Mike Starr Dies at 44

(image courtesy Blabbermouth.net)

(l to r: Cantrell, Kinney, Staley, Starr)

Former Alice in Chains bassist Mike Starr, who played with the group from its inception in 1987 until 1993, and recorded their first two mega-successful albums, Facelift and Dirt, with them, has died. He was 44.
Like former lead singer Layne Staley's death, Starr's demise was drug-related; his roommate told TMZ.com that he had been mixing methadone and anxiety medication. He was found in Salt Lake City, Utah yesterday. Alice in Chains released this statement, posted on Blabbermouth.net this morning: ""Jerry [Cantrell, guitar]and Sean [Kinney, drums] are mourning the loss of their friend and ask that the media respect their privacy — and the privacy of the Starr family — during this difficult time. Their thoughts and prayers are with the Starr family." A number of musicians also tweeted their condolences, such as Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins: "RIP Mike Starr...God bless, AIC are one of the BEST all-time bands..."
Mike Inez, former bassist for Ozzy Osbourne, replaced Starr in the middle of the Dirt tour in 1993, but Alice in Chains officially disbanded after the death of Staley from a heroin overdose in 2002. 2009's Black Gives Way to Blue was their first album since their 1996 self-titled third, with singer William Duvall replacing Staley.
I think these guys have had a lot of tragedy lately, and I feel sorry for the surviving members of the band. While some say that Alice in Chains has tried to "replace" Staley and has "sold out," I think Duvall is a great fit with the musical style of the band, just in a different way. I was a huge fan of Staley's larger-than-life voice, and was not looking forward to a new singer. But Black Gives Way to Blue's "A Looking in View" is still one of my favorite songs of all time (incidentally, the title of the album comes from its final song, which Cantrell wrote in memory of Staley).