Alice In Chains Release Statement About Mike Starr [AUDIO]

Original Alice in Chains bassist Mike Starr died in Salt Lake City on Tuesday at the age of 44 and his former bandmates are paying their respects. A statement from the group says that guitarist Jerry Cantrell and drummer Sean Kinney are “mourning the loss of their friend” and ask for privacy for themselves and for the Starr family. No word yet as to the cause of Mike’s death but police told TMZ that drugs were found near the body. Mike struggled with drug problems for years and was dismissed from the band in 1993 because of his addiction. In 2009, he was on Vh1’s Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew.

Jerry spoke to MTV about Mike last year when Starr was appearing on Celebrity Rehab:

The band members are no strangers to addiction. In 2002, singer Layne Staley died of a drug overdose and guitarist Jerry Cantrell battled drug abuse for years. Jerry spoke about addiction:

Mike’s roommate told TMZ Starr was mixing methadone with anxiety medication hours before he died. The roommate explained Mike had been doing well managing his medication but mixed the two Monday night.