According to the band’s official biography from the summer of 1989, they were trying to decide if they were the “Jay Leno of heavy metal” or the “all-male Partridge Family.” The same biography notes claim that Alice in Chains is “currently the only unsigned band to receive regular airplay on KISW’s ‘New Music Hour.’” Their live credentials included opening for the Bullet Boys, Tesla, and Great White.19
“Even before we got signed, we had a lot of big shows and some arena shows through a friend of our manager’s,” Layne said. These early arena shows caused him a bit of stage fright. “I think the first time with Great White and Tesla, I was dry-heaving behind the bass cabinet. It was like halfway through the set until I actually realized where I was.”20
Press from this period shows the buzz around the band in the months before getting their record deal. KISW’s Damon Stewart, in February 1989: “To all A&R types—Alice in Chains, remember that band—they’re gonna be huge, and they RAWK!”21
Tower Records’s publication Pulse, in April 1989: “The latest conquest for the Alan/Silver team is a band called Alice in Chains. Emerging from the studio with one of the most original demos in memory, this little rat pack should have labels eating out of its hand in no time.”22
The Seattle Times, May 19, 1989: “Alice in Chains may be the next Seattle-based hard-rock band to land a major contract. Representatives of several labels, including RCA and Columbia, are set to check out the quartet at its show tonight at the Bellevue VFW Hall.”23
Don Kaye, writing in his Deathvine column for Kerrang, July 15, 1989: “This band should be huge, and I wanna say you heard it here first. Alice in Chains is the name, they’re from Seattle, and it’s sleazy, bluesy rock with needle-sharp hooks and monster riffs that would do Metallica proud. Emotive vocals, funky, dirty grooves, and a totally original yet heavy-edged sound guarantee some big things.”24
From the September 1989 edition of Rip: “Alice in Chains is rumored to be the next big thing from Seattle. The four-piece have only been together for one year and are already attracting the attention of major-label A&R departments.”25
One of their most important fans during this period was Don Ienner, who had recently been hired as president of Columbia Records. “I flipped out the first time I heard their demo tape,” he said. Timing was also a critical factor. The buzz around Alice in Chains happened when the label was trying to get a foothold in the hard rock/heavy metal market. “They came to us at a time when we were hungry for music,” Ienner told Rolling Stone. Another crucial business ally at this early point in their career was Nick Terzo, a rep who had been involved in the band’s music publishing and who later joined Columbia’s A&R team. “Everybody thought I was getting the worst of the bunch. But to me they were a diamond in the rough.”26
It was a slow start on the business side. Ken Deans and Sean Kinney estimated that negotiations between the band and CBS Records went on for about eight months by the time the deal was signed.27
“We had good managers and great lawyers, and we were trying to retain things that you can’t usually keep when you’re a new band,” Sean explained.
“Like your publishing,” Jerry added.
“We were fortunate to do that, but … when you’re young like that, you’re like, ‘Fuck! Let’s just do this. We’re gonna get a record deal,’” Sean said. “But we waited it out, and it ended up working out for us.”28
According to Ken Deans, “The most significant and important part of that deal was that Alice in Chains kept their publishing.” In a typical contract, Deans said record companies would ask for fifty percent ownership in the songs. Under the terms of their deal, this meant that Alice in Chains owned all the songs they had already written and would own all the material they would write in the future under this contract. “Alice got it all. Alice is probably one of the last bands to get signed that kept all their publishing.”
Timing was a key factor working in the band’s favor during negotiations. “It looked like Seattle was going to be the next big deal,” Deans said. “Everybody wanted a piece of it. So from Mother Love Bone on, the signings were virtual bidding wars. So everybody was trying to present the best deal.”
Representing Alice in Chains in the negotiations was Michele Anthony, a partner at the entertainment law firm of Manatt, Phelps, Rothenberg & Phillips. Anthony made such an impression that she was later hired as a senior vice president at Sony Music. In this capacity, according to a 2005 press release, she “established and managed the company’s regional A&R offices in addition to overseeing special projects and new business opportunities. She was vital in negotiating and signing many of Sony Music’s most important artists and was also involved with talent development, soundtracks, new technologies, and myriad special projects.”
Don Ienner said, “When I first met Michele, she was the lawyer for Alice in Chains, who I was signing to Columbia. She was a brilliant negotiator who knew the business inside and out, and those factors, combined with her passionate, no-holds-barred approach to demanding the very best for her artists, made it clear that she had the makings of a truly great executive.”29
Nick Terzo joined the label as Alice in Chains’s A&R representative. After months of negotiations, Alice in Chains signed with CBS Records on September 11, 1989.30 With the deal signed, it was time to make a record.
PART III
1989–1996
We’ve had some interesting and hard times.
But along with success comes some of the darker things.
Since our music is so depressing, everybody expects us to run around in black and whine about shit. But that’s such a misconception. We just get together and fuck around. We’re like the Monkees or something.
Chapter 9
It was a no-brainer this band is going to go somewhere.
DAVE JERDEN WAS A VETERAN producer with extensive credits who in 1989 was most known for his work on Jane’s Addiction’s Nothing’s Shocking. In the late summer or early fall of that year, he got a copy of the Alice in Chains demo from Nick Terzo, who had sent it to other major producers.