Ongoing History: Alice in Chains almost died before they were formed

Here’s a quick Alice in Chains story.  It’s about the time that the band almost came to an end even before they really got started.

Back in the 80s, singer Layne Staley managed a Seattle rehearsal space called The Music Bank.  It was a long warehouse under a bridge near the docks.  It was divided up into fifty units and each unit was a practice space.  As manager of the place, Layne was able to cut a deal for Alice in Chains–and as manager, he let the band sleep there.

One morning–the day before they were supposed to cut their first demos–they were rousted out of a deep sleep by the Seattle cops on a drug bust.  The problem was they got the wrong unit; they wanted the one next door, which was home to one of the biggest pot-growing operations in the history of Washington State.

Alice in Chains had to do some very fast talking to avoid arrest–and to avoid having all their gear confiscated.