Scott Weiland
Scott Richard Weiland (/ˈwaɪlənd/, WY-lənd; né Kline; October 27, 1967 – December 3, 2015) was an American singer and songwriter. He was best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Stone Temple Pilots from 1989 to 2003 and again from 2008 to 2013, recording six albums with them, and as the lead vocalist of the rock supergroup Velvet Revolver from 2003 to 2008. He also released one album with rock supergroup Art of Anarchy in 2015, as well as four solo studio albums and several collaborations with other musicians throughout his career.
Scott Weiland
Scott Richard Kline
October 27, 1967
San Jose, California, U.S.
December 3, 2015 (aged 48)
Bloomington, Minnesota, U.S.
- Singer
- songwriter
1985–2015
- Stone Temple Pilots
- Velvet Revolver
- Camp Freddy
- The Magnificent Bastards
- The Wondergirls
- Art of Anarchy
- Scott Weiland and the Wildabouts
Weiland was noted for his flamboyant and chaotic onstage persona, his consistently changing appearance, and his versatile vocal style. He also became known for his use of a megaphone for a unique vocal effect during concert. He sold over 50 million albums with his various projects and collaborations.
Weiland's career was plagued by substance abuse issues, leading to various high-profile arrests and his eventual firings from Velvet Revolver and Stone Temple Pilots. On December 3, 2015, at the age of 48, he was found dead of an accidental drug overdose on his tour bus in Bloomington, Minnesota.
Early life[edit]
Weiland was born Scott Richard Kline[1] at Kaiser Hospital in San Jose, California, on October 27, 1967, the son of Sharon (née Williams) and Kent Kline. His father had German ancestry.[1] He was raised Catholic.[2] At the age of five, he was legally adopted by his stepfather David Weiland and subsequently took his surname.[3] Around the same time, he moved to Bainbridge Township, Ohio, where he attended Kenston High School. At the age of 12 while living in Ohio, he was allegedly raped by an older male who invited him to his house; he wrote in his autobiography Not Dead & Not For Sale that he repressed the memory until it returned to him in therapy decades later.
Weiland moved back to California as a teenager and attended Edison High School
in Huntington Beach and Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa.[4] Before fully devoting himself to a music career, he worked as a paste up artist for the Los Angeles Daily Journal legal newspaper.[5][6][7]
Business ventures[edit]
In 2006, Weiland launched his own record label, Softdrive Records, with his songwriting partner Doug Grean. Later, Weiland announced that his label signed the up-and-coming rock band Something to Burn.
On December 19, 2008, Weiland signed a publishing deal with Bug Music, allowing Weiland to "receive funding to pursue the development of creative projects and writers for Bug Music through his co-founded label, Softdrive Records." The deal included Weiland's share of the Stone Temple Pilots catalog and any solo work produced thereafter.[74]
On January 21, 2009, Weiland announced the launch of his clothing line, Weiland for English Laundry, in partnership with designer Christopher Wicks.[75][76]
Artistry[edit]
Weiland's vocal and musical style proved to be versatile, evolving constantly throughout his career. At the peak of Stone Temple Pilots' success in the early to mid-1990s, Weiland displayed a deep, baritone vocal style that was compared to that of Pearl Jam singer Eddie Vedder.[77] However, as STP continued to branch out throughout its career, so did Weiland's vocal style. The band's third album, Tiny Music... Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop, had Weiland singing in a much higher, raspier tone to complement the band's more 60's rock-influenced sound. Later albums showcased Weiland's influences ranging from bossa nova on Shangri-La Dee Da to blues rock and classic rock on the band's 2010 self-titled album.
