Mike Starr (musician)
Encyclopedia
Michael Christopher "Mike" Starr (April 4, 1966March 8, 2011) was an American musician, best known as the original bassist
in Alice in Chains
, with whom he played from the band's formation in 1987 until 1993.
. Before that, in 1983/'84, Starr was in a heavy metal band called SATO with whom he recorded the song "Leather Warriors" for the Northwest Metalfest compilation, released in 1984 by local Seattle label, Ground Zero Records.
In the mid 1980s, Jerry Cantrell
began a band, which included drummer Sean Kinney
and Starr on bass. Cantrell's roommate, singer Layne Staley
, also agreed to join while having Cantrell join his funk project, which ended shortly thereafter. This band gained attention in the Seattle area playing under several different monikers before they eventually took the name Alice in Chains. The band was later signed to a record deal with Columbia Records
and enjoyed extensive success via record sales and radio play in the grunge rock movement of the early 1990s. Starr was with the group for the Facelift
and Dirt albums and the Sap
EP. He was most often seen playing several variations of a Spector
NS-2 bass guitar
through an Ampeg SVT
all-tube head and Ampeg 8x10" speaker cabinets.
Starr departed the group while it was touring behind the album Dirt. According to former singer Layne Staley, in a Rolling Stone article from February 1994, Starr's departure from Alice in Chains stemmed from "just a difference in priorities. We wanted to continue intense touring and press, Mike was ready to go home." Starr, however, mentioned on an episode of Celebrity Rehab that he was kicked out of the band due to his budding drug addiction. The unreleased track "Misery, Crack Pipes, and Gothic Main Lines" from this timeframe makes allusion to Starr's use.
Starr later played bass for the band Sun Red Sun
, which featured Ray Gillen
and Bobby Rondinelli
, both former members of Black Sabbath
. The project was cut short by Gillen's death in 1993.
In 2010, Starr was reported to be working with his new band, which included touring with the band Days of the New
. This was cut short, however, with his sudden death.
reality television series Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew
in 2010, which documented his treatment for methadone addiction beginning in August 2009 at the Pasadena Recovery Center. His subsequent stint staying in a sober living environment was then documented on the spinoff Sober House. He and fellow recovering addicts Mackenzie Phillips
and Tom Sizemore
appeared in the eighth episode of Celebrity Rehabs fourth season to provide testimonials about their recovery to that season's patients. During this appearance, Starr marked six months and seven days of sobriety.
Both Jerry Cantrell and Sean Kinney criticized the show Celebrity Rehab, calling it "disgusting". However, they stopped short of criticizing their former bandmate and expressed hope that Starr would turn his life around. Kinney also thanked Starr along with all other members of Alice In Chains both past and present within the liner notes of Alice in Chains' Black Gives Way to Blue
album.
On February 18, 2011, Starr was arrested and booked on suspicion of felony possession of a controlled substance (six pills of Oxymorphone
, and six pills of Alprazolam
) in Salt Lake City, Utah
. TMZ stated that Starr tried to use the celebrity tactic by saying "Hey officer, have you ever heard of the band Alice In Chains? Well I'm the bassist for them". Starr was released a few days later after showing proof of a prescription.
and Sean Kinney
, according to Mike Inez
. According to Tom Sizemore in an interview on The Howard Stern Show, toxicology tests eventually showed that the cause of death was actually surprisingly small amounts of the prescription drug, Xanax, and alcohol.
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
in Alice in Chains
Alice in Chains
Alice in Chains is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1987 by guitarist and songwriter Jerry Cantrell and original lead vocalist Layne Staley. The initial lineup was rounded out by drummer Sean Kinney, and bassist Mike Starr...
, with whom he played from the band's formation in 1987 until 1993.
Career
Before Alice In Chains, Starr was in two different bands. One went by the name of Gypsy Rose which included early Alice N' Chains producer Tim BranomTim Branom
Tim Branom is an American musician, record producer, and writer. Best known for working with bands such as Alice In Chains producing audio cassette in the mid-80's.-Early Career:...
. Before that, in 1983/'84, Starr was in a heavy metal band called SATO with whom he recorded the song "Leather Warriors" for the Northwest Metalfest compilation, released in 1984 by local Seattle label, Ground Zero Records.
In the mid 1980s, Jerry Cantrell
Jerry Cantrell
Jerry Fulton Cantrell Jr. is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter best known for his work with the grunge/metal band Alice in Chains, as lead guitarist, backing and co-lead vocalist, and co-lyricist. He performs lead vocals on his solo projects, and is part of Alice in Chains' harmonizing...
began a band, which included drummer Sean Kinney
Sean Kinney
Sean Howard Kinney is an American musician best known for being the drummer of the influential grunge band Alice in Chains....
and Starr on bass. Cantrell's roommate, singer Layne Staley
Layne Staley
Layne Thomas Staley was an American musician who served as the lead singer and co-lyricist of the rock group Alice in Chains, which was formed in Seattle, Washington in 1987 by Staley and guitarist Jerry Cantrell. Alice in Chains rose to international fame as part of the grunge movement of the...
