Early Alice In Chains collaborator Tim Branom posted a story about Mike Starr being rejected as a performer at the Layne Staley tribute show in 2004 in a beautiful tribute post marking the 8-year anniversary of his death.
Remembering Mike Starr (4/4/66 – 3/8/11)
We met through an ad in a local paper called The Rocket. We were 16 / 17 and our conversations were only about music and girls. Somehow we clicked, but I lived in North Seattle and he lived in South Seattle – too far without a car for me to go there all the time. When highschool ended, we lost touch for a few years until I ended up staying in South Seattle. It was another bandhouse where we started forming a band called Gypsy Rose. We needed a bassist. That’s when our guitarist (Brock Graue) suggested “Starr”, his high school friend who lived nearby. We had an amazing sound that can only be described by that band – Four strong personalities with a sound never duplicated since. And because he was so generous, Mike allowed me to come stay with him. It was like our little castle. His friend Sean Kinney’s drum set was in the living room, and I slept on the couch in front of the drums. Every day we enjoyed the summer of 1987. We played Motley Crue incredibly loud while we took showers, visited the tanning booth as often as possible, and just enjoyed life. On one of our drives, Mike and I spotted two girls walking on Pacific Coast Highway that we wanted. In our typical slut fashion, we told them to get in the car and they did. One of those girls, Tanya, would be my girlfriend for the next 6 years. Everything seemed to be going great (except for the fact that I had no job and was penniless). But for reasons unknown, guitarist Brock Graue left the band. Our band was now just three guys, so I ended up recording vocals, guitars and keyboards, while Starr played bass and Gersema played drums for our approximately 20 songs on the 4-track we had at the band house.
We jammed with a few guitarists and one of them was Jerry Cantrell. It was October 1987 and Jerry came to live with us at the Gypsy Rose band house. We worked up some tunes and they were a bit happier-sounding than the darker sound we were used to. Something wasn’t quite right and in about three or four weeks later, we decided to look for somebody else. We had guitarist Tony Avalon, (Frankie Avalon’s son), fly up from CA to stay with us for a few weeks during Thanksgiving. Mike’s mom even bought all the food. But I think we both knew again that we were too far apart in musical styles so we just had fun over the holiday. One night, Mike Starr, Tony Avalon, and our drummer Mike Gersema all went out one night to the Riviera. They begged me to come out but I just needed to stay home and rest. After hours of drinking, a massive argument ensued and somehow Mike Starr was forced out of the band. Apparently this was all due to both Mikes fighting over a girl named Melanie. I couldn’t believe it but I was starting to see a pattern here. A little later, at the Riviera again, Mike was still hurting and said “Next time I see you, I will be with your girlfriend.” That prophecy would come to haunt me. Mike knew Tanya very well and she ended up in the Guns N Roses video for “November Rain”. Mike would come to California came to visit me a handful of times to see Tanya and I and we stayed in touch.
The day after the 2004 Layne Tribute show, we all met up at the Funhouse, we were there working up some songs to play acoustically. We had a bass for Mike, and two guitars for myself and Tim Hofstetter. I had felt like that it might be the first time Mike had played live in a long time and he was excited and I was having fun too. We were going to play Rooster, Would and Sea Of Sorrow. It felt no different than back in 1987 when we would learn songs together. We sat down to start rehearsing in the back room but someone on the Layne committee thought he was a bad influence and made him leave. I could see the hurt in his eyes again. I hope that person realizes they made a big mistake.
The news of his death on March 8, 2011, also brought the death of Tanya on March 7, 2011. I had to go to both memorials within a day of each other.
I had met them together and they died a day apart. Such a strange feeling.
I’ll never forget what Mike said: “Next time I see you, I will be with your girlfriend.”
RIP Mike and Tanya 🙁
