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By Erin Hicks
November 29, 2007
Rane Stone never wanted to be in a cover band. Just the suggestion draws chills down the spines of most musicians. They know that as soon as they join a cover band, (most prefer the euphemism "tribute band," and Stone is no exception) it'll be hard to be taken seriously. As soon as you join a tribute band, you've lost your street cred, and Stone admits he gave that away a year ago when he joined Jar of Flies, Seattle's only Alice in Chains (AIC) tribute band. Or rather, they joined him.
"I didn't even want to be in this band," the reluctant front man said. "They chose me."
Stone and the rest of Jar of Flies played more than 20 shows this past year at venues like El Corazon and The Showbox. After January, the band is going on a sabbatical and Stone won't say for how long. And although he and the rest of the band deny the break has anything to do with the real AIC going on tour with new front man Will DuVall (the vocalist from Comes With the Fall), the timing seems a little more than coincidental. It's not often a tribute band co-exists with the real band, and now that rumors are circulating AIC may release a new album, the whole idea seems a little weird.
"We're all busy; we need a break," Stone said. "We'll give the band some time to have some privacy. We'll let them have their time."
Jonny Smokes, guitarist and creator of Jar of Flies, is the only person in the band who is a full-time musician. He seems a bit less enthused about AIC re-touring.
"We put this band together (two years ago), got it going and now the real band is back," he said. "We're like ... dammit."
Smokes and the rest of the band all play in original groups, and Stone has a solo project called Rane Stone and the Black Sunshine Band. It's sort of southern rock, bluesy and hard. He's hoping to raise enough capital to get in the studio and record while the band is on break, because at the end of the day, Stone recognizes the applause he gets from crowds of usually more than 300 fans isn't for him, but for Layne Staley, former AIC lead singer.
"They're not our fans," Stone said. "They are Alice in Chains fans."
Stone, who works during the day at a landscape company, said his motivation for being in a tribute band is to honor AIC and give people the opportunity, especially in Seattle, to hear their favorite band one last time.
"People can close their eyes and remember the moment they heard that song for the first time. Or, maybe they never got to hear it, and now's their chance," he said. "That makes it worth it."
Layne Staley's mom, Nancy McCallum, occasionally comes to Jar of Flies' shows. She co-founded the Layne Staley Fund after her son's heroin-related death in 2002 to raise money and awareness for substance abuse. Jar of Flies is the only tribute band affiliated with the fund, and they support the fund by selling merchandise at the shows and encouraging audience members who might be suffering from substance abuse to seek help.
It may seem a little paradoxical then that Stone and the rest of the band drink on stage. Taking swings between every song, Stone was tipsy when he began "Rooster" and was down right sloshed through "Grind." He said once he apologized to McCallum. This isn't the image he wants to project while promoting a support fund to help substance abusers.
"I told her I was sorry and she said, 'It's okay, hon. Maybe it helps to sing like that. These songs don't come from a sober place.'"he said.
If you're trying to sing like Staley, it's probably best not to be too sober, or too happy. Stone's voice has a similar quality to Staley's, but it's not so much that he sounds like Staley as much as he feels like Staley. When he sings "Nutshell" or "Down in a Hole," Stone's voice is full of so much passion, so much soulfulness, so much empathy, that as an audience member it almost hurts to hear it.
"I don't know Staley's pain, but I know pain," Stone said. "I can't take ownership for it; all I can do is try to honor him as if he was standing right in front of me. Every single show I envision him somewhere watching me, and I would never do anything I wouldn't want him to see."
Rumors have it that AIC is testing lead singers to see who fits best before they go on tour, and Stone gets asked by fans if he's ever thought of talking to members in AIC about being the new front man. He sounds just like him, they say why not?
"The whole band is in mystery. I wouldn't approach the guys and ask to be in their band. They have baggage," he said. "You have to be careful of those monsters." Then he added, "But then again, they know I'm here. I could probably be convinced."
— Erin Hicks
9:07 PM
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