Alice in Chains: The Untold Story

After the show, the band was hearing rumors that, in Biro’s words, “the shit’s gonna hit the fan”—meaning local police might be involved. Layne and his security guard John Sampson went to the tour bus to get on the ferry to Finland and wait for the others to leave the country.17

The band and crew were about to check out of their Stockholm hotel when they saw police officers waiting in the lobby. The skinhead had called the police, who went to the hotel looking for Layne and seized the band and crew members’ passports so they couldn’t leave the country. When they discovered Layne wasn’t there, officers hurried to the ferry, pulled him off, and arrested him. According to Biro, the skinhead’s brother, who was also at the concert, went to the police and told them his brother had been picking on people at the show and Layne helped stop him. At that point, Biro said, “the police congratulated us and let us go.

“Layne was a really good person about bullies because he had been bullied when he was a kid,” Biro explained. “He wasn’t a good-looking guy and everything, so he got picked on quite a bit as a youngster, and he seemed to remember that. And when he got into a powerful position, he paid people back or he helped out the people that were weak, like he was at one point.”

When the tour hit Paris, the crew discovered the venue had a decibel limit regulating the noise levels. The band was warned about it ahead of time, but they—minus Layne—went to sound check. Mike and Sean tested their gear and were told it was already too loud, all this before the PA and monitors were even turned on. At that point, they looked at each other and left, calling off the show. According to Biro, Layne stayed at the hotel so they could say he was sick and have a legal excuse to cancel the show.

The band came back from Europe in mid-March 1993. Shortly after their return, they did a quick headlining U.S. tour with Circus of Power and Masters of Reality. Mike’s first studio experience with Alice in Chains was when they recorded two songs in April 1993, “What the Hell Have I” and “A Little Bitter” for the soundtrack of the movie Last Action Hero. Stuart Hallerman, owner of Avast! Studios, recorded some demos with Alice in Chains and hosted them for rehearsals while they wrote the songs. There were signs of Layne’s drug problem during these sessions.18

Producer and engineer Toby Wright was friends with Nick Terzo, who asked if he would be interested in working with the band on the songs, an offer he accepted.

Riki Rachtman interviewed Layne and Mike on Headbangers Ball during this period and asked whether there was a “big difference” having Mike Inez in the studio as they worked on new songs.

“No, not really,” Layne responded, laughing.

Mike added, “I don’t want to be in this band, and they won’t let me quit. These guys are crazy, man. They’re holding my family hostage.”

Layne jokingly replied, “You’re contractually obligated, so stick with it, big guy.”19

The Alice in Chains Fan Club newsletter noted, “As of now, Mike Inez of Ozzy’s band has been filling in the bass position. Things have been grooving so well, it looks like Mr. Inez may just become a member of the Chains gang. We’ll keep you posted.” The band returned to Europe for a series of dates opening for Metallica, after which they would return to the United States to play Lollapalooza.20

Rocky Schenck traveled to Seattle to direct the video for “What the Hell Have I,” which was shot on June 13. “Layne and Jerry particularly enjoyed creating the sequences where their faces were projected live onto their own faces and each other’s faces.” Jerry was responsible for the oversize masks surrounding the band. This was also Schenck’s first time meeting Mike, whom he liked right away.

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During the summer of 1993, Alice in Chains would be the second-to-last band on the main stage of Lollapalooza. The tour kicked off on June 18 and would perform across North America until early August.21 Layne was trying to stay clean, according to Randy Biro, so he got his own bus with a recording studio in the back lounge and a security guard traveling with him at all times. According to multiple sources, Layne relapsed, using alcohol and drugs on the tour.

Johnny Bacolas and James Bergstrom went to the Portland show. “Johnny and I sat on the side of the stage by the manager watching them, and it was a fabulous show,” Bergstrom recalled. “We just hung out with Layne and had so much fun—you know, it was like we were kids again. I think he struggled being away: the grind of the road and the whole lifestyle … Obviously with his addiction, it was just fostering sadness and unhappiness.”