Scott Olson | |
---|---|
Also known as | Scotty Olson [1] |
Born | 1954 or 1955 [2] United States |
Occupation(s) | Musician, producer, recording engineer |
Instrument(s) | Guitar, bass, keyboards |
Years active | 1985–2018 |
Formerly of | Heart |
Scott Olson is an American guitarist, bassist, music producer and recording engineer. He played guitar with Heart between 1995 and 1998 [3] and between 2002 and 2003, [1] and in 1996 he performed with Alice In Chains on their MTV Unplugged concert. [4] Olson was a recording consultant for Cameron Crowe's 2000 film Almost Famous. [5] He performed with Alice in Chains again on February 18, 2005, during a benefit concert in Seattle for the victims of the 2004 tsunami disaster, [6] [7] and joined the band one more time to perform the song "No Excuses" at their concert in Washington, D.C., on October 25, 2006. [8]
Olson produced and engineered albums for artists such as Heart, Jerry Cantrell, Queensrÿche, Deftones, Limp Bizkit, Pauline Oliveros, Powerman 5000, Unearth, Buckcherry and Dredg.
Olson attended Mount Si High School in Snoqualmie, Washington. [9]
In 2018, Olson was diagnosed with progressive dementia. [10] In August 2018, Heart guitarist Nancy Wilson and Alice in Chains shared on their social media pages a crowdfunding set up by friends of Olson to help cover his assisted living costs and medical expenses. [11] [12] As of 2019, Olson lives in a senior living facility in Kirkland, Washington. [2]
Year | Album | Artist | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1992 | A Very Special Christmas, Vol. 2
| Various | vocals on "Blue Christmas" |
1994 | Tribute to Edith Piaf
| Various | guitar on "Jezebel" |
1996 | MTV Unplugged
| Alice in Chains | acoustic rhythm guitar; acoustic bass on "Killer Is Me" |
1999 | WASBE '99: Oklahoma State University Wind Ensemble
| Oklahoma State Wind Ensemble | percussion |
2002 | Guilty Pleasures
| Peepshow | composer, guitars, strings |
2003 | Alive in Seattle
| Heart | guitars, background vocals |
2005 | B-Sides & Rarities
| Deftones | guitar on "Change (In The House Of Flies)" |
2006 | The Essential Alice in Chains
| Alice in Chains | acoustic rhythm guitar on "Nutshell"; acoustic bass on "Over Now" |
2008 | Playlist: The Very Best of Heart | Heart | lead guitar, backing vocals |
Playlist Plus: A Very Special Christmas
| Various | guitar, keyboards, background vocals | |
2011 | A Very Special Christmas Vol. 1 & Vol. 2
| Various | guitar, keyboards, background vocals |
2012 | Strange Euphoria | Heart | guitar, background vocals |
Year | Album | Artist | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1985 | Heart | Heart | guitar technician |
1992 | A Very Special Christmas, Vol. 2 | Various | producer |
1995 | The Road Home | Heart | engineer, production manager |
1996 | Home Alive: The Art of Self Defense | Various | producer, engineer, mixing |
1998 | Collection | Mike Strickland | engineer |
Boggy Depot | Jerry Cantrell | assistant engineer [13] | |
1999 | Makin' Bacon | The Rockinghams | producer, engineer |
Buckcherry | Buckcherry | engineer, programming | |
Music Bank | Alice in Chains | recording, producer | |
2000 | White Pony | Deftones | recording/Pro-Tools engineer |
Musicworks 76: Changing The Score | Pauline Oliveros | electronics on "Primordial/Lift" | |
Almost Famous (Music From The Motion Picture) | Various | recording on "Fever Dog" | |
Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water | Limp Bizkit | engineer | |
Little Nicky (Music From the Motion Picture) | Various | engineer, Pro-Tools | |
2001 | Valentine (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) | Various | engineer, Pro-Tools |
Live Raw in Germany | The Hellecasters | live mixing | |
Microfish | Spys4Darwin | engineer | |
Anyone for Doomsday? | Powerman 5000 | engineer, Pro-Tools | |
2002 | Guilty Pleasures | Peepshow | producer, composer, guitars, strings |
