Alice In Chains guitarist Jerry Cantrell revealed a calculated strategy for recruiting Layne Staley as their lead singer in a recent interview with Gibson TV.
Cantrell described Staley’s involvement in other musical projects at the time. These included a band called Alice ‘N Chains and another group focused on glammy, goth-style dance music.
“Layne had had his band, which used kind of the same name, but it was more like Guns N’ Roses, Alice ‘N Chains instead of Alice in Chains,” Cantrell recalled. “And then he had this other band with another dude named Ron, which was kind of more like Dead or Alive kind of stuff, like glammy, goth kind of dance stuff.”
Cantrell outlined their initial collaborative arrangement.
“We made a deal with each other to jam on this third project between our two projects,” he explained. “But after a period of time, Sean and Mike and I were kind of tired of that. We were cocky, and we’re like, ‘We’re better than those guys.'”
Cantrell then detailed their strategic plan to convince Staley to join full-time.
“So we’re like, ‘How do we get him to quit his other side projects?’ And we were like, ‘Let’s just start trying out singers in his room that I’m living in,’ cold-blooded, you know,” he said. “We put an ad in the local music magazine, saying, ‘Band’s looking for blah, blah, blah, must have equipment.'”
The strategy achieved its intended result.
“After that last dude, he came down. He’s like, ‘All right, all right, I’m in. I can’t let you guys be playing with these guys,'” Cantrell remembered. “We’re like, ‘We weren’t really serious, man. We just wanted to get you pissed off enough to join.’ He’s like, ‘Well, you got me. Okay, I’m in.'”
This clever maneuver led to the formation of the classic Alice In Chains lineup. The band would later achieve remarkable success in the rock music scene.
The origins of Cantrell and Staley’s partnership preceded this recruitment strategy. Research from American Songwriter revealed their first meeting occurred at a Seattle party in summer 1987. Cantrell had previously watched Staley perform with his glam metal band in Tacoma. He was immediately impressed by Staley’s powerful vocals.
Their creative relationship grew stronger after becoming roommates. This living arrangement created an ideal environment for their songwriting collaboration. Both musicians faced career transitions during this period. Cantrell’s band Diamond Lie was dissolving. Staley’s funk project had stalled.
Alice In Chains took shape when Cantrell and Staley teamed up with drummer Sean Kinney and bassist Mike Starr. This combination would establish the band’s classic lineup.
A distinctive vocal approach set the band apart from their peers. Documentation from IMDb highlighted the band’s innovative use of harmonized vocals between Staley and Cantrell. This signature element brought unique depth to their music. It helped establish their distinctive sound.
The band’s formation proved crucial to the Seattle music scene. Alice In Chains joined forces like Nirvana and Pearl Jam in defining the grunge movement. Together, they shaped the dominant sound of rock music in the early 1990s.
