Sean Kinney | |
|---|---|
 Kinney performing with Alice in Chains in 2019 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Sean Howard Kinney |
| Born | (1966-05-27)May 27, 1966 (age 58) Renton, Washington, U.S.[1] |
| Genres | |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Instruments |
|
| Years active | 1976–present |
| Member of | Alice in Chains |
| Formerly of | Spys4Darwin |
Sean Howard Kinney (born May 27, 1966) is an American musician, best known as the drummer and co-founder of the rock bandAlice in Chains.[2][3] Kinney also founded the short-livedsupergroupSpys4Darwin, and has collaborated with other artists such asJohnny Cash andMetallica. He played drums for his Alice in Chains bandmate,Jerry Cantrell's first solo album,Boggy Depot (1998). Since 2009, Kinney has been co-owner ofThe Crocodile club in Seattle. He was a guest drummer onNBC'sLate Night with Seth Meyers in September 2018. Kinney has earned nineGrammy Award nominations as a member of Alice in Chains.[4]
Sean Howard Kinney was born inRenton, Washington, on May 27, 1966.[5][1] His father was a police officer and his mother was a city official.[6][7]
Kinney's interest in music was developed at an early age. He got his first drum kit when he was 5 years old. By the age of 9, he was the drummer for his grandfather's band,The Cross Cats,[7] and was traveling theNorthwest playing small venues.[7] Kinney grew up in Renton, where he attendedLiberty Senior High School in theIssaquah School District.[citation needed]
Kinney met singerLayne Staley around 1985, when Staley's bandSleze was playing atAlki Beach.[7] Kinney revealed toGuitar Legends magazine that in their first meeting he told Staley that he was cool but his band sucked, and that he should get a different drummer, so Kinney suggested himself.[7] Kinney did not have a phone at the time, so he gave Staley a piece of paper with his girlfriend's number.[7]
Kinney met up with Alice in Chains in 1987,[2] when guitaristJerry Cantrell wanted to form a new band after his band Diamond Lie broke up, so his roommate Layne Staley gave him the phone number of Kinney's girlfriend, Melinda Starr, so that Cantrell could talk to Kinney and set up a meeting.[2] Kinney and his girlfriend went to the Music Bank in Seattle where Cantrell was living and listened to his demos.[8] Cantrell mentioned that they needed a bass player to jam with them, and he already had someone in mind:Mike Starr, with whom Cantrell had played in a band inBurien called Gypsy Rose.[2][8] Kinney then mentioned that his girlfriend was actually Starr's sister, and that he had been playing in bands together with Starr since they were kids.[2] Kinney called Starr and a few days later he started jamming with him and Cantrell at the Music Bank, but they didn't have a singer.[2] Cantrell, Starr, and Kinney wanted Staley to be their lead singer, so they started auditioning terrible lead singers in front of Staley to send a hint.[9][2][10] The last straw for Staley was when they auditioned a male stripper – he decided to join the band after that.[2] Starr was replaced by formerOzzy Osbourne bassistMike Inez in 1993.[11]
Kinney almost didn't play on Alice in Chains' debut album,Facelift. He had broken his hand and the band started rehearsing withGreg Gilmore, the drummer fromMother Love Bone. Kinney explained in the 2009 bookGrunge is Dead:
I almost didn't play on the record – they started rehearsing with the drummer fromMother Love Bone,Greg Gilmore. I was sitting there playing with one hand, guiding him through it. Dave Jerden came in and they started to try to do it. He was like, 'Screw it – pull the plug. This is not going to be the same.' Luckily, we took a tiny bit of time off. I had that cast on for a while, and was like, 'I can't miss this.' I cut my cast off in the studio and kept a bucket of ice by the drum set. Kept my hand iced down and played with a broken hand. I tried not to do that again – your first big break, and you fuck it up.[12]
Since the band's inception, Kinney has been the only drummer. He also played piano and sang chorus vocals through a megaphone on the hidden song fromSap entitled "Love Song".[13][14] The album was named after a dream Kinney had about the band recording some light acoustic songs for an album they name Sap, because it's "sappy."[15]
Kinney was featured in the 1992 movieSingles, along with the other members of Alice in Chains performing the songs "It Ain't Like That" and "Would?"[16]
In 1996, Kinney joined singerJohnny Cash, guitaristKim Thayil ofSoundgarden, and bassistKrist Novoselic ofNirvana for a cover ofWillie Nelson's "Time of the Preacher", featured on the tribute albumTwisted Willie,[17][18] which also had Kinney playing drums forJerry Cantrell's cover of "I've Seen All This World I Care to See".[18] In the same year, Kinney played drums for Cantrell's first original solo song, "Leave Me Alone", featured on the soundtrack of the 1996 filmThe Cable Guy.[19]
In 1998, Kinney played drums for Cantrell's first solo album,Boggy Depot,[20] and percussion in the song "Tuesday's Gone", a cover ofLynyrd Skynyrd released onMetallica's 1998 albumGarage Inc., also featuring Cantrell on guitar.[21]
