Mike Starr (musician)
Michael Christopher Starr (April 4, 1966 – March 8, 2011)[1][2] was an American musician best known as the original bassist for the rock band Alice in Chains, with which he played from the band's formation in 1987 until January 1993.[3] He was also a member of Sato, Gypsy Rose, Sun Red Sun, and Days of the New.
This article is about the American bass guitarist. For the Scottish rock singer, see Mike Starrs.
Mike Starr
Michael Christopher Starr
April 4, 1966
Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.
March 8, 2011 (aged 44)
Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.
Bassist
- 1983–1993
- 2010–2011
- Alice in Chains
- Sun Red Sun
- Gypsy Rose
- Sato
- Days of the New
Starr had a long history of substance abuse, including addictions to both heroin and synthetic opioids. In 2011, he died of a prescription drug overdose at the age of 44.
Career[edit]
In 1983, Starr formed the heavy metal band Sato. Their song "Leather Warrior" appeared on Northwest Metalfest, a compilation album featuring various metal acts released in 1984 by Seattle label Ground Zero Records.[4] Starr briefly joined another band, Gypsy Rose, which included early Alice N' Chains producer Tim Branom on lead vocals and his future bandmate Jerry Cantrell on guitar. Starr and Cantrell left Gypsy Rose and started working in other bands. Cantrell wanted to form a new band and his roommate, Layne Staley, gave him the phone number of Melinda Starr, the girlfriend of drummer Sean Kinney, so that Cantrell could talk to him.[5][6][7] Kinney and his girlfriend went to the Music Bank rehearsal studios and listened to Cantrell's demos.[6] Cantrell mentioned that they needed a bass player to jam with them and he had someone in mind: Mike Starr, with whom Cantrell had played in the band Gypsy Rose in Burien.[5] Kinney pointed at his girlfriend and said: "that's weird cause that's his sister".[5] Kinney called Starr and a few days later he jammed with him and Cantrell at the Music Bank.[6] However, the band did not have a singer.[5][6] The trio then began staging what Cantrell and Kinney later said were fake auditions in order to coax Staley into joining their band.[5][7] Eventually, Staley quit the other bands he was performing with at that time and joined their band on a full-time basis.[5][8][6]
This band gained attention in the Seattle area playing under several different monikers before they eventually settled on the name Alice in Chains, which they had taken from Staley's previous band Alice N' Chains.[5][6] The band was later signed to a record deal with Columbia Records and enjoyed extensive success via record sales and radio play in the grunge rock movement of the early 1990s.[6]
Starr parted ways with Alice in Chains just as the band was achieving its greatest commercial success while touring behind the album Dirt in 1993. According to the band's lead vocalist Layne Staley in a February 1994 Rolling Stone article, Starr's departure from Alice in Chains stemmed from "just a difference in priorities. We wanted to continue intense touring and press, Mike was ready to go home."[9] Starr, however, contradicted this account on an episode of Celebrity Rehab, claiming that he was kicked out of the band due to his escalating drug use.[10][11]
Starr later was hired to play bass for the band Sun Red Sun, which featured Ray Gillen and Bobby Rondinelli, both former members of Black Sabbath. The project was cut short by Gillen's death in 1993. After the disbandment of Sun Red Sun, Starr stopped playing music professionally until 2010, as his drug use spiraled out of control.
In 2010, Starr recorded a cover of Sonic Youth's "Kool Thing" with singer Leiana.[12] The song premiered on radio during Starr's last interview, which was for Dr. Drew Pinsky's show Loveline aired on February 16, 2010.[13] That same year, Starr was reportedly putting together a new band which had secured a spot opening for the band Days of the New.[14]
Tributes[edit]
In 2013, Alice in Chains drummer Sean Kinney added the initials "LSMS" on his drum kit, a tribute to Layne Staley and Mike Starr. Kinney explained: "There's been six people in this band and that's it", and Cantrell added, "And we're all up there".[32][33]
On September 19, 2013, Jerry Cantrell paid tribute to both Starr and Layne Staley before performing the song "Nutshell" with Alice in Chains at the Rock in Rio concert in Brazil.[34] For the show in São Paulo on September 26, the band had T-shirts of Brazil national football team with the names "Staley" and "Starr" on display on the stage. Since then, Cantrell has always paid tribute to Staley and Starr before performing "Nutshell" at concerts.[35][36]
Jerry Cantrell revealed that the lyrics "Left me here so all alone, only for me to find/Hear your voice on waves we rode, echoes inside my mind/Disembodied, just a trace of what it was like then/With you here, we shared a space that's always half empty" from the song "Rainier Fog" are about Staley and Starr. The song was featured on Alice in Chains' 2018 album, Rainier Fog.[37]
In 2015, a signature bass for Starr made by Spector was announced and released, the Euro4LX Mike Starr LE. Work on this signature model had begun before Starr's passing, and was resumed later after his family had reached out to continue it. It was available as a limited run only for 2015.[38]
Posthumous releases[edit]
In October 2017, Lost Realm Records released a 500-copy limited edition CD+DVD deluxe package of 10 songs, taken from the original master tapes and digitally remastered, and live performances by Starr's previous band Sato, titled Leather Warriors – Sato Anthology 82/86; this package was dedicated to Starr's memory.[39] In December 2019, Lost Realm announced an upcoming 250-copy limited edition vinyl release of Leather Warriors.