, also agreed to join while having Cantrell join his funk project, which ended shortly thereafter. This band gained attention in the Seattle area playing under several different monikers before they eventually took the name Alice in Chains. The band was later signed to a record deal with Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
and enjoyed extensive success via record sales and radio play in the grunge rock movement of the early 1990s. Starr was with the group for the Facelift
Facelift (album)
Facelift is the debut studio album by the American rock band Alice in Chains. The album was released on August 21, 1990. The album is the band's second highest selling album and has been certified double-platinum by the RIAA for shipments of two million copies in the United States.-Background and...
and Dirt albums and the Sap
Sap (album)
I "Right Turn" is credited to Alice Mudgarden in the liner notes.II "Love Song" is unlisted on the CD.-Personnel:Alice in Chains*Layne Staley – vocals, drums on "Love Song"*Jerry Cantrell – guitar, vocals, bass on "Love Song"...
EP. He was most often seen playing several variations of a Spector
Spector
Spector is an American based company that manufacturers bass guitars. Founded in 1974 by self-taught luthier Stuart Spector, Spector's first few instruments were essentially crude experiments in instrument design and craftsmanship...
NS-2 bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
through an Ampeg SVT
Ampeg SVT
The Ampeg SVT is a bass amplifier made by Ampeg. The SVT, which stands for "Super Valve Technology", was designed by Bill Hughes and introduced in 1969. The SVT bass head produced 300 watts at a time when most amplifiers made less than 100. The SVT has been through many design changes over the...
all-tube head and Ampeg 8x10" speaker cabinets.
Starr departed the group while it was touring behind the album Dirt. According to former singer Layne Staley, in a Rolling Stone article from February 1994, Starr's departure from Alice in Chains stemmed from "just a difference in priorities. We wanted to continue intense touring and press, Mike was ready to go home." Starr, however, mentioned on an episode of Celebrity Rehab that he was kicked out of the band due to his budding drug addiction. The unreleased track "Misery, Crack Pipes, and Gothic Main Lines" from this timeframe makes allusion to Starr's use.
Starr later played bass for the band Sun Red Sun
Sun Red Sun
Sun Red Sun was an American heavy metal supergroup active from 1992–1993. It featured former Rondinelli bandmates Ray Gillen and Bobby Rondinelli.-History:...
, which featured Ray Gillen
Ray Gillen
Raymond A. "Ray" Gillen was an American rock singer, best known for his work with Badlands, in addition to his stint with Black Sabbath in the mid-1980s and recording most of the vocals on Phenomena's classic Dreamrunner album....
and Bobby Rondinelli
Bobby Rondinelli
Bobby Rondinelli is a rock drummer best known for his work with the hard rock/heavy metal bands like Blue Öyster Cult, Rainbow, Quiet Riot, Black Sabbath, The Lizards, and Rondinelli.-Background:...
, both former members of Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...
. The project was cut short by Gillen's death in 1993.
In 2010, Starr was reported to be working with his new band, which included touring with the band Days of the New
Days of the New
Days of the New is an American alternative rock band from Louisville, Kentucky, formed in 1995. The band consists of vocalist/guitarist Travis Meeks and a variety of supporting musicians...
. This was cut short, however, with his sudden death.
Personal life
Starr was later featured in the third season of the VH1VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
reality television series Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew
Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew
Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew is a reality television show airing on the cable network VH1 that chronicles a group of celebrities as they are treated for alcohol and drug addiction by Dr. Drew Pinsky and his staff at the Pasadena Recovery Center in Pasadena, California. The first season premiered...
in 2010, which documented his treatment for methadone addiction beginning in August 2009 at the Pasadena Recovery Center. His subsequent stint staying in a sober living environment was then documented on the spinoff Sober House. He and fellow recovering addicts Mackenzie Phillips
Mackenzie Phillips
Mackenzie Phillips is an American actress and singer best known for her roles in American Graffiti and as rebellious teenager Julie Cooper Horvath on the sitcom One Day at a Time...
and Tom Sizemore
Tom Sizemore
Thomas Edward "Tom" Sizemore, Jr. is an American film and television actor and producer. He is known for his roles in films such as Saving Private Ryan, Strange Days, Pearl Harbor, Heat and Black Hawk Down....
appeared in the eighth episode of Celebrity Rehabs fourth season to provide testimonials about their recovery to that season's patients. During this appearance, Starr marked six months and seven days of sobriety.
Both Jerry Cantrell and Sean Kinney criticized the show Celebrity Rehab, calling it "disgusting". However, they stopped short of criticizing their former bandmate and expressed hope that Starr would turn his life around. Kinney also thanked Starr along with all other members of Alice In Chains both past and present within the liner notes of Alice in Chains' Black Gives Way to Blue
Black Gives Way to Blue
Black Gives Way to Blue is the fourth studio album by the American rock band Alice in Chains, released in September 2009. The first Alice in Chains album in nearly fourteen years, Black Gives Way to Blue is their first release with new vocalist/guitarist William DuVall, who took over from the late...
album.
