In Memory of Layne Staley
Today is the tenth anniversary of Layne Staley‘s passing. It’s a strange thing, seeing how any comments & writings about the Grunge movement/era seems to focus mostly on Kurt Cobain and his passing, but never in the importance of Alice in Chains.
From a personal point, the music of Alice in Chains spoke to me in ways that Nirvana never did. More importantly, the voice of Layne was the voice of a generation fraught with fear, torn between the commodities of growing up in a well to do era (80s) and the irony-laden, cynicism of the 90s. Pearl Jam was social and political issues served up with a healthy dose of distortion by 5 good looking dudes, Nirvana was teenage angst perfectly performed by 3 scruffy upstarts and Alice in Chains was the uglier side of your soul, the thoughts we all have in the dark recesses of our hearts.
‘Nutshell’, that’s the song that defines to me the loneliness of the human being. The sadness of the notes, the bellows and moans of Layne‘s croon…it’s a heartbreaking piece of music. Jar of Flies is a perfect EP and if you want to get started on the mad, unnerving trip that Alice in Chains is, that’s your starting point.
Not all was dark music for Layne, though. There was this side project that barely gets any mention. It was called Mad Season. A supergroup born from a long talk in a coffee shop, it included Layne Staley, Mike McCready (Pearl Jam), Barrett Martin (Screaming Trees) and John Baker Saunders (The Walkabouts). They only released one album, Above, which goes for a softer side, with a quest about introspection (‘River of deceit’), an acceptance of how insignificant we might feel (‘I don’t know anything’), the strangely soothing feelings of loneliness (‘All alone’) and a sense of psychedelic freedom that can only be achieved by facing a warm summer rain with arms wide open (‘November hotel’).
Oh, going off on a tangent. We are talking about Layne, aren’t we? His was a gravelly voice, scary and ready to growl until you became a whimpering mess, but also showing a strange frailty with that lingering vibrato that always felt like how no matter we pretend to be strong, we are brittle inside.
His death of an overdose was a tragedy, surpassed only by how criminally overlooked his contribution to music was. Layne Staley might not get a mention in most remembrances of grunge, his name might be just a footnote to a lot of historians, but to those ones who were deeply touched by the music he sung and made, he will always be a full chapter in our lives.
Interview – Dennis Hopper Choppers
Source : Dennis Hopper Choppers Facebook.
Where were you when the nameless stranger in a black guayabera shirt came into town and saved us from the rustlers? Where where you when he rode into the horizon, his silhouette vanishing into the horizon like a Fata Morgana?
Maybe you were drinking some pozol, maybe you were worried about that aces & eights hand you were dealt. Whatever happened, we found that lonesome stranger with the gravelly voice and the cinematic music. His name is Ben Nicholls, but prefers Dennis Hopper Choppers.
The rough and tough exterior was only one layer of his personality. We wanted to find out more after thoroughly loving his gospel (review) and wondering about that girl that walked out of town… (more…)
Interview – The Life and Times
The Life and Times. Legends.
A few years ago, a group of scientists recorded the sound of stars (really!). The technique called stellar seismology gives us a sound and that sound describes what the star is made from. It’s a sound that pulsates and stays with you.
So is also the sounds that The Life and Times gives us in every release. Called space rock (a term thrown around by several fans – specially us), their music is quite dynamic and atmospheric, where every instrument has a clear cut voice perfectly enveloping each other, like twine.
We had the pleasure of reviewing their latest offering, No one loves you like I do (review) and even better, we managed to get much cherished interview with Allen Epley (guitars/vocals). Without any further ado, here it is…
Interview – The Pale Pacific
The Pale Pacific. Source:Myspace
The story has been the same for several of my favourite bands: the discount bin. Not because they aren’t good bands, but a certain major chain of stores in Mexico insists on not knowing what gems they have and eventually put a lot of great stuff at very low prices. Which means me and one of my best friends can go and blow our budgets on wonderful music. One of the recommendations from this friend (thanks, Emilio) was a band called The Pale Pacific.
I got Rules are predictable and listened to it with my dad while on the car back from the work. We both loved the EP and talked a few times about this sort of music and the bands and sometimes wondered what made them tick.
Couple of years later and some emailing afterwards, we managed to have a Q & A with Greg Swinehart (drums, backing vocals, stylish clothes) as the news of The Pale Pacific recording new stuff made us all giddy. So, get your dream pop drinks ready and read on… (more…)
