Late Alice In Chains singer Layne Staley discussed late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain’s death for the only time in an April 1995 Pandemonium interview. Cobain died on April 5, 1994, while Staley died on April 5, 2002.
Was Kurt Cobain a friend of yours? How did his death affect you?
[Long pause, visible discomfort] Kurt and I weren’t the closest of friends, but we ran in to each other at shows and hung out. I knew him well enough to be devastated by his death. I just don’t understand at all. The last time I saw him, he gave me a ride from QFC on Broadway to a friend’s house, the whole way there, which was about a fifteen minute drive, he talked about his daughter. For such a quiet person, he was so excited about having a child, he really loved that little girl. About a month later I saw on the news… [long pause] that he was dead.
How has the Seattle music scene changed since Alice’s heyday?
Musicians worked together more then. We collaborated with other bands more often. There wasn’t as much business pressure on bands. It was all about music, about getting your friends to come and see you play. I don’t see that same intimacy happening very much today.
Do you think that Seattle is still a hot-bed of talent?
I guess so. I’ve heard some really good industrial music from the Northwest lately.
