Alice in Chains: The Untold Story

Other musicians took to Twitter to offer their condolences and pay tribute to Mike, including former Guns n’ Roses members Steven Adler, Matt Sorum, and Slash; former Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy; and Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx. Two of Mike’s Celebrity Rehab castmates Mackenzie Phillips and Lisa D’Amato also paid their respects, as did Dr. Drew Pinsky and Jennifer Gimenez, the house manager on Sober House.19

According to his will, Mike appointed his mother, Gayle, as executrix of his estate and his sister, Melinda, as a backup in the event their mother would not be able to serve in that capacity. The will states Mike intended to make a list of items from his personal property to be given as gifts at a later time. The rest of his assets and estate were to be distributed equally among his parents and sister. According to a court document, Mike’s assets were valued at in excess of $350,000—primarily future royalty payments—and his debts at not more than $240,000, meaning his estate was solvent.20 There are no publicly available estimates for the current value of Mike’s estate three years after his death.

A private memorial service was held at Experience Music Project on March 20, 2011, followed by a public service at the International Fountain immediately after.21 Photos were compiled into a slide show, which was projected on-screen as people spoke. Mike’s white Spector bass, his signature instrument, was displayed onstage. Mike’s friends and family shared memories from elementary school up until his final days.

“Really hard” is how Buttino described the service. “Kathleen [Austin] walked up to me and just hugged me for a while and hung out with me, and she knew it was hard for me. I hadn’t really talked to Gayle in a while, and it was hard for me to walk up to her. She just gave me a big hug, and I told her I loved her and sorry and I tried, and we both about burst into tears, so I walked away. [It was] the hardest thing I ever went through.”

Dr. Drew Pinsky and Mike Bloom, the cofounder of the Pasadena Recovery Center, sent videotaped statements offering their condolences. The statements were included with a montage of Mike’s highlights from Celebrity Rehab and Sober House.

SATO guitarist Ken Kramer said, “I just remember him as an unconditionally loving person. It didn’t matter, any of you guys, whoever you were, if you knew him, he loved you unconditionally, no matter what.”

Andrew Wood’s fiancée, Xana La Fuente, recalled, “The last time I saw Mike, I told him I wouldn’t give up on him even if I was standing over his grave. Yesterday marks twenty-one years, sixteen hours, and … well, you guys know [Wood’s death]. The people that were there for me during that were Jerry, Mike—you guys made all that a lot better for me. We don’t say good-bye to Mike. We say hello to heaven.”

Happenin’ Harry, a Los Angeles show promoter and musician, said that when they lived together, Mike walked out of Harry’s closet wearing his clothes because he wanted to dress up as Harry for Halloween. He also recalled Mike’s giving out hundred-dollar bills at shows to starving guitar players who didn’t have enough gas to get home. Harry once went over to Mike’s house when Mike was “so proud” he had gotten a new car. “Dude, check it out!” Harry thought he would get a ride, but Mike got in the car by himself and drove it around the block.

Jerry and Sean were in attendance. Jerry said, “Looking at all those pictures is amazing. It made me think about the first time I met him, which was in Burien, I guess. My mother and my grandmother had just passed, and I didn’t really have anywhere to go. I had met this guy Tim Branom, and he had invited me to come to his house and to stay for a couple of days. I was kind of camped out in his basement, and he said this guy was coming over to play bass with us to try out for Gypsy Rose, I guess. Mike cruises up on a motorcycle, and he just looked really cool, man. He was a great guy. We got to spend about a week together. I didn’t make the band, actually. Brock [Graue] did. I got cut. I think Mike lasted a little longer than I did.”

“I met Layne … very shortly after that,” Jerry explained. “He introduced me to Sean, and we were talking about maybe getting together and jamming. He’s like, ‘Do you got any ideas for a bass player?’ I was like, ‘I met this guy Mike Starr, who’s really cool.’ He’s like, ‘That’s really weird, because he’s my friend and I’m dating his sister. I think I can make that happen.’ So he brought him down, and that’s how everything started for us.”