In a recent chat with The Aquarian, Jerry Cantrell discussed the silent deal he had with Layne Staley.
“Everything that I know came to focus in the filter of what Alice In Chains became,” the rocker said of his bandmates. “The way that Layne [Staley, vocalist] and I wrote, and Sean [Kinney, drummer] and Mike [Starr, bassist], we didn’t really talk about sh*t, but had an unspoken agreement of not holding back.”
He went on to say, “No pulled punches. Warts and all. Unfiltered, unbridled, there it is. That’s something we all developed together, and I guess it’s something I take with me wherever I go.”
Cantrell also talked about his working relationship with the late frontman in a 2022 interview with Billboard. He said, “We work in a really interesting way, especially lyrically and melodically. The way that Layne and I worked together, we had a pretty good partnership.”
“We didn’t really talk about things too much, but we just filled the other half of what the other guy didn’t have. Like if I was stuck somewhere or I didn’t have an idea, Layne always had it, and if he was stuck somewhere, I always had it. It was a really cool thing we had,” the singer explained.
Jerry also previously shared how Staley inspired his singing, saying, “I was happy to play guitar and sing backup in Alice In Chains. When you have a guy like Layne Staley in the band, you don’t want to compete with him. But I give Layne credit for giving me the confidence to sing. I was amazed by him.”
“I was the main writer with the band. Layne said, ‘No offense against these lyrics, but they’re very personal. I think you should sing them.’ I was like, ‘You’re better than me.’ He said, ‘You’ll be fine.’ We gave each other confidence. Layne was a unique powerhouse who had a great deal of empathy,” Cantrell noted.
Staley passed away in 2002 due to a drug overdose. The band reunited in 2005 for a benefit concert and later reformed with William DuVall as their new singer.
