ALICE IN CHAINS Bassist: 'It's Been Great To Get Up And Play These Old Songs'

ALICE IN CHAINS bassist Mike Inez has issued the following update:

"First of all, and most importantly, I'd like to thank each and everyone of you cool fuckers for coming out and saying hello this year. It was a SUPREME pleasure playing for you and seeing y'all face to face. Those songs we played are obviously very dear to us and it, quite literally, means the world to us that you guys showed up and shared the vibe. Much love. Thanks for havin' us in your nice cities (and the shitty ones too) and singin' along. Thanks for all those beers and shots and jokes and memories that we shared on this crazy tour. You guys are a blast! It was so nice to see a lotta old friends out there and really cool to kick it with the new ones too.

"My friend the Baldy and I were talking on the telephone the other day and he told me that, when all was said and done, we did 86 shows in 78 cities, 21 countries and over 50,000 miles or so. Sean and Jerry hate it when we count 'em down. They say it makes it longer, but I still think it's cool that we made it through the year with, more or less, a smile on our collective face. And it was you that made it 'it,' y'know what I mean? So thanks again.

"I'd like to also thank our lovable road crew for tirelessly setting up and tearing down and setting up and tearing down and setting up. etc. And for not bitching and moaning about every goddamn thing (HA!!!). But ,in all seriousness, we couldn't do it without you guys. Massive love and mucho respecto to you. Especially our brothers Big Val the Invincible, Baldy the Milk Marker, and Spiderman. You were the only ones from start to end and we appreciate the long friendships and hard work. Now lose our phone numbers, assholes... Also, I'd like to thank our managers, Susan Silver, Bill Siddons and Core Management's staff for the constant big this and the lil that stuff that we know you guys deal with on a daily basis on our behalf. Thank you for steering with your hearts, you are greatly loved. And to our road managers Dave and Chuck, you two guys are superheroes and it's been a pleasure doin' the miles with you both. But, I still think that my per diems were short and I'm missing some laundry... And, thanks to John at CAA, our agent provocateur, and all of the rest of the various publicists, accountants, promoters, venue staff, rehearsal staff, security, police, fire, paramedic staffs, support team, web site peeps, endorsers, merchandisers, sponsors, photographers, pilots and drivers and especially the caterers, that make a successful circus shine. And we can't forget about the many talented musicians who shared the stage with us from our opening acts: BLOODSIMPLE, HURT, STONE SOUR to our many on-stage guests: Phil Anselmo, Chester Bennington, Billy Corgan, Chris DeGarmo, Vinnie Dombroski, James Hetfield, Maynard James Keenan, Pat Lachman, Mark Lanegan, Aaron Lewis, Duff McKagan, Dave Navarro, Scott Olson, Stephen Perkins, Doug Pinnick, Josh Rand, Kyle Sanders, Wes Scantlin, Corey Taylor, Kim Thayil, Lars Ulrich, Tim Williams, Ann Wilson and Nancy Wilson.

"I can't even begin to explain the different emotional colors and shades I've personally experienced on this tour. I've been all over the map as far as thoughts and feelings are concerned about it all and this tour has been a great way to shine a flashlight on stuff that I needed to get out of my mental basement. It's been great to get up and play these old songs and the rebirthing experience has been incredible! As high as a guy can get playing music...but... also... I miss Layne greatly and there isn't a day (on tour or off) that I don't think of him. He still resonates... in you too, I imagine...and I'll always hear his voice.

"I'm really happy that Sean called Jerry and I again after so long, and said we needed to play. For tsunami victims even...Wow! Did we really wanna go there? What was there now?? 10 years later? But of course, we were on the next flight up to Seattle. We needed to go through this together. Whatever 'this' was. We needed to celebrate our past and go through our mourning process on a whole different level. A musical level. So we went back to that sacred place and we found a funny thing there. You! All of you wanted to go back and have a listen too! This tour has been very cathartic for me in the respect that it really did feel alright to play these songs again. And all of you were kind enough to lend an ear. Hope it was loud enough...

"One last person I wanna thank is William DuVall. This motherfucker is a gamer. I saw first hand how much balls it took Will to get up there night after night, country after country and look it in the eye and absolutely sing his fuckin' guts out. He is such a great talent and it's great watching him represent.

"I guess this is where we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year (I won't bring up the genocide in Darfur, or the people that are burning in Iraq) So, speaking for Jerry, Sean, William and myself... Happy F'n Holidays."