In a new interview with Guitar World, bassist and founding member of Porno for Pyros Martyn LeNoble reflected on his long career working with some of the biggest names in alt-rock. While speaking with the publication, LeNoble looked back on his time in the short-lived supergroup Class of ‘99, which consisted of Alice in Chains frontman Layne Staley, Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello, Jane’s Addiction drummer Stephen Perkins, Collective Soul keyboardist Matt Serletic, and himself.
Together, Class of ‘99 covered Pink Floyd’s iconic songs “Another Brick in the Wall (Part 1)” and “(Part 2)” for the soundtrack to Robert Rodriguez’s 1998 film “The Faculty.” With the recordings taking place in November of 1998, these two tracks became cemented in history as they mark Staley’s final appearance in the studio prior to his death in 2002.
But, as LeNoble reveals, Staley wasn’t their first pick to head up the supergroup. Instead, they originally wanted Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor.
“Tom put it together and asked me and Stephen Perkins to play,” LeNoble said, recalling how the band was put together. “We had different vocalists in mind. We talked about Wyclef Jean and Trent Reznor, but they decided not to do it. So even though I knew he was not in a good way, I said, ‘Hey, Tom, what about getting Layne Staley?’
“Tom ended up flying to Seattle and doing the vocals in a studio with Layne. I never got to see Layne again, but Tom came back and was like, ‘Yeah, it’s really bad. He’s in really bad shape. It’s scary.’ That ended up being the last thing Layne ever recorded.”