Weiland's first solo record, 12 Bar Blues (1998), represented a huge shift in Weiland's style, as the album featured a sound "rooted in glam rock, filtered through psychedelia and trip-hop".[78] With Velvet Revolver, Weiland's vocals ranged from his classic baritone to a rawer style to complement the band's hard rock sound. A New York Post review of Velvet Revolver's 2007 album Libertad commented that "Weiland's vocals are crisp and controlled, yet passionate."[45]
Weiland's second solo album, 2008's "Happy" in Galoshes, featured a wide variety of musical genres, such as bossa nova, country, neo-psychedelia and indie rock.[79] Weiland's 2011 solo effort, the Christmas album The Most Wonderful Time of the Year consisted entirely of Christmas music in a crooning style similar to that of David Bowie and Frank Sinatra, as well as some reggae and bossa nova.[80]
Personal life[edit]
Relationships and family[edit]
Weiland married Janina Castaneda on September 17, 1994, and they divorced in 2000. He married Mary Forsberg on May 20, 2000, and they had a son named Noah (born 2000) and a daughter named Lucy (born 2002) before divorcing in 2007.[81]
In 2005, Weiland and his son Noah were featured on comedian David Spade's The Showbiz Show with David Spade during a comedy sketch about discouraging music file sharing. Noah has a line during the sketch in which he tells a little girl, "Please buy my daddy's album so I can have food to eat."[82]
Weiland was a Notre Dame Fighting Irish football fan, stemming from his stepfather's history as an alumnus. In September 2006, he performed at the University of Notre Dame's Legends Restaurant the night before a football game. He sang several of his solo songs as well as "Interstate Love Song" and a cover of Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here".
Mary Forsberg's autobiography Fall to Pieces was co-written with Larkin Warren and released in 2009.[83] Weiland's autobiography Not Dead & Not for Sale was co-written with David Ritz and released May 17, 2011.[84]
In a November 2012 interview with Rolling Stone, Weiland revealed that he was engaged to Jamie Wachtel, whom he met during the 2011 filming of his music video for "I'll Be Home for Christmas".[85] They married at their Los Angeles home on June 22, 2013.[86]
In late 2020, Weiland's son Noah Weiland debuted his new band Suspect208, which also features Slash's son London on drums and Robert Trujillo's son Tye on bass. Their debut song "Long Awaited" was described by Wall of Sound as being reminiscent of Purple-era Stone Temple Pilots.[87][88]
Substance use and health problems[edit]
In 1995, Weiland was convicted of buying crack cocaine and sentenced to one year of probation. His drug use did not end after his sentence but rather increased, and he moved into a hotel room for two months; in the room next door was Courtney Love, who later said that the pair "shot drugs the whole time" together.[89]
Weiland revealed in 2001 that he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.[90]
In a 2005 interview with Esquire, Weiland said that while performing in his first bands as a teenager, his drinking "escalated" and he began using cocaine for the first time, which he referred to as a "sexual" experience.[91] In December 2007, he was arrested and charged with driving under the influence, his first arrest in over four years. On February 7, 2008, he checked into rehab[92] and left in early March.[93]
Weiland's younger brother Michael died of cardiomyopathy in early 2007. The Velvet Revolver songs "For a Brother" and "Pills, Demons, & Etc" from the album Libertad are about him. Weiland said in an interview with MTV News in November 2008 that several songs on "Happy" in Galoshes were inspired by the death of his brother and his separation from Mary Forsberg. In the same article, MTV News reported that Weiland had not done heroin since December 5, 2002. Weiland admitted that he went through a "very short" cocaine binge in late 2007.[94]
In April 2015, online footage from a concert raised questions about Weiland's health, as he appeared unsteady and was singing markedly out of tune and in a slurred voice. A representative for Weiland asserted that lack of sleep, several drinks and a faulty earpiece were to blame, not drugs. In June 2015, Weiland claimed that he had been off drugs for 13 years. His response was directed towards comments made by Filter's frontman Richard Patrick, who claimed Weiland was using drugs and that his fans were pushing him closer to death by "sticking up for" him.[95][96]
