Bureau had somebody bring some to him at the actual show while Layne already had his own precooked supply, which he tended to carry in an old glass pill bottle covered with a cork top.Īccording to Bureau, Layne hadn’t done enough to where he was nodding off or drooling but he did some just before he went on. Randy Bureau, who worked with the band as a guitar and bass tech stated that both him and Layne were going through withdrawals at the time. There were several issues that the band was dealing with behind the scenes. During the show, some of the lava lamps weren’t really moving and in Coletti’s own words, they were very “grungy-looking”, giving the set its proper appearance so it ended up actually working out in their favor. It was a difficult request because the lava lamps needed to be heated and then turned on for quite a while before they’re used. The band would travel to New York City in early April to prepare for the show which was scheduled to take place on Apat the Brooklyn Academy of Music.Ĭoletti recalled a last-minute request to add lava lamps to the set from the band. The band had enlisted the help of a second guitarist,Scott Olson who also worked with Heart. Coletti Checks in On RehearsalsĬoletti recalled flying to Seattle and checking in on rehearsals and meeting the band and talking about the parameters of the show. This was a huge advantage because a lot of bands who did MTV Unplugged were used to playing giant stadiums or playing arenas and to go from playing that to scaling down their show and their set to something that’s friendly to a much smaller venue is often difficult and requires a lot of time. We rolled out there and everything worked.”Ĭoletti corroborated Kinney’s comments saying that there clearly was more going on behind the scenes than he was aware of.Ĭoletti claimed that one factor that was working in the band’s favor was that at the time, Alice in Chains wasn’t touring. Barely any rehearsing at all, the guys not showing up, same stuff.
Up to the moment, it was a real nail-biter. The same thing with MTV Unplugged, they kept asking if we’d do it. That’s about right when I mentally started preparing that it’s done. He said, “We can’t even get through a week and a half without drama and scary stuff going on. Sean Kinney would tell journalist Greg Prato that it became more apparent that unless things seriously changed then the band couldn’t go out and play to their potential. You really find something there.” Rehearsals Didn’t Go WellĮven though the show took place in New York, the rehearsals actually began in Seattle but they didn’t go well initially.
When it came time to invite Alice in Chains to do the show, Coletti said, “They have the songs, they have the depth and they have the emotion where you basically strip it down.
ALICE IN CHAINS UNPLUGGED MTV SERIES
Alice in Chains performed for an episode of the series in 1996. My heart aches for them.Alex Coletti was a producer at MTV and was involved with the MTV Unplugged series since its inception in 1989. Many never find a way out and hit rock bottom. Knowing that he dies from that addiction a short time later only adds to the misery. I saw Alice in Chains in the early 90's, opening up for Megadeth and Anthrax, and we are looking at two different people here. Probably high, strung out, most likely both, and his performance shows it. When he takes off his sunglasses, there is nothing behind those eyes and he is clearly way deep into addiction. As a recovering addict myself, it is really sad to see Layne Staely up there. Visually this an extremely hard show to watch. In fact, without Jerry's vocals, where he takes the lead on many songs, this would not have been a great show and leads to my next point. The video gives you insight into how much Jerry Contrell's backing vocals contribute to the songs, both in this live video but also in retrospect, in the studio albums as well.
The songs picked work beautifully in their acoustic environment and the band is as good as ever. Musically, this is one of my favorite MTV unplugged shows, along with Aerosmith and Queensryche.
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