After they toured as part of Cantrell's solo band in 1998, Kinney andQueensrÿche guitaristChris DeGarmo formed a new band calledSpys4Darwin in 1999.[22] Alice in Chains' bassist Mike Inez andSponge lead vocalistVin Dombroski joined the band soon after. The band released their first and only album on May 18, 2001, a 6-track EP entitledMicrofish,[23] and made their live debut atEndfest in Bremerton, Washington on August 4, 2001.[24]
Since 2009, Kinney co-owns the clubThe Crocodile inSeattle along with Alice in Chains' managerSusan Silver,[25][26]Capitol Hill Block Party co-founderMarcus Charles,[27] Peggy Curtis,[27] andPortugal. The Man guitarist Eric Howk.[27] In 2013,Rolling Stone named The Crocodile as one of the best clubs in America, ranked at #7.[28]
Soundgarden lead vocalistChris Cornell personally asked Kinney to join him,Pearl Jam guitaristMike McCready, Soundgarden drummerMatt Cameron,Screaming Trees drummerBarrett Martin andGuns N' Roses bassistDuff McKagan in the tribute show to the bandMad Season at Seattle's Benaroya Hall on January 30, 2015.[29] Kinney played bongo for the song "All Alone" while a track with Layne Staley's original vocals were played.[30] The performance was released as a live album in August 2015, entitledMad Season / Seattle Symphony: Sonic Evolution / January 30, 2015 / Benaroya Hall.[31]
From September 17 to 20, 2018, Kinney was a guest drummer onNBC'sLate Night with Seth Meyers.[32]
Alice in Chains was inactive from 1996 onwards due to Layne Staley's drug issues, which resulted in his death in April 2002.[33] In 2005, Kinney came up with the idea of reuniting with the other two surviving members of Alice in Chains, Jerry Cantrell and Mike Inez, to perform at a benefit concert for the victims of thetsunami disaster that struck South Asia in 2004. Kinney made calls to his former bandmates, as well as friends in the music community, such as former Alice in Chains manager Susan Silver. Kinney was surprised by the enthusiastic response to his idea,[34] and the band performed for the first time in 10 years at theK-Rock Tsunami Continued Care Relief Concert in Seattle on February 18, 2006, featuring guest vocalists singing Staley's parts.[35]
On March 6, 2006, the band performed together again atVH1'sDecades Rock Live concert, honoring fellow Seattle musiciansAnn Wilson andNancy Wilson ofHeart.[36] That night they played "Rooster" withComes with the Fall vocalistWilliam DuVall and Ann Wilson.[36] DuVall joined Alice in Chains as lead singer shortly thereafter.[36] The band has toured extensively worldwide since then.[37]
The albumBlack Gives Way to Blue, the first without Staley, was released on September 29, 2009, featuring DuVall as the new vocalist.[38] The album was totally funded by Kinney and Cantrell, as the band did not have a record label at the time.[10] Their fifth studio album,The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here, was released on May 28, 2013.[39]
In 2013, Kinney added the initials "LSMS" on his drum kit, a tribute to Alice in Chains' late members Layne Staley and Mike Starr.[40]
Alice in Chains' sixth studio album (and the third with DuVall),[41]Rainier Fog, was released on August 24, 2018.[42]
Kinney plays a large role in the presentation of the band, having helped design artwork, T-shirts and stage setups for most of the band's albums and tours.[43]
In 1995, Alice in Chains was contemplating making a third studio album. When it was official, Kinney drew out artwork for the cover and liner notes.[44][45] The cover features a three-legged dog, reason being, according to band lore, there was a three-legged dog named Tripod that used to terrorize Kinney and chase him around during his paperboy duties when he was a kid.[45] The music video for the album's first single, "Grind", shows a three legged dog (similar to the one that allegedly used to chase Kinney) walking up a stairway with an elderly man.[45]
The cover art ofBlack Gives Way to Blue (2009), an illustration of a heart surrounded by a black background,[46] was Kinney's basic concept.[47]
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Kinney uses adrum kit made byDrum Workshop (DW Drums) withRemo heads and cymbals bySabian.[48] He usesVater Percussion drumsticks.[49]
| Title | Release | Label | Band |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boggy Depot | 1998 | Columbia | Jerry Cantrell[50] |
| Microfish | 2001 | Pied Viper Records | Spys4Darwin[51] |
| Year | Song | Artist(s) | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | "Time of the Preacher" | Johnny Cash | Twisted Willie[18] |
| "I've Seen All This World I Care to See" | Jerry Cantrell | ||
| "Leave Me Alone" | The Cable Guy (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)[19] | ||
| 1998 | "Tuesday's Gone" | Metallica | Garage Inc.[21][52] |
| 2015 | "All Alone" | Mad Season | Mad Season / Seattle Symphony: Sonic Evolution / January 30, 2015 / Benaroya Hall[53] |
| 2016 | "Tears" | Alice in Chains | Rush –2112 (40th Anniversary Edition)[54][55] |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Singles | Himself | Cameo |
| 1995 | The Nona Tapes | Himself | Short film |
| 2013 | AIC 23 | Stanley Eisen | Short film |
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
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