Bleed for Alice in Chains team, trying to cover every aspect of the Alice in Chains history, has gone to the source itself and has got an interview with Adriana Rubio, the first one she has done on Layne Staley in more than 6 years. We are proud to present it, to all of you, bleedforaliceinchains.com fans:

 

First of all thank you very much Adriana for giving "Bleed for Alice in Chains” the opportunity to tell a little about your experience of the research of unknown aspects of the life of Alice in Chains singer Layne Staley.

 

The Book "Angry Chair" has been harshly criticized by many websites that gather Alice in Chains fans, mainly by several statements made by Nancy McCallum, who withdrew her support once your book was released. Could you tell us what is your perception of Nancy McCallum as an individual?

 

It´s been 11 years since the publication of the book "Angry Chair", and 12 and a half years since my encounter with Mrs. Nancy McCallum. And even though she withdrew her support of the book, I completely understand her reaction. The loss of a son, whatever the circumstances, is not something that any individual is prepared to face. I don´t have any "perceptions" of Mrs. McCallum, just the living and real memory of a mother who warmly welcomed me into her home with the hope that the book would be a positive tool in the rehabilitation of her son. Spending time with her was a wonderful experience, being that it was the culmination of a process which had begun months earlier by email.

 

In the book, you give several unknown details about Layne's childhood, particularly of a tough childhood. Do you think Nancy McCallum could have had a negative influence on him, due to her extreme Christian formation? Why do you think that Layne didn´t answer the letters she sent to him?

 

In greater or lesser degree each family is a whole world and inside that world there are traditions, activities and beliefs that should be respected. I´m not the person to give opinions on any individual´s christian practice. Regarding letters unanswered ... it is an issue that I interpret it as part of the addictive process in which Layne was immersed. The isolation and refusal to communicate are clear examples of this process.

 

Last year Nancy McCallum sued the band for the use of the name "Alice in Chains", belonging to Layne Staley. Also, Nancy, as everyone knows, removed her support of your books, Adriana. Why do you think she hasn´t sued you, despite she publicly holds the conviction that the focus of your books only humiliates Layne´s memory and dignity?

 

The books "Angry Chair" and "Get Born Again" do not humiliate the memory or dignity of Layne Staley. The content of these reflect the material provided by the interviewees along with the talks, which were transcribed as they were spoken and were not taken out of context. Therefore the issue of humiliation to Layne´s memory and dignity is foundationless. Though I understand that some statements may have created some discomfort, they are nothing but the accurate description of the painful and distressing process of Heroin addiction. And regarding why Mrs. McCallum hasn´t sued me, is simple, she knows in her heart that my work was genuine, that in the talks we had there were "off the record" requests which I fully respected and of course she would have wanted another ending, not only for the book but also for her son.

 

We know from your books, that you had access to many unknown material made by Layne himself, such as drawings, clay handicraft, poems etc. In an interview given by Layne to "Pandemonium" magazine in April 1995, he claims to be working on material for a solo album. Did you have access to some of this material or some other unreleased material? Are you aware if "The Layne Staley Estate" has some unreleased material composed by Layne?

 

I only had access to the material which was put in the books published. I have no idea if "The Layne Staley Estate" has any unreleased material composed by Layne, but I suppose it is possible.

 

Adriana, you claim to have spoken with Layne Staley on the phone for about two and a half hours, which is considered the last interview he granted. Why haven´t you yet released the content of those hours of conversation? Will we have the chance someday of hearing the audio file of that recording?

 

There´s something in journalism called "confidentiality" and it must be respected, even more when it is requested by the interviewee. And the fact that Layne is not physically with us anymore, doesn´t mean I will break my promise of confidentiality.

 

One of the main accusations your book has received is regarding the transcripts of certain quotes made by Layne Staley, alluding to lyrics of Alice in Chains and Mad Season songs that made your cynics cast doubt regarding the veracity of these quotes (e.g.  “I´m crying now. Put your feet into my damn shoes, you writer. Have you wondered how I feel? I hate to feel. Feel the pain and keep it all in until you die”,” or ”I shouldn´t blame her for my condition because my pain is self chosen” or “so you can now understand why this pink cloud has turned to grey”) What can you tell us about these undeniable coincidences?