2003 | Tribe | Queensrÿche | engineer |
Back to School (Mini Maggit) | Deftones | engineer, digital editing | |
2005 | Catch Without Arms | Dredg | engineer, Pro-Tools |
B-Sides & Rarities | Deftones | engineer, Pro-Tools | |
2006 | III: In the Eyes of Fire | Unearth | engineer |
2007 | Moody Glow | Future Fossils | producer, engineer |
2008 | Playlist Plus: A Very Special Christmas | Various | producer |
2009 | Feathergun | Rishloo | producer, engineer, mixing |
2011 | A Very Special Christmas Vol. 1 & Vol. 2 | Various | producer |
2016 | The Studio Album Collection | Deftones | engineer, Pro-Tools |
Year | Album | Artist |
---|---|---|
1991 | Kant Sheck Dees Bluze | Jimmy Dawkins |
1992 | Tell My Story Movin' | Louis Myers |
2001 | Adult Time | The Bottletones |
2009 | Midlife: A Beginner's Guide to Blur | Blur |
Alice in Chains is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1987. Since 2006, the band's lineup has comprised vocalist/guitarists Jerry Cantrell and William DuVall, bassist Mike Inez and drummer Sean Kinney. Vocalist Layne Staley and bassist Mike Starr are former members of the band. The band took its name from Staley's previous group, Alice N' Chains. Often associated with grunge music, Alice in Chains' sound and style is deeply rooted in heavy metal music. The band is known for its distinctive vocal style, which often included the harmonized vocals between Staley and Cantrell, making Alice in Chains a two-vocal band.
Layne Thomas Staley was an American singer and songwriter who was the original lead vocalist of Alice in Chains, which rose to international fame in the early 1990s as part of Seattle's grunge movement. He was known for his distinctive vocal style as well as his harmonizing with bandmate Jerry Cantrell. Prior to his success with Alice in Chains, Staley was also a member of the glam metal bands Sleze and Alice N' Chains. He was also a part of the supergroups Mad Season and Class of '99.
Sap is the second studio EP by the American rock band Alice in Chains, released on February 4, 1992, through Columbia Records. Sap is mostly acoustic and marks the first time that guitarist Jerry Cantrell sings lead vocals in an Alice in Chains release, with the song "Brother". The EP was produced by Alice in Chains and Rick Parashar and features guest vocals by Ann Wilson of the band Heart, Chris Cornell of Soundgarden and Mark Arm of Mudhoney. The track "Got Me Wrong" became a hit two years later after being featured on the soundtrack to the 1994 film Clerks. On January 14, 1994, Sap was certified gold by the RIAA for the sale of more than 500,000 copies.
Jerry Fulton Cantrell Jr. is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the founder, lead guitarist, co-lead vocalist, and main songwriter of the rock band Alice in Chains. The band rose to international fame in the early 1990s during Seattle's grunge movement and is known for its distinctive vocal style and the harmonized vocals between Cantrell and Layne Staley. Cantrell started to sing lead vocals on Alice in Chains' 1992 EP Sap. After Staley's death in 2002, Cantrell took the role of Alice in Chains' lead singer on most of the songs from the band's post-Staley albums, Black Gives Way to Blue (2009), The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here (2013), and Rainier Fog (2018), with DuVall harmonizing with him in the new songs and singing Staley's vocals in the old songs in live concerts.
Music Bank is a box set of a large variety of songs by the American rock band Alice in Chains. It was released on October 26, 1999, on Columbia Records. The box set includes previously unreleased demos, hit singles, remixes, alternative versions and four new songs, "Fear the Voices", "Get Born Again", "Lying Season", and "Died". The track "Fear the Voices" was released as a single to promote the box set. Music Bank peaked at No. 123 on the Billboard 200 chart.
