Layne Staley, still feeling the loss..

I listened to a segement on Drew and Mike's morning show on 101 FM this morning on my way through Detroit on my commute about the last days of Layne Staley.  Staley was the singer for grunge rock band Alice in Chains.  He died in his apartment in 2002 from the effects of heroin addiction.

Alice in Chains is my favorite all-time rock band.  I don't care to debate it, its just my opinion. I know the grade is incomplete due to the short list of albums,  but each of their albums and EP's with Staley are classic from the first to last song, and each disc is unique from the others.  My favorite is Jar of Flies but Dirt was the one that hooked me.  I sat in the car until the DJ came back on to tell me who that band was so I could go out and but the CD after work.  (That was before Google and the internet. You couldn't just search it..)

Anyway, the discussion on WRIF was about Staley's total social withdrawal and descent into drug use and seclusion until death, answering calls only from a select few and taking visits from drug dealers from the bar downstairs.  He knew he was too far gone to be saved and he was too ashamed to go out in public or invite friends and family in.  He was just hanging out alone shooting up not for the trip but just to ease the pain of coming down.  Just waiting to die, just like he sang about for years.    

Too bad his friends or family or manager or somebody didn't have an intervention and just force him into rehab before it was too late. Anyhoo.. I wanted to share a cool Alice in Chains song as a tribute to my man Layne Staley.   Here is Junkhead from the Dirt CD.