Layne Staley

"I think our lyrics reflect reality. Maybe not someone elses reality, but definitely ours, you know? I dont write about bullshit and neither does my guitar player, Jerry Cantrell. I have a fascination with how brainwashed people get with religion and how theyll give up their money, their time and their whole life for a cause that theyre sure is right, but Im sure is wrong. I think theres a lot of people who are scared of life and living and they want to make sure they get to Heaven or whatever. I try to stay away from it as much as I can. I was raised in the church until I was 16 and Ive disagreed with their beliefs as long as I can remember, so when I had the choice I chose not to believe in anything apart from myself."

"The facts are that I was shooting a lot of dope, and thats nobodys business but mine. Im not shooting dope now, and I havent for a while.... I took a fucking long, hard walk through hell. I decided to stop because I was miserable doing it. The drug didnt work for me anymore. In the beginning I got high, and it felt great; by the end it was strictly maintenance, like food I needed to survive. Since I quit doing it, I tried it a couple of times to see if I could recapture the feeling I once got off it, but I dont. Nothing attracts me to it anymore. It was boring."

"[on Dirt] Its simple. One theme is: Drugs are bad. The other theme is relationships, bad. The last theme is: album, good. Maybe something this blatant and heavy and straight to the point might steer people away from being excited about the idea of trying heroin. There was nothing that blatant shoved in my face, discouraging me."

"I dont think any drug that can cause brain damage, failing kidneys, hardening arteries, pain, and suffering should be made available. Drugs are not the way to the light. They wont lead to a fairy-tale life, they lead to suffering."

"I wrote about drugs, and I didnt think I was being unsafe or careless by writing about them. Heres how my thinking pattern went: When I tried drugs, they were fucking great, and they worked for me for years, and now theyre turning against me - and now Im walking through hell, and this sucks. I didnt want my fans to think heroin was cool. But then Ive had fans come up to me and give me the thumbs up, telling me theyre high. Thats exactly what I didnt want to happen."

"Los Angeles Times: And is Staley’s temperament as dark as his lyrics would suggest? Staley: Most definitely, at least from noon to 11 p.m. It’s a product of our generation. People are angry. But I seem to do OK between 11 and midnight."

"Its good to be with friends and family as we struggle to deal with this immense loss... and try to celebrate this immense life. We are looking for all the usual things: comfort, purpose, answers, something to hold on to, a way to let him go in peace. Mostly, we are feeling heartbroken over the death of our beautiful friend. He was a sweet man with a keen sense of humor and a deep sense of humanity. He was an amazing musician, an inspiration, and a comfort to so many. He made great music and gifted it to the world. We are proud to have known him, to be his friend, and to create music with him. For the past decade, Layne struggled greatly — we can only hope that he has at last found some peace. We love you, Layne. Dearly. And we will miss you... endlessly."

"Its something Im still dealing with, and I still think like hes here. I miss him tremendously. I love him and have to move on. Ill remember him and respect the memories of what we did together and just enjoy life... and thats all Ill say about it."

"People have a right to ask questions and dig deep when youre hurting people and things around you. But when I havent talked to anybody in years, and every article I see is dope this, junkie that, whiskey this - that aint my title. Like Hi, Im Layne, nail biter, you know? My bad habits arent my title. My strengths and my talent are my title."

"I know that the guys in this band [Alice in Chains] would do anything for me and Id do the same for them. I know that I can trust them, and I think now they know that they can trust me."

"He was a one-of-a-kind singer. A lot of guys nowadays try to sound like him, but nobody can sound like him."

"Once it got really big with Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden, there wasnt much mentioned about us. All those bands put out records around the same time, and we hadnt put one out in two years. I dont think it hurt us, though. Im glad we didnt get lumped together with them, because were not those other bands."