Alice in Chains and Lost Leather

Any one out there listen to Alice in Chains? I know one of you do, christiejolulu turns out to be a fan in a big way and in our email exchanges got me thinking about times with Jerry Cantrell, the lead guitarist. Well, old memories are beginning to resurface so I thought I’d share a story from the “old days”.

I met Jerry while in middle school, before he began playing the guitar. We were neighbors, as our parents lived on the same block (Military Rd). I can remember when he got his first guitar, Jerry used to tell us, “I’m gonna be a rock star!” We would break out in laughter and ask him to play something for us. This usually brought out a simple chord, not much to really speak of, but lots of laughter usually ensued.

Fast forward to 1993 and the hit song Man In The Box

Alice in Chains was touring Europe, and I was in Mannheim, Germany with my company. Hearing that they would be playing in nearby Frankfurt & Stuttgart, our paths were sure to cross. With a handful of buddies, we made our way to Music Hall, Frankfurt, Germany.

When we arrived, the first hurdle of the night was trying to let Jerry know that I was at the door. This was no easy task, as everyone I talked with would not relay a message to him. In a stroke of genius, I handed my drivers license to one of the women standing guard at the entrance. I asked her to give it to Jerry Cantrell, that I was an old friend, and tell him I’m at the door.

By now my buddies were getting a little restless as it appeared that maybe I was jerking their chain about knowing Jerry. BUT…after about 10 minutes, Jerry came to the door, much to the amazement of the guys with me. After a much excited greeting, we received our VIP badges and proceeded to the lounge where the band was relaxing before the concert.

The Manager’s Leather Alice in Chains Embroidered Duster

So we’re all just sitting in the lounge, meeting the rest of the band, and Jerry and I are getting caught up on what we’ve been doing. The bands manager, I can’t remember her name, had brought Alice in Chains T-shirts, and various other concert stuff for my friends.

It’s getting close to concert time, so the manager gets up to leave. We notice that she seems to have lost something. She’s actually trying to find her leather duster that has Alice in Chains embroidered on the back. Now this is a full length duster, so it’s not like misplacing your keys or something.

Lost Leather and Where it Went

Now, everyone is in on the search for the leather overcoat. The entire band, the manager, me, and my friends. Everyone except ONE that is! As we are overturning cushions, and anything else we see, there is one person quietly sitting in one spot, and yes, he was one of the buddies that came with me!

Seeing this, we ask him to get up so we can check under the cushion. As he slowly stands up, what do you think we found? The leather overcoat was rolled into a ball and he was SITTING on it! You can imagine the embarrassment, that overtook me upon seeing this.

Needless to say, everybody pretty much knew what he was up to in that instant. Even though Jerry says it was no big deal, that he’s used to stuff like that, I couldn’t stop the embarrassment I was feeling, nor the anger of what happened. I introduce this guy to a band, and he ruins it by trying to steal the managers leather jacket. Go figure… I felt like Dirt!

And that was only the first of many surprises to be had that night!

Tagged as: alice in chains

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