Jani Lane Died of Alcohol Poisoning

The Los Angeles County coroner has confirmed that Jani Lane died from "acute ethanol intoxication." In plain English, that's alcohol poisoning. The ruling closes the death investigation.

Jani died on August 11 at the age of 47.

For whatever reason, I was hoping the cause of death would be something different. Jani was too young to die but also in a lot of pain from his demons. 

In case you haven't seen it, here's Jani's segment on That Metal Show, taped just a few weeks before his death. He looks good, but thin, in the clip.

Comments

[Shawn]

Thanks so much for posting the information and the interview. I do not have access to VH1 Classic so that was an awesome interview. I knew he was not the original singer but I didnt know how they got together.

I am still saddened by him leaving us so soon. I managed to see Warrant with Jani in a club and I was on the rail so thats a good memory to have... I am a big Jani/Warrant fan they are in my top 10. I have to agree with Metalboys posts after the show I did meet Eric Turner and he was not that apprciative of Jani this was in 1996 or 97 so Jani was well into the alcohol abuse at that time..

In my opinion we lost one of the good ones.. It just sucks but thanks for keeping the good memories alive.

[Ace Steele]

REST IN PEACE, My brother.
The Sunset Strip scene was a better place, because of you.

[Metalboy!]

God Bless him. What a talent. Too bad he couldn't just settle for being high on that fact.

p.s. Yeah, Shawn, gotta say, Turner seems like he really harbored (and still does) resentment toward Lane and sadly, even though Lane ultimately has no one to blame but himself for his demise, ya gotta wonder if Turner's attitude toward him might have played a role in Jani's problem.

[Rita]

I just wanted to say again I was a huge fan of Jani and was lucky enough to spend time with him after his shows in Toronto in the late 90's on 2 occasions.

He was a class act, a sweetheart with a heart of gold. He was a genius when it came to music. One of my fondest musical memories ever is of Jani playing my friend and I (also a huge Jani fan) some songs of his from his upcoming (at the time) solo album.

I was always a Jani fan and I looked at the rest of the guys in Warrant as his backup. Maybe that was wrong and maybe other people did this too and that mentality can lead to problems, I know. But I've always thought of the songwriters as the core of the band and I believe if it wasn't for Jani, Warrants music would not have been what it was.

In any event, we lost him way too soon. I hope he rests in peace. He will always have a very special place in my heart.

[gary]

my sympathies are limited

[Scondo]

He seems totally with it, which makes the whole thing ultimately more depressing.

[SometimesWeCry]

I loved Jani Lane and the music he made. He deserved better than this. This one hurts me more than any of the other musical losses we've seen. While it is true that Jani had his problems, I still can't help but believe that what really killed him was a broken heart.

Those in the music industry (including some members of his own band), media and even many bloggers/websites that were so hateful to him through the years, have his blood on their hands as far as I'm concerned. I know life in general is tough and it sucks more times than not, but some of the nasty things I've seen and read about Jani over the past 20 years or so have been uncalled for.

Jani drank, no one forced all that booze on him, so ultimately he did it to himself. But maybe a little kindness from some of these haters would have made a difference.

Jani Lane, one of a kind, glad to have known him and his music. I hope he finds the peace in his afterlife that he never found here. I think I will personally try to honor his memory by extending love, kindness and understanding to someone whom the world has written off.

Jani Lane, what a great guy. He was loved and will be missed. How I wish I could see him on stage just one more time. Damn.

[gary]

somtimeswecry: I feel exactly what you've written. I stood by him through all the broken promises, missed shows, fucked up performances. I always gave him the benefit of the doubt, because he was indeed, A true talent. AND, here is one explanaion for my comment above...I would've still been there.

When he kicked ass @ M3, I congratulated and praised him more than any band member, manager, "blogger", media person, etc... I would have gone to his future shows and hoped for he best. If he didn't deliver, I still stayed the course.

I thought he died of a drug overdose, but I was "hoping" (for lack of a better word) that he died from something other than a "broken heart". Actually, I wished he didn't die at all as I still harbored much hope and promise for him.

He left behind his children, friends, family and fans so I offer them kindness and understanding at this point, because that's about all I can provide to this situation. So, in hindsight, I did the opposite as far as Jani is concerned- I supported him before his death even when I questioned whether I should be supporting him because as you point out, many outlets were not. It was in his life that I showed kindness and understanding because I know how difficult it might have been for him.

The aforementioned thoughts are Jani Lane-specific and should not be confused with thoughts I have regarding other rock musicians.