After Weiland's death, the Wildabouts' tour manager Aaron Mohler said, "A lot of times I've seen Scott do coke so he could drink more."[97]
Shortly after his death, Weiland's widow Jamie acknowledged that her husband was drinking heavily before he left on his band's last tour, but that he promised her that he would "get it together". She accompanied him on the tour for a week in November and said that he was "just killing it" onstage and "taking it up a notch" every night.[98]
Weiland had hepatitis C, which he may have acquired from intravenous drug use.[97]
Death[edit]
Weiland was found dead on his tour bus in Bloomington, Minnesota, on December 3, 2015.[99][100] He was 48 years old and had been on tour with the Wildabouts.[101] The band's scheduled gig that evening in nearby Edina had been cancelled several days earlier, though they were still planning to play the next night in Rochester.[102][103] Police searched the tour bus and confirmed there were small amounts of cocaine in the bedroom where Weiland was discovered dead.[104][105] Police also found prescription drugs, including Xanax, Buprenorphine, Ziprasidone, Viagra, and hypnotics on the tour bus. Additionally, two bags of Cocaine were found and a bag of Marijuana.[106] Tommy Black, bassist for the Wildabouts, was arrested on suspicion of possession of cocaine,[107] although the charges against him were later dropped.[108]
Despite the discovery of drugs, no underlying cause of death was immediately given.[103] The medical examiner later determined Weiland's death was the result of an accidental overdose of cocaine, alcohol, and methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA). In its report, the examiner's office also noted Weiland's atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, history of asthma, and prolonged substance abuse.[109]
News of Weiland's death quickly spread throughout the Internet, with many of his musical peers, including his former band members, along with fans and music critics throughout the world, sharing their condolences, tributes, and memories.[110] A day following his death, his former bandmates in Stone Temple Pilots issued a statement saying that he was "gifted beyond words" but acknowledging his struggle with substance abuse, calling it "part of [his] curse."[111]
His ex-wife Mary Forsberg wrote about the pain of his addiction, the mistreatment of his children and callousness of the music industry, shortly after his death, her words were published in Rolling Stone and shared widely on social media.[112]
A private funeral for Weiland was held at Hollywood Forever Cemetery on December 11, 2015, in Los Angeles. Members of both Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver attended. Chris Kushner, the wife of Velvet Revolver guitarist Dave Kushner, wrote on her Instagram page following the funeral, "A very sad day when (you) bury a friend. He was a good man. Don't believe everything (you) read. Remember, we were all there." Weiland's body was cremated.[113][114] Mary Forsberg and the two children were not in attendance,[97] later having a private ceremony in honor of Weiland.
Legacy[edit]
In the wake of Weiland's death, many critics and peers offered re-evaluations of Weiland's life and career, including David Fricke of Rolling Stone.[115] Several other artists paid tribute to the singer by covering Stone Temple Pilots tunes in concert, including Life of Agony,[116] Saint Asonia,[117] Umphrey's McGee,[118] Candlebox,[119] Halestorm,[120] and Pop Evil,[121] among others, while Chris Cornell dedicated a performance of "Say Hello 2 Heaven" by Temple of the Dog to the singer.[122]
On the Smashing Pumpkins' website, Billy Corgan praised Weiland, saying: "It was STP's third album (Tiny Music... Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop), that had got me hooked, a wizardly mix of glam and post-punk, and I confessed to Scott, as well as the band many times, how wrong I'd been in assessing their native brilliance. And like Bowie can and does, it was Scott's phrasing that pushed his music into a unique, and hard to pin down, aesthetic sonicsphere. Lastly, I'd like to share a thought which, though clumsy, I hope would please Scott In Hominum. And that is if you asked me who I truly believed were the great voices of our generation, I'd say it were he, Layne, and Kurt."[123]
In 2018, Guns N' Roses with Slash and Duff, honored Weiland during the Not in This Lifetime... Tour by covering the Velvet Revolver hit song "Slither".[124]
