POSTSCRIPT
Remembering Layne Staley 20 Years On
The Alice In Chains frontman died 20 years ago today
I snorted coke a few times in my 20s.
It was the ’90s, and I was in a band. There were lots of parties.
And that’s the way it starts. Cocaine is a hell of a drug. Never had I felt so energetic, so extroverted, and especially, so talkative. My mouth ran so fast, that I wondered if my brain could keep up. Turns out, it kept up just fine. As my mind and mouth raced, so did my heart. It was exhilarating, and I remember thinking how easy it could be to get used to that feeling.
And that’s how the goddamned drugs get you. You’re young and reckless, and you get a little taste of something that flips all the right switches (at first) and before you know it, boom. You’re hooked.
Fortunately, for me, I was not a famous rock star, nor did I have famous rock star money or connections, and so my infrequent, sporadic flirtation with cocaine ended as nothing more than a passing dalliance.
The fact that I never got addicted doesn’t make me good or better than anyone else, it just makes me lucky.
As someone who writes about music, I’m constantly reminded of the countless incredible artists who were not as lucky —…
