On Tuesday (March 8), former ‘Alice In Chains’ bass player Mike Starr, 44, was found dead in his Salt Lake City home. Starr, who graduated from Burien’s Highline High School in 1984, was the band’s original bassist from the group’s formation in 1987 to 1993.

He had been battling a drug problem for a number of years, and in January 2010 was featured as a patient on the third season of “Celebrity Rehab,” a VH1 reality show, where he appeared to be unable to overcome his addiction.

According to news reports, Starr was arrested in Salt Lake City three weeks ago on an outstanding warrant related to an earlier drug charge. At the time he was arrested, he was also found carrying unauthorized prescription medications.

He played bass for the albums Facelift, Sap, and Dirt, and left Alice In Chains in the middle of the Dirt tour. He also sang backing vocals on the song “Confusion” on the Alice in Chains album Facelift.

According to numerous sources, Starr’s departure from the band was amicable, and was allegedly due to the rigors of constant touring and the desire to spend more time with his family.

TMZ, which broke the news of Starr’s death Tuesday, quoted his father as saying: “It’s a terrible shock and tragedy.”

The band, which recently re-formed, posted this announcement on their website:

Members of Alice in Chains are mourning the loss of their friend and ask that the media respect their privacy – and the privacy of the Starr family – during this difficult time. Their thoughts & prayers are with the Starr family.

Everyone here at The B-Town Blog sends our deepest sympathies out to Mike’s friends, family and fellow fans.

VIDEOS:

Here’s a pretty cool home video of the band jamming backstage before a concert:

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And here’s some of our personal AIC faves – check out the big rock star hair-flingin’ on “Man in the Box”!:

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Parokya ni Edgar is considered the “Best Rock Band” in The Philippines, and they’re bringing their unique blend of hard rock, grunge and humor, along with “Kamikazee,” Seattle’s “Best Singer/Dancers” to Burien’s Performing Arts Center on Sunday, Oct. 3rd, starting at 7pm.

This will be a “Band Fiesta,” featuring Parokya ni Edgar & Kamikazee, and ticket prices range from $35, $50 and $75 (VIP).

And, according to their press, these guys were heavily influenced by Seattle bands Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden, so a lot of their music will sound familiar to all you ex-grungers who call Burien your home.

Here are the details:

WHAT: Band Fiesta featuring Parokya ni Edgar & Kamikazee

WHEN: Sunday, Oct. 3rd, starting at 7pm

WHERE: Highline Performing Arts Center, located at 401 South 152nd, next to Highline High School

TICKETS: $35, $50 and $75 (VIP), available at www.brownpapertickets.com or by phone at 1-800-838 3006.

INFO: “The most awaited and requested concert, Filipino Band Parokya ni Edgar & Kamikazee with extraordinary talent will keep U upbeat with OPM music. 1 night only LIVE in Seattle Burien!!!”

For more information call Ray or Elsa at 425-647-8471

From their MySpace page:

Ang Pambansang Banda ng Pilipinas Parokya ni Edgar is a bunch of guys, six to be exact, who unexpectedly find themselves in a proper band, with a proper recording contract with a proper record company (Universal Records), which gives them a proper”recording career”. Parokya ni Edgar is Chito Miranda and Vinci Montaner on vocals, Darius Semaña and Gabriel CheeKee on guitars, Buhawi Meneses on bass and Dindin Moreno on drums. But beneath the silly gags and the punchlines, the Parokya Band has matured musically. Chief lyricist and frontman Chito Miranda once declared: “Nagti-trip lang talaga kami, eh.” But by jokester/slacker standards, this band is already an overachievers: six albums with an endless string of hit singles (including one that inspired a movie), loads of music awards, and a fan base that extends all the way from Aparri to Tawi-Tawi. What could be a greater feat than have the whole country chanting: “Hoy-hoy-hoy-hoy-hoy-hoy!”? Countless Gold and Platinum Record Sales Awards, MTV Awards and Awit Awards trophies later, PnE is showing no signs of slowing down with their latest release Halina Sa Parokya . Like any other Parokya album; comic skits, spoofs and heaps of classic Parokya humor abound in Halina Sa Parokya. The idea for their album artwork was inspired partly by the Department of Tourism thrust to promote various tourist destinations and local festivities via their Wow Philippines campaign (if you can recall the TV advertisement which featured Regine Velasquez). The album was also inspired by both the popular children’s TV show Sesame Street and its local counterpart Batibot . Taking aloook at the album cover alone, you will laugh at the colorful characters Chito, Buwi, Vinci, Gab, Darious and Dindin portray! And surely, too, it will be more obvious to tell why Parokya ni Edgar has been dubbed as “Pambansang Banda ng Pilipinas.”

