Layne Staley was born August 22nd, 1967 in Kirkland, Washington. At the age of 7 his parents divorced and by the age of 12 he learned to play the drums. He was the member of several glam bands around Seattle playing the drums and singing, but at the age of 15 he gave up the drums and soley focused on singing. He sang for a few bands then met up with Jerry to form their own band in 1987. Layne has had his problems with drug abuse, especially heroin and is noted for singing about his drug problems in their album entitled "Dirt". His heroin addiction has led to the cancellation of a tour with Metallica in the early nineties and he has been through several different rehabs fighting his addiction. Unfortunately, he lost his battle and was found dead on April 19th, 2002. He was a brilliant artist, poet, and photographer and his music will live on.
Jerry Cantrell was born March 18th, 1966 in Tacoma, Washington. Jerry's father was a vietnam veteran and his mother was a talented musician. Jerry started playing the guitar around the age of 12 but didnt take it seriously until around the age of 17. Jerry was the main songwriter for the Facelift album which rocketed Alice In Chains to stardom. His mother died soon after the release of the album and never got to see her son's success. He has written a good amount of the songs for Alice In Chains and in 1998 he released his solo album Bogey Depot. He even made his movie debut with a small part in Jerry McGuire. He was even named one of the top 100 guitarists of all time in Guitar World Magazine. He is working on his latest solo album called Degradation Trip which is rumored to be released in June or July of 2002.
Sean Kinney was born May 27th, 1966 in Seattle, Washington. Sean started playing the drums around the age of 5 and by the age of 9 he was playing drums in his grandfather's band called the Cross Cats. He played all various kinds of music for the Cross Cats traveling around the United States and Canada performing at various places including weddings and dances. He was dating Mike Starr's sister when he was asked to join Alice In Chains in 1987. He is now working in a band called Spys4Darwin.
Mike Inez was born May 14th, 1966 in California. Mike Inez was the second bassist for Alice In Chains after Mike Starr had to leave because of drug problems. He was musically inclined at a very early age. His first instrument was the guitar and he has an associate's degree in music for saxophone and keyboard. He later switched to bass and eventually joined Ozzy Osbourne's band. When Mike Starr left Alice In Chains they needed a replacement and they got Ozzy's go ahead to recruit Mike. Mike is now working alongside Sean Kinney in the band Spys4Darwin.
Mike Starr was born April 4th, 1966 in Honolulu, Hawaii. Mike Starr was friends with Jerry, and Sean was going out with Mike sister at the time Alice In Chains were formed. He was previously with other local bands and opened for national acts including Quensryche. After developing serious drug problems including heroin addiction he left Alice In Chains in 1993. After leaving Alice In Chains he formed a band called Sun Red Sun. A book has been released about his story called "Unchained - The Story of Mike Starr And His Rise And Fall In Alice In Chains" written by John Brandon.