RIP Alice In Chains’ Mike Starr
Awful breaking news – original Alice In Chains bass player Mike Starr has died in Utah, USA.
Police tell TMZ that Starr’s body was found in a Salt Lake City home. Starr has had a long and much-publicised battle with substance abuse and was last month arrested for felony possession of a controlled substance.
As an Alice In Chains fan I’m devastated by this. Mike’s bass playing on Facelift and Dirt was great, and his intro to Rain When I Die was one of the coolest moments of Dirt. Those albums, especially Dirt, were huge for me back in the day, and still are today.
Riki Rachtman has posted his feelings here, calling it like he sees it. It’s a powerful read.
Hi! I'm Peter Hodgson. I write for Gibson.com, Australian Guitar, Australian Musician, Mixdown Magazine (including my instructional column, 'Unleash Your Inner Rock God,' which has been running since 2007), guitarworld.com, Tone Deaf, Beat (including their weekly hard rock/metal column Crunch) and The Brag. And I'm Assistant Social Coordinator with Seymour Duncan.
I've been playing guitar since I was 8 years old, and I've been writing for magazines since I was 18. I've also worked as a guitar teacher (up to 50 students a week), a setup tech, a newspaper editor, and I've also dabbled in radio a little bit. I live in Melbourne, Australia, and my hobbies include drinking way too much coffee, and eating way too much Mexican food.
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