Alice in Chains Share Never-Before-Seen Footage of 'Them Bones' Video Shoot

Alice in Chains Share Never-Before-Seen Footage of ‘Them Bones’ Video Shoot

2022-09-08

Alice in Chains, “Dirt,” album cover – Story by Anne Erickson

Alice in Chains are honoring the 30th anniversary of their influential “Dirt” album by sharing some special rarities with fans

Alice in Chains’ seminal 1992 album “Dirt” will turn 30 years old on Sept. 29. In honor, Seattle grunge legends have a handful of special ways to celebrate planned. On top of releasing a jam-packed deluxe box set commemorating the record, the band will also share memories from “Dirt” over the next 30 days.

The band made the announcement on Instagram, stating, “September 29, 2022 marks 30 years of #DIRT. Join us in celebrating over the next 30 days while we share our collection of memories and rarities from this era, plus get a sneak peek into our forthcoming 30th anniversary deluxe box set.”

They continued, “This record means a lot to us, and we’d love to see what it means to you too. Share your stories, memories, and collections with us by tagging our account and using #Dirt30 all month long.”

In a second Instagram post, the band posted private screen tests of Layne Staley singing the song’s trademark vocals along with Jerry Cantrell, the late Mike Starr and Sean Kinney performing in the video’s cavern setting. The Instagram post also features sketches of the creative design for the video shoot, exclusive photos from the day the band recorded the video and the writeup of the concept from director Rocky Schenck.

Schenck shared his memories on the Instagram post, stating, “Thirty years ago… I had an extraordinary experience directing the video for Alice In Chains’ #ThemBones – still one of my favorites! I worked with this great group of guys for many years, and together we created some interesting photographic and cinematic art … and had a lot of fun doing it! This band always encouraged me to push my imagination to the very edge, and occasionally over the edge. It was extremely hard work, but we had lots of laughs and like any creative collaboration, plenty of drama!”

He added, “I sketched a crude drawing of the set I envisioned – a large dirt hole (or stylized ‘grave’) with dripping, broken sewer lines protruding from dirt walls surrounding the band, who performed amongst pools of toxic waste. A nuclear sky with blood red lighting would bathe the environment, with white spotlights on each band member and lightning and wind effects added. I realized that the environment I was imagining needed to be manufactured on a sound stage with a fantastical set, similar in vibe as the artificial world we created when I photographed the band’s #Dirt album cover earlier in the year.”

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Anne Erickson

Meet the expert - Author, writer and editor Anne Erickson is a Detroit-based reporter and radio host. She has written for the USA Today Network, Consequence.net, Blabbermouth.net, and many more. Anne holds a master's degree from Michigan State University. Contact Anne at anne@audioinkradio.com.