"I totally back Mike and I back his efforts to get clean and remain somebody that I and the band really care about — he’s a friend of ours, you know, and we wish him the best." - Jerry Cantrell
"So I don't support that show at all and I think it's pretty disgusting. But Mike getting his life together or anybody doing that, I'll support that." - Sean Kinney
On February 18, 2011, Starr was arrested and booked on suspicion of felony possession of a controlled substance (six pills of Oxymorphone
Oxymorphone
Oxymorphone or 14-Hydroxydihydromorphinone is a powerful semi-synthetic opioid analgesic first developed in Germany circa 1914, patented in the USA by Endo Pharmaceuticals in 1955 and introduced to the United States market in January 1959 and other countries around the same time...
, and six pills of Alprazolam
Alprazolam
Alprazolam is a short-acting anxiolytic of the benzodiazepine class of psychoactive drugs. Alprazolam, like other benzodiazepines, binds to specific sites on the GABAA gamma-amino-butyric acid receptor...
) in Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...
. TMZ stated that Starr tried to use the celebrity tactic by saying "Hey officer, have you ever heard of the band Alice In Chains? Well I'm the bassist for them". Starr was released a few days later after showing proof of a prescription.
Death
On March 8, 2011, at 1:42pm, police were called to a home in Salt Lake City where they found 44-year-old Starr's body. A private memorial was held for Starr at Experience Music Project in Seattle on March 20, 2011. There were roughly 400 people in attendance, including former bandmates Jerry CantrellJerry Cantrell
Jerry Fulton Cantrell Jr. is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter best known for his work with the grunge/metal band Alice in Chains, as lead guitarist, backing and co-lead vocalist, and co-lyricist. He performs lead vocals on his solo projects, and is part of Alice in Chains' harmonizing...
and Sean Kinney
Sean Kinney
Sean Howard Kinney is an American musician best known for being the drummer of the influential grunge band Alice in Chains....
, according to Mike Inez
Mike Inez
Mike Inez is a rock musician best known for his role as the bassist of Alice in Chains. Inez has also worked with other popular musical acts such as Ozzy Osbourne, Black Label Society, and Heart. Inez is of Filipino ancestry.-Career:...
. According to Tom Sizemore in an interview on The Howard Stern Show, toxicology tests eventually showed that the cause of death was actually surprisingly small amounts of the prescription drug, Xanax, and alcohol.
With Alice in Chains
- We Die YoungWe Die Young-Personnel:*Layne Staley – vocals*Jerry Cantrell – guitar, backing vocals*Mike Starr – bass*Sean Kinney – drums, percussion-External links:*[ Review of "We Die Young"] at Allmusic...
(1990) - FaceliftFacelift (album)Facelift is the debut studio album by the American rock band Alice in Chains. The album was released on August 21, 1990. The album is the band's second highest selling album and has been certified double-platinum by the RIAA for shipments of two million copies in the United States.-Background and...
(1990) - SapSap (album)I "Right Turn" is credited to Alice Mudgarden in the liner notes.II "Love Song" is unlisted on the CD.-Personnel:Alice in Chains*Layne Staley – vocals, drums on "Love Song"*Jerry Cantrell – guitar, vocals, bass on "Love Song"...
(1992) - Dirt (1992)
- Music BankMusic Bank- Disc two :-Disc three :-Personnel:*Mark Arm - Assistant vocals on "Right Turn"*Jeff Beck - Graphic Design*Jerry Cantrell - guitar, vocals*Chris Cornell - Assistant guitar, lyrics, vocals on "Right Turn"*Peter Cronin - Photography...
(1999) - Nothing Safe: Best of the BoxNothing Safe: Best of the Box-Personnel:*Jerry Cantrell - Guitar, backing vocals and lead vocals on "Grind"*Layne Staley - Lead vocals and guitar on "Angry Chair" and "Grind"*Mike Starr - Bass *Mike Inez - Bass *Sean Kinney - Drums*Alice in Chains - Producer...
(1999) - LiveLive (Alice in Chains album)-Personnel:Alice in Chains*Layne Staley – lead vocals, rhythm guitar*Sean Kinney – drums*Jerry Cantrell – lead guitar, vocals*Mike Inez – bass *Mike Starr – bass Production*Compilation producer – Peter Fletcher...
(2000) - Greatest HitsGreatest Hits (Alice in Chains album)Greatest Hits is a greatest hits collection by the grunge band Alice in Chains. It was released on July 24, 2001 on Columbia Records.-Overview:...
(2001) - The Essential Alice in ChainsThe Essential Alice in ChainsThe Essential Alice in Chains is a two-disc compilation album by the grunge band Alice in Chains, and part of Sony BMG's The Essential series...
(2006)