Alice in Chains: The Untold Story

The account is probably accurate, but there are two details that deserve correction. First is the timing of the Ministry show in Hawaii. Jourgensen thought the show happened during the 1989–90 period. According to a Ministry fan site with a detailed tour history of the band, the show happened in 1993.3 Second is the claim that Ministry introduced Layne to intravenous drug use. By this point Layne had already been using heroin, off and on, for a little more than a year, and Alice in Chains had already recorded and released Dirt. Multiple sources who knew and worked with Layne in the 1989–90 period have said on the record that there is no evidence of Layne using heroin at that time. Ministry was not responsible for introducing Layne to shooting up—he was already doing it on his own.

That same month, Alice in Chains was starting an extensive touring schedule. By this point, something had to change. There are different and sometimes contradictory versions of the story told by Alice in Chains members and associates, but the outcome in all versions is the same: Mike Starr was out of Alice in Chains, replaced by Ozzy Osbourne’s bassist, Mike Inez. Susan told Mark Yarm the other three band members made the decision to fire Starr on their own and told him—and that it happened in Hawaii, just before two large festival shows in Brazil with L7, Nirvana, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.4

According to Randy Biro, there was talk within the band about dismissing Starr potentially as early as the Ozzy Osbourne tour the previous fall. Whatever the tipping point that precipitated the decision to fire Starr and how it went down, only Jerry and Sean—the two surviving original band members—and possibly Susan would know. Sources have speculated that Mike’s desire for more publishing rights, his attitude, his scalping tickets and backstage passes, his drug use, or some combination of these all were contributing factors to his dismissal. Starr’s friend Aaron Woodruff said he wasn’t showing up for band practice and speculated that was when his addiction was starting to take hold.

Because the band had spent weeks touring with Ozzy Osbourne, they had a replacement in mind. “We made one phone call—we called Mike [Inez]. If we’re going to get another bass player, we’re going to have to at least get another guy with the same name, smokes the same cigarettes, plays the same bass, looks the same!” Jerry explained. According to Sean, no other bassists were called or auditioned.5

“My phone rings and it’s Sean Kinney, and he’s calling me from Hawaii,” Inez recalled during an interview with Behind the Player. “He says, ‘I think our bass player Mike wants to quit the band. Would you consider going to Brazil with us?’

“‘When?’

“‘Get on a plane.’”

Inez was in Nevada at the time mixing Osbourne’s Live and Loud album when the call came. Inez, who was initially under the impression it would be a temporary gig, explained the situation to Osbourne and asked if he thought he should go.

“If you don’t go, you’re going to be in the hospital for about seven days,” was the Prince of Darkness’s response.

“Why?”

“It’s going to take them that long to get my foot out of your ass.”

With Osbourne’s blessing, Inez was ready to hop on a plane to Brazil and perform with Alice in Chains without any rehearsal. He even got vaccinations for the trip. Ultimately, they told him to hold off and meet with the band in London.6 Biro thinks the band may have held off on dismissing Starr until getting a commitment from Inez but isn’t sure. “It was a very weird time for the band. It was a very emotional time,” he said. “They used to live together. They starved together. And one of them was being kicked out.”

He added, “Layne and Starr were buddies. Layne was never the same after Starr left. He knew Starr had to leave on a business level, but on a personal level, I think it really fucked him up. It fucked all of us up. I felt really bad because there was a part of me, the business side, there is no question Starr had to go. It was sad but he was still family, and once he was out of that band he had nothing.

“[The decision to fire Starr] was brought up in privacy with myself and other crew members. They were looking for our input,” Biro said. “I think they were looking for maybe someone to say, ‘No, that’s not a good idea.’ But I think the label was pushing for it in some ways. I think Susan might have been pushing for it in some ways. It had to be done on a business level.” At one point in Brazil, Layne asked Biro, “Do you think we’re doing the right thing?”

“Unfortunately, I think you are,” he responded.

The fact that Starr’s days with the band were numbered did not make them any easier. Randy Biro was in his hotel room in Brazil when he got a call from Susan. According to Biro, she was “yelling and screaming at me because I was talking shit about Mike Starr. Like calling him a loser for being kicked out of the band to his face.