Thanks to my academic and professional mentors, under whom I honed my craft over the years: Mike Maltas, Pam Kelley, Robert Yoon, Sharona Schwartz, Phil Hirschkorn, Scott Bronstein, Adam Levine, Jim Barnett, Don Hecker, Henry Schuster, James Pomfret, John Ruwitch, the late George Marcopoulos, the late Gerald Gill, David Dow, Richard Reeves, Mike Chinoy, Matt Lait, Scott Glover, Bryce Nelson, David Edelstein, Jim Rabon, Daniel Byman, Paul Pillar, Celina Realuyo, Thomas McNaugher, and Michael Dennis. It is from them that I learned the mix of journalistic narrative married with academic discipline that made this book what it is. Thanks to the many colleagues at CNN, 60 Minutes, and Reuters—managers, reporters, photojournalists, editors, producers, assignment-desk editors, technicians, production assistants, news assistants, interns, and others—who I had the pleasure of working with over the years. I could not think of a better group of people to be with in the news trenches on a daily basis. Working with you all was an education and a privilege, for which I am forever grateful. I could not have written this book without having learned on the job from all of you.
Last, but certainly not least, I want to thank my friends, as well as the de Sola, Magaña, and Castrillo families for their unconditional love and support before and during this project.
Interviews and Sources
The following people were interviewed on the record—meaning that the information they provided could be attributed to them by name—on one or more occasions; either in person or by telephone, Skype, or e-mail correspondence.
Michelle Ahern-Crane, Lisa Ahern Rammell, Steve Alley, Krisha Augerot, Kathleen Austin,
Johnny Bacolas, David Ballenger, Lori Barbero, Peter Barnes, James Bergstrom, Randy Biro,
Duane Lance Bodenheimer, Tim Branom, James Burdyshaw, Damon Burns, Jason Buttino,
Thad Byrd, Bryan Carlstrom, Chrissy Chacos, Ronnie Champagne, Craig Chilton, Annette Cisneros,
Alex Coletti, Ken Deans, Kim De Baere, Duffy Delgado, Jamie Elmer, Jim Elmer, Ken Elmer,
Martin Feveyear, Lyle Forde, Eric Frederick, Gillian Gaar, Dan Gallagher, Morgen Gallagher,
Jeff Gilbert, Jack Hamann, Byron Hansen, Randy Hauser, Maureen Herman, Dave Hillis, Sam Hofstedt,
Ron Holt, Nanci Hubbard-Mills, Scott Hunt, Dave Jerden, Leslie Ann Jones, Mike Korjenek, Rick Krim,
Phil Lipscomb, Robert Lunte, Jacob McMurray, Matt Muasau, Bobby Nesbitt, Dean Noble, Scott Nutter,
Mark Pellington, Karie Pfeiffer-Simmons, Jonathan Plum, Nick Pollock, Sally Pricer Portillo,
Paul Rachman, Stephen Richards, Scott Rockwell, Henrietta Saunders, Joseph H. Saunders,
Rocky Schenck, Chris Schulberg, Ed Semanate, Matt Serletic, Duncan Sharp, Evan Sheeley,
Jimmy Shoaf, George Stark, Josh Taft, Rick Throm, Elan Trujillo, Darrell Vernon, Jon Wiederhorn,
Diana Wilmar, Aaron Woodruff, Toby Wright.
Others agreed to be interviewed on background (meaning that I could use the information but not identify them by name as the source) or on deep background (meaning that I could use the information they provided but not make any reference to the existence or nature of the source). Others gave me guidance on an off-the-record basis, which means that the information was shared with me for better understanding of a particular individual, subject, or event, but I couldn’t report it unless I got it from another source willing to let me use it. Under all three conditions, these sources cannot be named. They know who they are, and I thank them.
In an effort to maximize accuracy, I have tried to verify my reporting through multiple sources as much as possible, but in some cases information is based on a single source. In some instances, I have also noted discrepancies between different accounts. The members of Alice in Chains, Susan Silver, Nancy Layne McCallum, Phil Staley, Liz Coats, Melinda Starr, and Gayle Starr did not respond to or declined requests to be interviewed for this book.
The Washington Post columnist David Ignatius once said, “Why people tell things to reporters is one of life’s great mysteries.” A journalist is only as good as his or her sources, and for this book I was fortunate to have many of the people who knew the members of Alice in Chains personally or professionally trust that I would get their story right. To paraphrase Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein’s dedication to their sources in All the President’s Men: Without these people, there would have been no Alice in Chains story for me to tell. They all have my profoundest gratitude.
Notes
Please note that some of the links referenced in this work are no longer active.
CHAPTER 1
Sources for this chapter include author interviews with Jamie Elmer, Jim Elmer, and Ken Elmer.
1. To avoid confusion, Layne Staley and his relatives are referred to by first name. And throughout the book, Layne is referred to by first name to emphasize his role as a principal character in the story. Layne’s middle name at birth was obtained and confirmed during author interviews with Johnny Bacolas, James Bergstrom, Jim Elmer, Ken Elmer, and Nick Pollock, as well as by the divorce records of Phil Staley and Nancy Staley, which identify Layne as “Layne R. Staley.”
2. Seattle Times, August 23, 1967, 77. Reviewed via microfilm at the Bellevue Library in Bellevue, Washington.
3. Phil Staley–Nancy Layne marriage certificate, obtained by the author through public records; Seattle Times, “Nancy Layne, Phillip Staley to Be Wed,” January 29, 1967.
4. Seattle Times, “Mrs. Phillip B. Staley,” March 7, 1967. Phil’s age in relation to his three brothers is evident in an entry for the Staley household in the 1940 U.S. Census, in which Phil is the only child of his parents’ listed.
5. For the family’s whereabouts and history, see the Staley household entry in the 1900 U.S. Census. Seattle Sunday Times, “Old Studebaker Shows Class in Speedy Races,” October 12, 1913; Seattle Sunday Times, “Success Marks First Season of New Automobile Association,” September 13, 1914; Seattle Sunday Times, “Staley Quits Vulcan,” July 31, 1921; Seattle Sunday Times, “Two Leases Negotiated,” October 2, 1921; Seattle Daily Times, “Earl B. Staley Will Move Shop on June 25,” June 19, 1927; Seattle Daily Times, “Incorporations,” December 20, 1927.
6. Jon Wiederhorn, “Alice in Chains: To Hell and Back,” Rolling Stone, February 8, 1996, http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/alice-in-chains-to-hell-and-back-rolling-stones-1996-feature-20110405.
7. Phil Staley–Nancy Staley divorce records, obtained by the author through public records.
8. Phil Staley–Nancy Staley divorce records, obtained by the author through public records; Jim Elmer–Nancy Staley marriage certificate, obtained by the author through public records; Wiederhorn, “Alice.”
9. For the dates and set lists of Elton John’s Seattle shows in October 1975, see http://www.eltonography.com/cgi-bin/show_concert.cgi?DATE=1975-10-16 and http://www.eltonography.com/cgi-bin/show_concert.cgi?DATE=1975-10-17.
10. Jon Wiederhorn, “Famous Last Words,” Revolver, http://www.adbdesign.com/aic/articles/art114.html.