Phil Staley, the father of late Alice In Chains singer Layne Staley, gave a rare interview with KOMO at Alice In Chains' pop-up store in Seattle. In the clip below (beginning at 23:24), Phil discusses vocalist William DuVall replacing his son as the band's frontman (courtesy of Alternative Nation).

Phil: "Yes, terrific job. Big shoes... I'm pretty biased. As far as I'm concerned, there isn't anybody that's going to match him, but the group has done a wonderful job. William has done a wonderful job and I couldn't be prouder that the group is still carrying on. I love all those guys, love them. I still run texts with Jerry (Cantrell) and Sean (Kinney) on the road, so we’ve been close. We are family." 

A short clip from Alice In Chains' August 21st performance atop Seattle’s iconic Space Needle can be found below.

The quartet - vocalist/guitarist Jerry Cantrell, vocalist/guitarist William DuVall, bassist Mike Inez and drummer Sean Kinney - were the first band ever to perform on the Space Needle’s brand-new The Loupe, the world’s first and only revolving glass floor located 500 feet in the air. It’s powered by 12 motors and offers 360-degree views over the largest city in the Pacific Northwest. The Space Needle has been a defining landmark of Seattle’s skyline since 1962 and The Loupe is part of its recent $100 million renovation.

SiriusXM will broadcast Alice In Chains’ acoustic performance exclusively on Friday, August 31st at 5 PM, ET and PT via satellite and through the SiriusXM app on smartphones and other connected devices, as well as online at siriusxm.com.

“I’ve visited the Space Needle many times in my life and it’s going to be a real honor and a total trip for us to play there,” said Alice In Chains guitarist/vocalist Jerry Cantrell prior to the performance. “We’re so proud of this album and to be able to celebrate its release with a performance at one of our town’s most iconic landmarks is really special. It sorta reminds me of the time we did the ‘Again’ video, but instead of being 6 feet in the air rocking out on a glass floor, we’ll be 50 stories high… slight difference.”

The band’s Space Needle performance was the latest in series of Seattle-based events that kicked off on August 20th with the Seattle Mariners hosting an Alice In Chains Night at Safeco Field.

On August 23rd and 24th, limited edition merchandise, rare photos, memorabilia, music gear and more will be on display at the Alice In Chains Pop-Up Shop and Retrospective at The Crocodile, to be followed by the band’s August 25th performance at KISW’s Pain In The Grass at the White River Amphitheatre.

Alice In Chains are streaming the new song "Never Fade", featured on their upcoming Rainier Fog album, out August 24th via BMG. Listen below. Click here to pre-order Rainier Fog. The album will be available digitally, as well as on CD and limited-edition double 180-gram clear LP with white and black splatter available only from the band’s online store.

Rainier Fog marks a few firsts for the band: in addition to being their first album in five years, it’s their first album for BMG and their first time recording in their hometown of Seattle in more than 20 years (worth noting that the album title is a tribute to Seattle). They recorded at Studio X, the same facility where they tracked 1995’s self-titled Alice In Chains album (back when the studio was known as Bad Animals). The Rainier Fog recording process also saw the band spend time at Henson Recording Studios in Los Angeles and at the Nashville studio of producer Nick Raskulinecz. Rainier Fog is the third straight Alice In Chains album recorded with producer Nick Raskulinecz and engineer Paul Figueroa. The album was mixed by Joe Barresi (Queens of the Stone Age, Tool).

Rainier Fog follows 2013’s Grammy nominated The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here, which entered Billboard’s Top 200 chart at #2 and debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Alternative Albums, Top Rock Albums, Hard Rock Albums charts and the iTunes Rock Album Chart. Its first two singles, “Stone” and “Hollow,” both shot to #1 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and “Voices” hit #3. All three tracks stayed on the chart for over 20 weeks.

Tracklisting:

"The One You Know"
"Rainier Fog"
"Red Giant"
"Fly"
"Drone"
"Deaf Ears Blind Eyes"
"Maybe"
"So Far Under"
"Never Fade"
"All I Am"

"Never Fade":

"So Far Under":

"The One You Know" video:

Alice In Chains recently added a third leg to their worldwide headlining tour. Dates are listed below and ticket info can be found here.

Live dates:

August
28 - Paso Robles, CA - Vina Robles Amp
29 - Los Angeles, CA - Palladium
31 - Riverside, CA - Riverside Municipal Auditorium

September
1 - Las Vegas, NV - The Pearl
3 - Tucson, AZ - Tucson Music Hall
4 - El Paso, TX - Abraham Chavez Theatre
6 - Austin, TX - ACL Live
7 - Houston, TX - Revention Music Center
8 - Dallas, TX - Pavilion @ Toyota Music Factory
10 - Tulsa, OK - Brady Theatre
11 - Kansas City, MO - Midland Theatre
13 - Denver, CO - Fillmore
15 - Phoenix, AZ - Comerica Theatre
16 - San Diego - KAABOO

October
14 - Sacramento, CA - Aftershock Festival
16 - Salt Lake City - The Depot
18 - Colorado Springs - Pikes Peak Center
20 - Newkirk, OK - First Council Casino
21 - Durant, OK - Choctaw Grand Theater
23 - New Orleans - Saenger Theatre
24 - Birmingham, AL - BJCC Concert Hall
26 - St. Augustine, FL - St. Augustine Amphitheatre
27 - Orlando, FL - Hard Rock Live
28 - Hollywood, FL - Hard Rock Events Center