When it comes to musical knowledge, I would definitely consider myself an Alice In Chains superfan. They have been my favorite band since I was 15 years old and always will be. However, when I was researching information for this post, there were some things that even I didn’t know. Once I read some of these facts, I couldn’t wait to share them with you! In today’s Band Merch of the Week, you’ll learn 5 things about Alice In Chains that may surprise you.
Band Merch of the Week: Alice In Chains Band Tee Outfit Details
Before we get into the 5 superfan facts about Alice In Chains, let’s talk about the band merch of the week and the outfit inspired by it.
The Basics
- Alice In Chains “Bleed The Freak” Band Tee: Alice In Chains (discontinued* – see details)
- Skinny Jeans: American Eagle
- Bolt-250 Boots (Unisex): Demonia
- Earrings featuring Mexican Laguna Lace Stones: Volta Joules
This outfit is built around this awesome Alice In Chains band tee that I preordered a few months back. Facelift is one of my favorite albums of all time. “Bleed The Freak” is also one of my favorite songs off of that release. When I saw this shirt with the song title/lyrics on the back, I couldn’t pass it up.
Unfortunately, this merch was a limited run in honor of the 30th anniversary of Facelift. However, Alice In Chains has a bunch of other cool merch up for grabs in their shop. You can find everything from your standard AIC merch to their album tees.
I chose to keep this outfit simple for the overall grunge vibe of the band’s music. Because of that, I paired it with just a simple pair of jeans from American Eagle. These Demonia boots are also my favorite pair of shoes to wear with jeans for a look like this, so I had to add them as well.
Accessories
I had been eyeing up these stunningly beautiful earrings from Volta Joules for a while. When they arrived, I couldn’t wait to wear them with EVERYTHING. Even though they feature Mexican Laguna Lace stones which are a pretty decent size, they’re not heavy at all making them great for all day wear. They also have these lightweight silver swords that add an extra heavy metal flair. While there was only one pair of these available, Volta Joules does still have similar styles available so don’t forget to check out her shop.
What To Know About Volta Joules
Volta Joules is a small business based in the US which is owned and operated by one amazing female designer, Jade. She specializes in alternative style jewelry that’s perfect for the badass babes in your life, especially my fellow metal mavens out there! What I love most about Volta Joules is how well each piece translates Jade’s artistic expression of music, energy, and dark wisdom. It’s not often that I find jewelry that I feel really makes a statement and matches my specific style, but Volta Joules nails it every time. This is one of two pairs of earrings I have from Volta Joules, and when my husband saw both pairs he said “yeah, those are all you.”
And if you’re hesitant to buy jewelry on Etsy, I want you to know that my Volta Joules earrings are some of the most well made jewelry I’ve ever had. That includes jewelry from major, well known stores. It’s clear that Jade carefully crafts her jewelry, not just by how well made it is, but by how intricate and detailed her designs are. Needless to say, this may have been my first Volta Joules purchase, and it certainly won’t be my last. Make sure to keep an eye out for new additions to Volta Joules here on Instagram.
5 Things You Didn’t Know About Alice In Chains
Now that you have the details on this outfit, let’s get into the facts that all AIC superfans should know.
1. Before Alice In Chains, Jerry Cantrell and Layne Staley were both in the band 40 Years of Hate.
Prior to forming the powerhouse that is Alice In Chains, Layne and Jerry were both in the band 40 Years of Hate along with Ron Holt on bass. In 2016, it was reported that Holt was auctioning off a tape from 1988 featuring Layne’s recordings with the band. The tape included 6 songs. one of which was later recorded by Holt’s band, Second Coming, called “It’s Coming After”. It was also noted that Jerry did not contribute to the guitar recordings on those songs. It’s not totally clear whatever happened to the tape, but it’s believed that the auction was ended early and it never ended up being sold.
2. While Music Bank is the title of the AIC box set, it’s also the name of where Jerry moved in with Layne after meeting at a party in the late 80s.
Jerry Cantrell previously said, “I didn’t have a place to live so he invited me to this place where he lived called Music Bank. He was just such a cool fucking guy and his voice was amazing. I knew I wanted to be in a band with him right off the bat.”
3. The surviving members of the band played their last show with Layne in 1996, and did not play live together again for 9 years.
July 3, 1996 was the last time that vocalist Layne Staley would perform with Alice In Chains. The final show took place in Kansas City. In February 2005, surviving band members Mike Inez, Jerry Cantrell, and Sean Kinney reunited on stage at a tsunami relief benefit. Fellow musicians Maynard James Kennan (Tool), Patrick Lachman (DamagePlan), Wes Scantlin (Puddle of Mudd), and Ann Wilson (Heart) also joined them in the performance.
4. They were the first grunge band to break into the mainstream.
Seattle grunge bands like Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, and Nirvana would all eventually see success. However, Alice In Chains was the first to attract mainstream audiences beginning with “Man In The Box” in 1991. Radio airplay for the song may have started out slow, but that changed once it was picked up by MTV. According to Metal Hammer, this led to sales for Facelift going from 40,000 in the first few months, to 400,000 in 6 weeks. It’s also worth noting that Facelift technically falls into the pre-grunge era.
5. Current frontman William Duvall was first asked to tour with Alice In Chains after meeting Jerry Cantrell on Jerry’s solo tour.
This eventually led to them writing new music. In an interview with Vice, Jerry said, “We toured for a year and a half, and then we were going to put it to bed. But you get creative guys together and shit’s gonna happen. So we started writing tunes. At the end of that period of time we had a lot of tunes, and it sounded good. It sounded like us. The first consideration was making sure that we were OK with it. So we just started working on it.”
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