Alice in Chains' Mike Starr Dead at 44

[johnm1120]

Mike Starr, the former bassist for the Seattle grunge band Alice in Chains, was found dead today at his home in Salt Lake City, according to Reuters.

Starr, who was 44, played with Alice in Chains from its formation in 1987 until 1993, including on its multi-platinum albums Facelift (1990) and Dirt (1992), which spawned hit songs like “Man In the Box,” “Would?” and “Rooster.”

Starr later said his departure from the group was due to his struggle with heroin addiction, and he appeared on the third season of VH1′s Celebrity Rehab in 2010.

He was arrested last month for illegal possession of prescription drugs.

The cause of death of Starr’s death was not immediately known.

news-briefs.ew.com/2011/03/08/mike-starr-alice-in-chains-bassist-die/

[imbondz]

unbelievably sad. I watched him in celebrity rehab and hoped that he would recover .

[Verisimilitude]

Second death to happen from this group. Very sad. :(

[slicknickshady]

Yep. I have not gave this recent incarnation a chance because without the original lead and bassist it's hardly the same band.

[thehellion]

Mar 9, 2011 2:40:10 GMT -5 slicknickshady said:

Yep. I have not gave this recent incarnation a chance because without the original lead and bassist it's hardly the same band.

Then, frankly, you're missing out. Jerry Cantrell has always been the main guy behind the band. He does quite a lot of the vocals and even some of the bass work (it was Cantrell that wrote the opening bass line on Would for example). As long as he is in the band along with Kinney and Inez, then AIC is pretty legit to me.

[halo19]

Mar 9, 2011 2:40:10 GMT -5 slicknickshady said:

Yep. I have not gave this recent incarnation a chance because without the original lead and bassist it's hardly the same band.

However, he quit being bassist before the first incarnation was on hiatus/quit/whatever, so this is irrelevant. Not to mention, Jar of Flies is their best album and had Mike Inez on bass. That guy was formerly the touring bassist for Ozzy Osbourne, so it's not like he was a no-name.

The lineup debate is the most pointless thing in history. Unless you are U2, that is.

[microcuts]

Yeah, Jerry Cantrell is AIC and as long as he's still involved they have every right to go by that name.