Other blurbs:

The band is best known for its novel rock songs which are often satirically twisted covers of popular songs. The music band has since experimented with musical styles of one song with another substituting alternative rock for pop rock, rapcore for funk and so on, much to the comic relief of their audience. They called themselves “Skembergs” at first, when their band consisted of three local vocalists- Gabrielle”Gab” Ignatius Chee-Kee, Alfonso Miranda “Chito” aka, Jr, Francis Vincent Montaner “Vinci”, and two guitarists, Jerick and Miko. They would practice after-school to perfect their talents in music before playing at the Eraserheads concert. The Eraserheads concert success propelled them to add a bassist and a drummer – Buhawi Meneses and Dindin Moreno and also rename the band as Parokya ni Edgar. The guitarists Jerick and Miko left the band after high school to take up other career interests. This paved the way for guitarist Darius Semaña to join the band.

Parokya ni Edgar (English translation: Parish of Edgar) is a Filipino band that was formed in 1993 by a group of Ateneo de Manila High School students. The band is famous and most lauded for its original rock novelty songs and often satirical covers of famous songs. The band has since transcended musical genres, varying styles from one song to another – alternative rock to pop rock, funk to rapcore, and so on – while providing comic relief to their listeners.

The band soon started playing at the legendary local band hub, Club Dredd. Coming out during the height of the Pinoy rock explosion, with the Filipino rock community giving in to the influence of especially grunge acts such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden, Parokya ni Edgar played like no other. Their jokes, silly antics, and outrageous performances paved the way to the popularity that they currently enjoy.

Eventually, the late managing director of Universal Records, Bella Dy Tan, signed them as contract artists after witnessing one of their performances at Club Dredd. Soon their initial recordings such as Buloy, Trip and Lutong Bahay were heard across the nation. Their first album, Khangkhungkherrnitz became a triple platinum hit in the Philippines having sold 120,000 units. The other 3 albums include Buruguduystunstugudunstuy (triple platinum), Jingle Balls Silent Night Holy Cow (gold), and Gulong Itlog Gulong (platinum).

Here are some videos of the band showcasing their wide range of music styles:

Parokya Ni Edgar featuring Kamikazee “Ordertaker” (this song appears to be about ordering food in a restaurant, it ROCKS, has had 905,148 views on Youtube; and after viewing you’ll be chanting “Waiter! Order!” over and over):

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“Buloy“:

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“Halaga”

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For more info, check out their MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/parokyaniedgar

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Here’s another angle with far superior audio:

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Burien’s own Northwest Symphony Orchestra today announced its 2008 – 2009 season will open this Sunday, Sept. 14th with a special halftime appearance with legendary Seattle band “Alice in Chains” at the Seattle Seahawks opening regular season home game.

You read that right folks – B-Town’s very own Orchestra is going to jam with grunge legends “Alice In Chains” during halftime at Sunday’s Seahawk game!

And it might look/sound something like this (doing Led Zep’s “Kashmir“), which was shot when AIC played w/NW Symphony Orchestra at Benaroya in 2007:

Click here to view the embedded video.

This is the second time the Northwest Symphony and AIC have appeared together, after a sold out Children’s Hospital benefit appearance at Benaroya Hall in November 2007.

The orchestra and legendary grunge band will be under the baton of Hollywood composer and Seattle native Mateo Messina (Juno).

The orchestra’s entire season schedule will include:

• Seattle Seahawks Halftime Special Appearance With Seattle rock band Alice in Chains on Sunday, September 14, 2008 at Qwest Field, Seattle
• Concert #1: “Family Concert” – “Dance and the Dueling Violins” on Saturday, October 25, 2008 at 7:30pm at Highline Performing Arts Center, Burien
• Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center Benefit Concert: “An American Symphony” — World Premiere, with Mateo Messina, composer, Friday, November 7, 2008 at 7:00pm at Benaroya Hall, Seattle
• Concert #2: “Valentine’s Concert”, Friday, February 13, 2009 at 8:00pm at Highline Performing Arts Center
• Concert #3: “Spotlight on the Orchestra” on Saturday, March 7, 2009 at 8:00pm at Holy Rosary Catholic Church, West Seattle
• Concert #4: “Reflections of the Northwest” on Saturday, April 25, 2009 at 8:00pm at Highline Performing Arts Center

ABOUT NORTHWEST SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Now in its 22nd season, Northwest Symphony Orchestra has performed to local, regional, and national acclaim. The orchestra has performed an unprecedented 100 compositions of Northwest composers and has garnered seven national awards for Programming of Contemporary Music from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, including a first place national award in 2007. The orchestra has been featured repeatedly on National Public Radio and has recorded three compact disks. Dr. Anthony Spain is Music Director.  Northwest Symphony Orchestra makes complimentary tickets available to local school music programs. Teachers may call the orchestra office at (206) 242-6321.

More information about Northwest Symphony Orchestra is available on their website: http://www.northwestsymphonyorchestra.org, or by calling (206) 242-6321.