Layne Staley (vocals): Date of Birth: August 22 1967, Place of Birth: Kirkland, Washington. Jerry Cantrell (guitar): Date of Birth: March 18 1966, Place of Birth: Tacoma, Washington. Sean Kinney (drums): Date of Birth: May 27 1966, Place of Birth: Seattle, Washington. Mike Inez (bass): Date of Birth: May 14 1966, Place of Birth: California. Mike Starr (bass): Date of Birth: April 4 1966, Place of Birth: Honolulu, Hawaii.
Seattle grunge rockers Alice in Chains formed in 1987 as a heavy metal quartet composed of Layne Staley (vocals/guitar), Jerry Cantrell (guitar), Mike Starr (bass) and Sean Kinney (drums). After gigging around the Northwest the band signed to Columbia in 1989, releasing their debut EP We Die Young the following year. The title track became an underground metal hit, ensuring the success of their full-length debut, 1990's Facelift. With frequent airplay of the Top 20 single "Man in the Box" and epic tours with Van Halen, Megadeth, and Iggy Pop, Alice in Chains became nationally known and Facelift went gold. Shifting away from the Black Sabbath/Led Zepplin style dark heavy rock of their debut, the foursome returned in 1992 with Sap, a softer acoustic EP.
With the post-Nevermind rise of grunge, Alice in Chains was recast as an "alternative" band, donning flannel and contributing to the infamous Singles soundtrack. In October 1992 the group released Dirt, an instant classic thanks to the radio hits "Would?" and "Rooster." By the end of the year the album went platinum. In early 1993 Mike Starr was replaced by former Ozzy Osbourne bassist Mike Inez, in time to appear with Alice in Chains on Lollapalooza '93. In 1994 the EP Jar of Flies debuted at No. 1 (the first EP to do so) and quickly went multi-platinum. Though Jar of Flies dominated the charts, the quartet did not tour; later the band officially announced it was going on hiatus while Layne Staley performed with the supergroup Mad Season and Inez worked with Slash's Snake Pit.
Dispelling rumors of a breakup, Alice in Chains returned in late 1995 with a long-awaited eponymous album, which debuted at No. 1. The band gave their first performance in several years in early 1996 on MTV's "Unplugged" show (a recording of the show was later released as an album), later opening a few dates for KISS. In 1997 Jerry Cantrell, who played cameo parts in the movies Jerry McGuire and Private Parts, recorded a solo album.
Though the band's mid -- decade reunion proved to be short lived, Alice still hasn't officially broken up, and in fact maintains a remarkably consistent release schedule for a band whose very existence remains in doubt. The 4 CD retrospective box set Music Bank, plus a 12 -- song "best of the box" single CD titled Nothing Safe appeared in 1999. In 2000, Sony released Live, consisting of previously unreleased live material.
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