 

They are not undeniable coincidences, but realities that Layne Staley himself expressed in his songs. He quoted what and how much he considered appropriate during the interview. Layne Staley was the kind of artist who wouldn´t give digested information to a journalist because he didn´t like journalists, but at the same time he was fully aware of my interviews with his mother and sister. So the fact he answered quoting his songs was the way in which he not only felt more comfortable expressing his feelings during the conversation but also considered it better to liven up the raw content. Whoever wants to believe is welcome to, because they have understood the message, and the ones that don´t believe, they should know I appreciate their distrust because it means I'm doing my job well. My work "hurts" because arouses uneasiness, makes you think and shows you to some extent the foolishness of not wanting to see that where there is a story, there is also another one.

 

It is known that the last photograph of Layne Staley was taken on Thanksgiving 2001, the day in which Layne attended a family gathering where he met baby Oscar, his sister Liz´s son. We read of a particular person who claims to have seen that picture and ensures that Layne was not in such bad condition, despite his illness. Did you have the chance to see that picture through Nancy or Liz?

 

With all due respect ... What changes if I saw that the picture or not?

 

When Layne contacted you by phone, he said “Don’t try to contact any AIC members. They are not my friends" There is some evidence in your book and others about the rift between Layne and the other Alice in Chains members, but could you give us any additional information? Was it just because of Layne´s illness or were there other reasons of which you are aware?

 

Beyond the evidence provided in the book, I am unaware of other reasons which may have existed. I tend to think that the distance was produced by the characteristic isolation of the addictive process, as explained in Question No. 2 of this interview.

 

In your personal opinion, how would you qualify the efforts made by Nancy and the rest of the family to help Layne? Was it enough? Did they try to meet with him personally or just phoned or sent letters?

 

Layne went through many treatments and rehab attempts, and I agree with what his mother told me in one of our talks, that there was never a real program that worked for him, there was never anyone to tell them "this is what you need to do." Layne tried many times, and even received the most critical choice, Methadone maintenance program (MMT). Heroin addiction is the devil himself. I have interviewed dozens of heroin addicts in their recovery and only three have been able to survive the treatments and move on with their lives, yet the stigma of addiction is a whole issue which closely involves the family, causing many to distance them from each other. By this I don´t mean that this is the specific case of Layne, but it is what happens in general. I know for a fact that Layne´s family members, those closest to Layne, were in contact with him.

 

Among the negative aspects that influenced Layne´s life, was the relationship he had with his ​​biological father, Phil Staley. Have you thought about trying to contact him for an interview, now that he regularly attends the tribute concerts to his son in Seattle every year?

 

I haven´t thought about contacting Mr. Phil Staley for an interview. I´m glad to hear he attends the tribute concerts for his son in Seattle.

 

What happened to the movie project for "Get Born Again", where Lathan Mckay was going to play the role of Layne Staley? Why was it cancelled?

 

The movie project "Get Born Again" suffered a series of ups and downs for 6 years since the first drafts of the script were written in 2006 until  April 19th 2012. Though the film industry is full of frauds and traders whose goal is to "sell", viewers collaborate to make this happen. To sell a product, whatever the product is, there must be buyers, that is, a "market" and an investor or a group of investors to carry out the production of the product. It´s important to highlight that for the specific case of the bio pic of a rock star, to some extent the market prefers to watch the excesses without limits, the physical deterioration of the main character, etc. And the script for "Get Born Again" shows precisely the opposite, it´s very artistic regarding the ups and downs we all know, but basically highlights his artistic talent, so it was very difficult for our proposal to be heard by producers in California. There were also fraudulent producers who appeared not only to try and deflect the path of the script, but also to rip us off. I thank God and the Universe for the team we work with, mainly my family, my husband and daughters, as their support is always and will remain true and unconditional. And I greatly praise the support we received by the actors we had for the main roles, such Lathan McKay Layne Staley´s role, Michael Bowen for Phil Staley´s role, Cara Mastrey for Demri´s role, Elise Muller for Liz Elmer´s role and Rex Linn for Jim Elmer´s role. But without the funding or support of a production team we couldn´t carry out the auditions for actors who would embody the roles of AIC´s Jerry Cantrell, Mike Starr, Mike Inez and Sean Kinney. And for confidentiality reasons and because we didn´t get the funds for the film I am not able to mention the names of these actors, as they’re class A actors. It was a long road full of difficulties, and was most of all the Layne Staley estate that not only did not authorize the bio pic but also didn´t accept a participatory part in creating the final script. The situation was painful because we had made it to a major league Hollywood production company to whom, Layne´s story surprisingly touched their hearts and treated us with great respect: Raging Bull Entertainment, owned by the famous Joe Isgro, Executive Producer for the film "Hoffa," "Charlie Lucky Luciano", among many others. So imagine that for us it was like touching heaven with our very hands. It couldn´t be.

 

Thank you very much for your time Adriana

Bleed for AIC team.