Mike Starr Memorial Held In Seattle

Family, friends and fans of Alice in Chains bassist Mike Starr, gathered at International Fountain in Seattle Center yesterday for a public memorial to Starr. Many people at the fountain had personal ties to Starr, who was found dead in Salt Lake City March 8th.

Starr publicly battled drug addiction on the reality TV show "Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew" in 2010.

According to the Seattle Times:

"Mike was always a rock star. He had a big personality," said Ricco Frederick, of Seattle, who met Starr in the late 1980s. "He had a lot of demons, and I hope he's in a peaceful place now."

Greg Gendron flew in from Los Angeles for the memorial. He had met Starr through friends and did not know him well but admired his musical style. Gendron found the "Celebrity Rehab" appearances moving, particularly because "everyone thought he was clean."

Kelley McKenzie, of Seattle, whose favorite band in high school was Alice in Chains, met Starr briefly a couple of years ago.

"He was really chill," said McKenzie, who played the band's music all last week after hearing about Starr's death. "My roommates are sick of it."

Starr left the Seattle grunge band in 1993 after playing on its first two EPs, "We Die Young" and "Sap," and its first two albums, "Facelift" and "Dirt."

View photos of the memorial courtesy of The Seattle Times