According to Coletti, the thing about unplugged shows is that you live or die by the drummer. An Unsung HeroĬoletti would look back and say that drummer Sean Kinney was the unsung hero of the show. Bureau claimed that in between songs there was a lot of clowning around with the audience and even the band picked on Bureau himself, referring to him as an ‘effing Frenchman’. The heads of Sony just happened to be sitting in the front row of the audience so maybe Layne was nervous. Layne would script the lyrics to “Sludge Factory” numerous times because the song is written about his conflict with the record label, Sony. Further adding to complications, Jerry Cantrell had food poisoning and they had to place a wastebasket next to him during the show.īureau recalled that once the band hit the stage and launched into “Nutshell”, a lot of people from the band’s management team were in tears. One thing the band did that a lot of other bands delayed doing was that they provided MTV with a set list ahead of time making the lighting cues much easier to deal with.
Adding to complications, Layne had dyed his hair pink which forced the lighting director to match the background to his hair color. Bureau had somebody bring some to him at the actual show while Layne already had his own precooked supply, which he tended to carry in an old glass pill bottle covered with a cork top.Īccording to Bureau, Layne hadn’t done enough to where he was nodding off or drooling but he did some just before he went on. Randy Bureau, who worked with the band as a guitar and bass tech stated that both him and Layne were going through withdrawals at the time. There were several issues that the band was dealing with behind the scenes. During the show, some of the lava lamps weren’t really moving and in Coletti’s own words, they were very “grungy-looking”, giving the set its proper appearance so it ended up actually working out in their favor. It was a difficult request because the lava lamps needed to be heated and then turned on for quite a while before they’re used. The band would travel to New York City in early April to prepare for the show which was scheduled to take place on Apat the Brooklyn Academy of Music.Ĭoletti recalled a last-minute request to add lava lamps to the set from the band. The band had enlisted the help of a second guitarist,Scott Olson who also worked with Heart. Coletti Checks in On RehearsalsĬoletti recalled flying to Seattle and checking in on rehearsals and meeting the band and talking about the parameters of the show. This was a huge advantage because a lot of bands who did MTV Unplugged were used to playing giant stadiums or playing arenas and to go from playing that to scaling down their show and their set to something that’s friendly to a much smaller venue is often difficult and requires a lot of time. We rolled out there and everything worked.”Ĭoletti corroborated Kinney’s comments saying that there clearly was more going on behind the scenes than he was aware of.Ĭoletti claimed that one factor that was working in the band’s favor was that at the time, Alice in Chains wasn’t touring.
Barely any rehearsing at all, the guys not showing up, same stuff. Up to the moment, it was a real nail-biter. The same thing with MTV Unplugged, they kept asking if we’d do it. That’s about right when I mentally started preparing that it’s done. He said, “We can’t even get through a week and a half without drama and scary stuff going on. Sean Kinney would tell journalist Greg Prato that it became more apparent that unless things seriously changed then the band couldn’t go out and play to their potential. You really find something there.” Rehearsals Didn’t Go WellĮven though the show took place in New York, the rehearsals actually began in Seattle but they didn’t go well initially.
When it came time to invite Alice in Chains to do the show, Coletti said, “They have the songs, they have the depth and they have the emotion where you basically strip it down.
#Alice in chains unplugged mtv series#
Alice in Chains performed for an episode of the series in 1996.
Alex Coletti was a producer at MTV and was involved with the MTV Unplugged series since its inception in 1989.
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