Alice in Chains: The Untold Story

Rocky Schenck directed the music video for “My Song,” which was shot on location in Los Angeles on June 6 and 7, 1998. “I can remember the record company being very upset with me about the concept, telling me that it ‘would never play on MTV,’” Schenck wrote. Jerry supported Schenck throughout the project, and it was filmed as planned. There is a second version of the video, which is “a bit racier” than the edited version that aired on MTV.14

To support the album, Jerry put together a live band consisting of Sean; former Queensrÿche guitarist Chris DeGarmo; Old Lady Litterbug bassist Nick Rhinehart; and the former Fishbone keyboardist Chris Dowd. The group landed an opening slot for Metallica’s U.S. tour, which ran from June through September 1998.15 Jerry would often close shows with a cover of Pink Floyd’s “Brain Damage” and “Eclipse,” the last two songs on The Dark Side of the Moon.16

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In August 1998, Dave Jerden, Bryan Carlstrom, and Annette Cisneros were working on the Offspring’s Americana album at Jerden’s El Dorado studio. Jerden got a call: Alice in Chains wanted to record two new songs with Layne for Music Bank, their upcoming box set. With the exception of Mike Inez, it would be a reunion of the band and production team that made Dirt six years earlier.

Because the Offspring had booked studio time and had all their gear set up, the only time Alice in Chains could come in was the weekend of August 22–23. The Offspring agreed to let Alice in Chains use the studio. The fact both bands were signed to Columbia Records probably helped make that happen. For Jerden, it was a no-brainer. “We gotta do this,” he told his engineer, Bryan Carlstrom. Carlstrom was tired from working long hours and initially did not want to do it, until Jerden convinced him otherwise. “I basically told him, ‘You have to do it.’ It’s the only time in my life where I ever said that to Bryan.”

Jerden was under the impression the band was going to be there the entire weekend, based on what he heard from his manager, who had talked to Susan. His plan was to record a song a day—basic tracks, overdubs, and mixing. Because Carlstrom was burned out, Jerden was prepared to mix the songs himself.

Early in the morning of Saturday, August 22, Cisneros, the assistant engineer, and Elan Trujillo, the runner and studio assistant, came in and thoroughly documented all the levels and settings on the Offspring’s gear and the control-room equipment before they could take everything down and set up for Alice in Chains. Trujillo was excited. He had moved back to Los Angeles specifically to work with Dave Jerden, in large part because of Jerden’s work with Jane’s Addiction and Alice in Chains. Two years later, he had the opportunity to work with Alice in Chains. “I had to contain myself as best I could, because I was, like, freaking out. For me, this young kid, and, like, one of my favorite bands of all time is gonna come in. Like, I’m gonna be able to work with these guys? This is it! This was the culmination of the whole deal,” Trujillo said, the enthusiasm still evident in his voice years later.

The production team was ready to work by ten o’clock in the morning. Sean’s drum tech, Jimmy Shoaf, and Jerry’s guitar tech, Darrell Peters, were the first to arrive, and they set up all the gear. That day also happened to be Layne’s thirty-first birthday. When Trujillo found out, he told Cisneros they should get him a cake. She agreed and gave him money to buy a cake and candles.

Jerry, Sean, and Mike arrived in the late morning or early afternoon. Sean got all his parts down in about four takes, Shoaf recalled. Mike recorded his bass parts, and then Jerry recorded his rhythm-guitar parts and some overdubs. Cisneros had her camera and took several photos during the session.

There was a sense of excitement before Layne arrived. Accounts vary as to the exact time he got there, but it was late—possibly as late as 3:00 A.M., according to Jerden. When he finally arrived, the change in his physical appearance was striking even from his final live performances two years earlier, let alone from 1992, when Jerden, Carlstrom, and Cisneros had last seen him. He had grown his hair down past his shoulders, in its natural brownish-blond color. He was wearing a white cap and eyeglasses. He had a dark gray shirt and a blue Dallas Cowboys jacket. He was wearing a necklace or chain that had what appeared to be a pipe hanging from the end. He was also carrying a black leather satchel.17

“Layne showed up at the studio, and I didn’t recognize him. He looked like an eighty-year-old man. He didn’t have any teeth. I was shocked, to say the least,” Carlstrom recalled.