Unplugged is a live album by the American rock band Alice in Chains, released on July 30, 1996, by Columbia Records. It was recorded on April 10, 1996, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music's Majestic Theatre for the television series MTV Unplugged. The show was directed by Joe Perota and first aired on MTV on May 28, 1996. Home video releases of the MTV broadcast were released on VHS in October 1996, and on DVD in October 1999. The MTV Unplugged was Alice in Chains' first concert in two and a half years, and contains live, acoustic versions of the band's biggest hits and lesser-known songs.
Sean Howard Kinney is an American musician, best known as the drummer and co-founder of the rock band Alice in Chains. Kinney also founded the short-lived supergroup Spys4Darwin, and has collaborated with other artists such as Johnny Cash and Metallica. 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 of The Crocodile club in Seattle. He was a guest drummer on NBC's Late Night with Seth Meyers in September 2018. Kinney has earned nine Grammy Award nominations as a member of Alice in Chains.
"Down in a Hole" is a power ballad by Alice in Chains, and the fifth and last single from their album Dirt (1992). It is the twelfth song on most pressings of the album and fourth or eleventh on others. The song was written by guitarist and vocalist Jerry Cantrell for his then-girlfriend, Courtney Clarke. The single spent 21 weeks on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks and peaked at No. 10. The song was included on the compilation albums Nothing Safe: Best of the Box (1999) and Music Bank (1999). An acoustic version performed on Alice in Chains' MTV Unplugged in 1996 was released in a live album and DVD.
Michael Allen Inez is an American rock musician and bassist. Since 1993, Inez has been the bassist of the American rock band Alice in Chains. He is also recognized for his work with Ozzy Osbourne from 1989 to 1993. Inez also has connections with Slash's Snakepit, Black Label Society, Spys4Darwin, and Heart. He is of Filipino descent. Inez has earned seven Grammy Award nominations as a member of Alice in Chains.
"No Excuses" is the lead single from American rock band Alice in Chains' third EP, Jar of Flies (1994). Written by guitarist and co-lead vocalist Jerry Cantrell, the song was well received by music critics and was a charting success, becoming the first Alice in Chains song to reach No. 1 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, spending a total of 26 weeks on the chart. It has gone on to become one of the band's most popular songs. The song was included on the compilation albums Nothing Safe: Best of the Box (1999), Music Bank (1999), Greatest Hits (2001), and The Essential Alice in Chains (2006). Alice In Chains performed an acoustic version of "No Excuses" for its appearance on MTV Unplugged in 1996, which marked the last time they performed the song with Layne Staley, and that version was included on the band's Unplugged live album and home video release.
"Angry Chair" is a song by the American rock band Alice in Chains. It was the third single from their album Dirt (1992). It is the eleventh song on most copies of the album and twelfth or tenth song on others. The song was included on the compilation albums Nothing Safe: Best of the Box (1999), Music Bank (1999), Greatest Hits (2001), and The Essential Alice in Chains (2006).
"Over Now" is a song by the American rock band Alice in Chains. Written by Jerry Cantrell, who also sings lead vocals, the song is the last track on the band's third studio album, Alice in Chains (1995), and it is about the 1995 breakup of the band. The song closed the televised broadcast of Alice in Chains' MTV Unplugged performance, and that version was released as a single in 1996. The B-side is the original studio version. The single peaked at No. 4 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, and at No. 24 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart in 1996. The song was included on the live album Unplugged (1996), on the box set Music Bank (1999), and the compilation album The Essential Alice in Chains (2006). The MTV Unplugged concert was the first and only time that Alice in Chains performed the song. It was performed again 23 years later at Jerry Cantrell's solo concert at the Pico Union Project in Los Angeles on December 6, 2019.
"Nutshell" is a song by Alice in Chains that originally appeared on the band's 1994 extended play Jar of Flies. The band played it on MTV Unplugged in 1996, and this rendition of the song was included on the compilation album Music Bank (1999), as well as The Essential Alice in Chains (2006). Since 2011, guitarist/vocalist Jerry Cantrell dedicates "Nutshell" to Alice in Chains' late original members Layne Staley and Mike Starr during the band's concerts.
