all time, nice try guys!
JUNE
through AUGUST 1993
AIC heads out on "Lollapalooza '93," the tour
of the year. Joining them are Fishbone, Primus, Tool, Rage Against the Machine,
Dinosaur Jr., Arrested Development, and Babes in Toyland.
Reportedly, Winger was squeezed out
of the line-up, and for good reason...they suck!
SEPTEMBER 1993
At the end of Lollapalooza, the band members
are evicted from their residence. Layne thought Jerry was gonna pay the rent.
Jerry thought Sean would. Sean thought Mike would... The band moves to London
Bridge Studio in Seattle - lonely, depressed and bored.
While in the studio, over a seven-day period
AIC writes, produces and records a new 7-song EP, inspired by previous effort,
SAP. Songs include "Rotten Apple," "Nutshell," "I Stay Away," "No Excuses," "Whale
and Wasp," "Don't Follow," and "Swing
On This."
They rush to release the EP before Stone Temple Pilots can get their own
rumored acoustic EP out.
The band names the EP Jar Of
Flies, after Jerry's famous high school science lab experiment:
two jars of flies, one with food, the other without. The flies without food ate
each other (Jerry's lifelong career indecision between music and entomology is
settled on the spot).
DECEMBER 1993
Power fails at Jerry's house, he is trapped
in home for two days because the automatic garage door fails to open. The
guitarist nearly starves to death because electric can opener also was not
working. He writes 20 more songs. Cantrell was later rescued by ski
patrol.
Dirt certified double-platinum.
JANUARY
1994
SAP idcertified gold.
Jar Of Flies is released.
FEBRUARY 1994
Jar Of
Flies debuts at #1 on Billboard album chart, the first and only
EP ever to reach #1.
MARCH
1994
The EP's first single, "No
Excuses," reaches #1 on all key album radio airplay charts,
setting the record for most spins in one week.
APRIL
1994
The second single, "I Stay
Away," is released. The video of the song features not AIC
members, but an amazing Claymation simulation.
OCTOBER
1994
Mike Inez plays on Slash's Snake Pit 5:00 A.M. Somewhere. Finds pace
with Slash too slow; decides to return to warm bosom of AIC.
NOVEMBER 1994
Layne Staley begins work with Mike McCready,
Barrett Martin, and Mysterious Baker on a band initially known as Gacy Gang, but
soon becomes Mad Season. An album is released in March of 1995. The single
"River of Deceit" becomes a Top 5
Alternative hit. The album is certified gold in May 1995.
MARCH
1995
Jerry Cantrell records "I've Seen All This
World I Care To See" for the Willie Nelson tribute album Twisted
Willie.
APRIL
1995
Layne, Jerry, Mike and Sean descend into Bad Animals studio to begin
sessions for what will become ALICE IN
CHAINS. Toby Wright (Corrosion of Conformity, Slayer)
produces.
JULY
1995
Sean Kinney plays with Johnny Cash on "Time of
the Preacher" for the Willie Nelson album. For some reason, Cash
keeps calling Sean "Sue."
OCTOBER
1995
"Grind," the first track from
ALICE IN CHAINS, leaks to radio
prematurely, causing feeding frenzy of radio programmers
nationwide.
OCTOBER
6, 1995
"Grind" is delivered to radio
via satellite uplink to stem excessive spread of taped copies of the
song.
OCTOBER
31, 1995
To celebrate Halloween properly, the band releases ALICE IN CHAINS in a vinyl edition.
NOVEMBER 7, 1995
ALICE IN
CHAINS is released on CD and cassette. A new era of hard
pleasures begins.
NOVEMBER 25, 1995
ALICE IN
CHAINS debuts at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 album
chart.
JANUARY
2, 1996
ALICE IN CHAINS is certified
gold and platinum by the RIAA.
APRIL
10, 1996
AIC tape a performance for "MTV Unplugged" at the Brooklyn Academy of
Music's Majestic Theater. During the group's first live appearance since January
7, 1994, AIC debuts a new song, "Killer Is
Me."
JUNE
28, 1996
AIC warms up the KISS army in Detroit's Tiger Stadium on the opening
night of the KISS reunion tour. AIC goes on to play three more shows on the KISS
tour (Louisville, June 30; St. Louis, July 2; Kansas City, July
3).
JULY
30, 1996
Unplugged is released. It turns
RIAA platinum a month later.
SEPTEMBER 4, 1996
AIC is nominated for Best Hard Rock Video at
the MTV Music Video Awards. They lose one more time.
MARCH
31, 1997
Jerry Cantrell releases his debut album Boggy
Depot. It features Sean Kinney on drums, as well as Mike Inez and
Les Claypool on bass.
OCTOBER
1998
AIC record "Died" and
"Get Born Again."
JUNE
29, 1999
AIC releases "Nothing Safe - Best Of The
Box", with the full boxed set to be released in
September.