Alice in Chains: The Untold Story

Austin explained, “Because Layne basically became a recluse after Dem died, a lot of the stories about Layne ended when Demri died. So the people that got up and talked, a lot of the stories were ‘Layne and Demri and I,’ and there were photographs of her I’d never seen before. It was like being at a memorial service for my daughter six years later.” As people walked into the room, there was a large bulletin board where guests could display their photos. Jamie Elmer estimated that about half of the photos included Demri.

There was a small wooden stage in the middle of the room for people to speak. Jim Elmer’s father, the Rev. William Elmer—a minister in the Evangelical Church of North America—spoke. Jim Elmer, Nancy Layne McCallum, and Liz Coats also spoke. According to Jim, “I had made comments to the effect that if there was one thing to remember Layne by it was his courage to be himself, and he was no phony. That was the word that I typically thought of, of Layne, not as a little child—I mean, as a little child, he had courage. As he grew up, he knew what he wanted to do somewhat, but he had the courage to go for it, and that was my word of the day; that’s how I’ll always remember him.”

“Looking back on it, a number of us obviously [mentioned] Demri when … speaking at the service. I think that most people had the sense, like, ‘Well, at least now they’re together,’” Jamie Elmer said.

Ken Elmer didn’t speak, but he took solace in childhood memories of his stepbrother: family vacations, playing together, private moments from long before fame or drug addiction had entered Layne’s life. “At the funeral, I was very anti–wanting to give that Layne up. And that’s still the Layne that I know in my head, and I am very content with that,” he said.

After Layne’s family spoke, there was an open microphone. Barrett Martin wrote the eulogy.9

Jerry and Susan both spoke, according to multiple sources who were present, none of whom recall the specifics of what they said.

Johnny Bacolas was having a difficult time. “That day was like a bad nightmare for me. I was pretty much in shock. I wanted to speak, but I couldn’t. I just couldn’t get up there. I literally felt like I was frozen, almost. Like I just went through the motions, somehow got there, experienced it, and got back home.”

For Nick Pollock, who had stepped away from the public eye and kept his distance from his musical past, this was the first time he had seen many of his friends from the music scene, including Bacolas and Bergstrom. “It was still kind of surreal to be going through that. I still can’t believe this is happening and we’re doing this.”

Chris Cornell joined Ann and Nancy Wilson for a cover of the Rolling Stones’s “Wild Horses.” They also performed “Sand,” a song the Wilsons had originally recorded for the Lovemongers album Whirlygig. The song was written several years earlier for Ann’s gardener, who died of AIDS.10

Alice in Chains was done, for the time being.

PART VI 2002–2014

Here’s what I believe. Shit fucking happens. That’s rule one. Everybody walking the planet knows that. Rule two: things rarely turn out the way you planned. Three: everybody gets knocked down. Four, and most important of all: after you take those shots, it’s time to stand up and walk on—to continue to live.

Jerry Cantrell

The real glory is being knocked to your knees and then coming back.

That’s real glory. That’s the essence of it.

Vince Lombardi

Chapter 28

Hey, Officer, have you heard of Alice in Chains?

MIKE STARR

ON THE NIGHT he got home from Brazil after being fired from the band, Mike was in his mother’s basement when he called a friend. “Alley, man, I need you here now.” Steve Alley hadn’t spoken with Mike in a long time but drove over. Mike brought a copy of the twenty-four-track Alice in Chains demo that got the band signed, and they sat in his car until five o’clock in the morning, talking and listening to the demo. “He wanted to listen to it again and again, and he’s like, ‘Hey, man, what do you think about that bass line?’” Alley recalled. “He was trying to grab on to everything that was our past, kind of. He was just trying. He was drawing at straws for bringing back the innocent times.”

At some point in early 1993, Bryan Carlstrom was pulling into the parking lot of El Dorado Studios. There was an alcove in the front of the building right off Sunset Boulevard, and he saw Mike standing there. “Hey, Mike, what are you doing?” he asked.