Scott Weiland Interview (1998)

Scott Richard Weiland (/ˈwaɪlənd/; né Kline,[1] October 27, 1967 – December 3, 2015) was an American musician, singer and songwriter. During a career spanning three decades, Weiland was best known as the lead singer of the band Stone Temple Pilots from 1989 to 2002 and 2008 to 2013, making six records with them. He was also lead vocalist of supergroup Velvet Revolver from 2003 to 2008, recording two albums, and recorded one album with another supergroup, Art of Anarchy. Weiland established himself as a solo artist as well and collaborated with several other musicians throughout his career.

Weiland was known for his flamboyant and chaotic onstage persona; he was also known for constantly changing his appearance and vocal style, for his use of a megaphone in concerts for vocal effect, and for his battles with substance abuse.[2] Now widely viewed as a talented and versatile vocalist,[3] Weiland has been ranked in the Top 100 Heavy Metal Vocalists by Hit Parader (No. 57).

In 2012, Weiland formed the backing band the Wildabouts. The band received mixed reviews, and some critics and fans noted Weiland's failing health. In December 2015, Weiland died of an accidental drug overdose on his tour bus in Minnesota at the age of 48. Upon his death, many critics and peers offered re-evaluations of Weiland's life and career; those critics included David Fricke of Rolling Stone[4] and Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins, who identified Weiland as one of the "voices of the generation" alongside Kurt Cobain and Layne Staley.

Early life and education
Weiland was born at Kaiser Hospital in San Jose, California, the son of Sharon (née Williams) and Kent Kline. From his father's side, he was of German descent.[1] At age five his stepfather David Weiland legally adopted him and Scott took his surname.[5] Around that time, Weiland moved to Bainbridge Township, Ohio, where he later attended Kenston High School. He moved back to California as a teenager and attended Edison High School in Huntington Beach and Orange Coast College.[6] Before devoting himself to music full-time, he worked as a paste up artist for the Los Angeles Daily Journal legal newspaper.[7]

At the age of 12, Weiland was allegedly raped by an older male who had 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.[8][9]

Career
Stone Temple Pilots
Main article: Stone Temple Pilots
In 1986, Weiland met bassist Robert DeLeo at a Black Flag concert in Long Beach, California. The two of them were discussing their love interests, when they realized they were both dating the same girl. They developed a bond over the incident, and ended up moving into her vacated apartment. Weiland's childhood friends Corey Hicock and David Allin rounded out the group, both of whom would soon be replaced by Eric Kretz and DeLeo's brother Dean. They took the name Stone Temple Pilots because of their fondness for the initials "STP."[10] In one of the band's first opening performances as Mighty Joe Young, they opened for Electric Love Hogs, whose guitarist Dave Kushner would one day co-found Weiland's later band Velvet Revolver.[11] In 1992, they released their first album, Core, spawning four hits ("Sex Type Thing," "Wicked Garden," "Creep," and "Plush.")

In 1994, STP released their second record, Purple, which saw the development of a more distinctive identity for the band. Like Core, Purple was a big success for the band, spawning three hit singles ("Big Empty", "Vasoline" and "Interstate Love Song") and selling more than six million copies. The critical response to Purple was more favorable, with Spin magazine calling it a "quantum leap" from the band's previous album.[12]

In 1995, Weiland formed the alternative rock band the Magnificent Bastards with session drummer Victor Indrizzo[13] in San Diego.[12] The band included Zander Schloss and Jeff Nolan on guitars and Bob Thompson on bass.[13] Only two songs were recorded by the Magnificent Bastards, "Mockingbird Girl," composed by Nolan, Schloss, and Weiland,[14] appeared in the film Tank Girl and on its soundtrack,[15] and a cover of John Lennon's "How Do You Sleep?" was recorded for the tribute album, Working Class Hero: A Tribute to John Lennon.[13][16] Weiland rejoined Stone Temple Pilots in the fall of 1995, but STP was forced to cancel most of their 1996–1997 tour in support of their third release, Tiny Music... Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop, which sold about two million albums. Weiland encountered problems with drug addiction at this time as well, which inspired some of his songs in the late-1990s, and resulted in prison time.[17]

In 1999, STP regrouped once again and released No. 4. The album contained the hit single "Sour Girl" which featured a surreal music video with Sarah Michelle Gellar. That same year, Weiland also recorded two songs with the short-lived supergroup the Wondergirls.