Black Gives Way to Blue is the fourth studio album by the American rock band Alice in Chains, released on September 29, 2009, on the 17th anniversary of the release of their second album, Dirt. It is their first record without original lead singer Layne Staley, who died in 2002, and their first album with new vocalist and rhythm guitarist William DuVall sharing vocal duties with lead guitarist/vocalist Jerry Cantrell, who sings lead vocals on most of the songs. The title track is a tribute to Staley featuring Elton John on piano. This is the first Alice in Chains album released on Virgin Records and their first venture away from Columbia, who handled all of their previous releases. The album debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200, and was certified gold by the RIAA on May 26, 2010, with shipments exceeding 500,000 copies in the U.S. and over 1 million copies sold worldwide. "Check My Brain" and "A Looking in View" were both nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance in 2010 and 2011, respectively. Black Gives Way to Blue won Revolver magazine's Golden Gods Award for Album of the Year in 2010.
Blackdiamondskye was a 2010 North American concert tour headlined by American rock band Alice in Chains featuring special guests Deftones and Mastodon. Blackdiamondskye is a portmanteau of the three band's then-most recent albums: Alice in Chains' Black Gives Way to Blue (2009), Deftones' Diamond Eyes (2010), and Mastodon's Crack the Skye (2009). The tour began on September 16, 2010 in Chicago and concluded on October 16, 2010 in Las Vegas.
"Brother" is a song by the American rock band Alice in Chains and the opening track on their 1992 acoustic EP Sap. The song was written by guitarist and vocalist Jerry Cantrell for his younger brother, David. Cantrell sings lead vocals in the song, while Heart lead vocalist Ann Wilson sings backing vocals. An acoustic version performed on Alice in Chains' MTV Unplugged in 1996 was released in a live album and DVD. The song was included on the compilation albums Music Bank (1999) and The Essential Alice in Chains (2006).
"Black Gives Way to Blue" is a song by American rock band Alice in Chains, and the last track on their 2009 studio album of the same name. Written and sung by guitarist/vocalist Jerry Cantrell, it features Elton John on piano. The song is a tribute to the band's late lead singer, Layne Staley, who died in 2002. Cantrell described the song as the band's goodbye to Staley. The first concert that Staley attended was Elton John's, and Cantrell's first album was Elton John Greatest Hits (1974). A piano mix of the song is a bonus track on iTunes. The lyrics to "Black Gives Way to Blue" are printed on the base plate of Jerry Cantrell's signature Cry Baby Wah-Wah pedal.
"Sunshine" is a song by the American rock band Alice in Chains and the eighth track on their debut album, Facelift (1990). The song was written by guitarist and vocalist Jerry Cantrell as a tribute to his mother Gloria, who died in 1987.
"Rainier Fog" is a song by the American rock band Alice in Chains. It is the fourth single and the title track to the band's sixth studio album, Rainier Fog (2018). Written by guitarist and vocalist Jerry Cantrell, the song is a tribute to the Seattle music scene and the band's former members, Layne Staley and Mike Starr, and the title was inspired by Mount Rainier, a volcano that overlooks Seattle. The single peaked at No. 20 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart. Excerpts from the lyrics are featured upside down on the album cover. The full lyrics to "Rainier Fog" are inscribed on the bottom plate of Jerry Cantrell's signature Dunlop Cry Baby Wah pedal, released in April 2019.
"Never Fade" is a song by the American rock band Alice in Chains and the third single from the band's sixth studio album, Rainier Fog, released on August 24, 2018. The song was written by vocalists/guitarists Jerry Cantrell and William DuVall, who also share lead vocals, with DuVall singing the verses and the pre-chorus, while Cantrell sings the chorus. "Never Fade" is a tribute to DuVall's grandmother, Soundgarden lead vocalist Chris Cornell, and Alice in Chains' original lead singer Layne Staley. The song was released as a single on August 10, 2018 via YouTube, streaming and digital download. "Never Fade" peaked at No. 10 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart.