Jon said himself about Alec "He was THE rock star in the band. He was as crazy as the day's long. Guns, knives, alcohol, drugs, women - he did 'em all."
He had the experience, the reputation and the stage presence to really build a strong 3-man leadership on stage.
He came from Phantom's Opera - an amazing cover band. There are musicians who can play anything, but just really aren't good at coming up with ideas on their own. I guess Alec was one of them.
In 1994 - I think it was a bit down to both parties wanting to split ways for several reasons. Difference of opinion on the music, maybe the characters growing in different directions (as we've come to see with Jon and Richie as well), but also Alec's health. As some have said, he was still drinking a lot in 1993 whereas Tico had sobered up after the New Jersey tour and Richie usually wasn't too drunk to have it affect his playing until the mid-2000s. And I think that motorcycle accident had taken its toll on him physically. Not only in terms of his playing having gotten sloppier, but he was also a lot thinner and looked less healthy than a few years prior. The band's ambition to stand their ground after grunge and work tirelessly on it might've been too much for him to take on at that point.
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