Alice In Chains bassist dead at age 44

[michaelhigh]

Mike Starr, bassist of the 90's grunge band Alice In Chains, was found dead in his Salt Lake City home of an apparent drug overdose. Starr, 44 years old, left Alice In Chains after a prolonged battle with drug addiction, and had actually appeared on Dr. Drew Pinsky's "Rehab" show on MTV. The members of the band have released a statement to the effect of, "At this time we ask that the media respect the memory of Mike and the privacy of us and the Starr family". Dr Pinsky added, "Saddened by this great loss. My prayers go out to his family". He had a felony possession charge on his record in recent years due to being found in possession of various painkillers. Once again, Mike Starr, 44, bassist for Alice In Chains, was found dead in his Salt Lake City home at the age of 44.

 

[kangatoy]

It really is sad how many talented musicians have gone out this way.

My sympathies to the Starr family and friends. Hopefully he has found peace.

 

[33&athird]

Man, quite a sad story:sigh:. Alice in Chains has had a pretty rocky history, didn't they recently come out of retirement?. Kangatoy has a good point...way too many musicians go out like that...

 

[PickyEars81]

I haven't bothered listening to their new stuff since Layne died, but Mike will still be missed. You could see in Layne's eyes how truly depressed he was. Suicide by drugs - that one I think Mike's life was less tragic - at least there is that.

RIP Mike Starr.

A great band, one of my favorites from the 90s and probably my favorite "grunge" band.

 

[Arkay]

Sad - another one gone too young.

R.I.P., Mike Starr.



Too often, the demands of touring in a band and the requirement to always be "on" with lots of energy on stage, lead musicians to take stimulants before a performance, then downers to help them sleep, and this cycle gets worse and worse. Even without any stimulants, a few hours of performing live can give you such a natural adrenaline boost that you can't relax enough to sleep for hours afterward... but then you need to be "on" again the next day. I know from firsthand experience how difficult that can be, but I was performing in ONE place, with a short commute to/from home. Add in the need to travel between cities in between those performances, and I think it must be hellish to have a busy touring schedule. It's no wonder so many of them get hooked on prescription drugs first.

Add to that the money that pushers can make selling to these guys, who are already "chemicaled up," the expectations that come with the "rock star lifestyle," plus the leverage an addiction can give a (supplying) company over an artist, and it's easy to see how it happens.

The guys who survive it are the ones who get successful enough and wise enough at a young enough age, to get away from all that. We joke about how ancient the Rolling Stones look today, but few realize that they've been eating super-healthy salad-rich diets and been off of all drugs and getting exercise, etc... for many years already. What you see in their faces is the ravages of abuses committed many years ago. If they hadn't made those changes, they'd all have been dead decades ago, like so many other stars. They saw what was happening to themselves, and managed to turn the corner just before it was too late. Many don't accomplish that.

Understandable risk of the trade? Yes. Nice? NO!

 

[cprincipe]

A shame as when I saw Starr on Dr. Drew it seemed like he "got" what rehab was about. I think he could never forgive himself for Layne Staley's death.

 

[240sx4u]

^ I absolutely agree with you. I was very sad to hear of this after seeing him work so hard on celebrity rehab.

 

[PickyEars81]

Sad - another one gone too young.

R.I.P., Mike Starr.



Too often, the demands of touring in a band and the requirement to always be "on" with lots of energy on stage, lead musicians to take stimulants before a performance, then downers to help them sleep, and this cycle gets worse and worse. Even without any stimulants, a few hours of performing live can give you such a natural adrenaline boost that you can't relax enough to sleep for hours afterward... but then you need to be "on" again the next day. I know from firsthand experience how difficult that can be, but I was performing in ONE place, with a short commute to/from home. Add in the need to travel between cities in between those performances, and I think it must be hellish to have a busy touring schedule. It's no wonder so many of them get hooked on prescription drugs first.

Add to that the money that pushers can make selling to these guys, who are already "chemicaled up," the expectations that come with the "rock star lifestyle," plus the leverage an addiction can give a (supplying) company over an artist, and it's easy to see how it happens.

The guys who survive it are the ones who get successful enough and wise enough at a young enough age, to get away from all that. We joke about how ancient the Rolling Stones look today, but few realize that they've been eating super-healthy salad-rich diets and been off of all drugs and getting exercise, etc... for many years already. What you see in their faces is the ravages of abuses committed many years ago. If they hadn't made those changes, they'd all have been dead decades ago, like so many other stars. They saw what was happening to themselves, and managed to turn the corner just before it was too late. Many don't accomplish that.

Understandable risk of the trade? Yes. Nice? NO!

Not really in this case, though. They were all heroin addicts, most of them before they ever made it. Layne started using heroin at age 15, and I know most of the band did before they ever "made it." Heroin was very popular in Seattle during that time (early nineties), and pretty much all of the grunge bands did it. Honestly, I think it does influence some artistic traits, so maybe we wouldn't have had the AIC we know if not for Bayer?

 

[bobellis75]

Sad story...a GREAT grunge/hard rock band...guys were very talented and had range as well, as evidenced by their EP's (Sap and Jar of Flies).

I stopped following them after Staley's death...wasn't the same after that. Only two originals left now in Cantrell and Kinney, although Inez has been there a while now.

 

[jimfet]

I hope Jerry has his **** together. I think he is one of the best guitar talents alive today. He is one of the few that can actually play feedback and lead at the same time. I'm not talking about getting feedback, but playing it. Not many people have done it betwwen him and Hendrix.