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Scott Weiland, Former Stone Temple Pilots Frontman, Dead At 48
Scott Weiland (Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images)
Scott Weiland, the frontman of Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver, died at the age of 48 on Thursday.
The singer "passed away in his sleep while on a tour stop in Bloomington, Minnesota, with his band The Wildabouts," according to posts sent out from his Instagram and Facebook. "At this time we ask that the privacy of Scott’s family be respected."
TMZ reports that Weiland was on tour with his current band, Scott Weiland & The Wildabouts, and they were supposed to perform at the Medina Ballroom tonight, but the show was cancelled. Sources told the outlet that the band found Weiland dead on the bus around 9 p.m. Medina Entertainment Center announced the cancellation of the concert and said they would issue refunds, but did not explain the reason behind the cancellation.
Weiland's wife, photographer Jamie Weiland, told the L.A. Times, while sobbing, "I can’t deal with this right now. It’s true."
His manager, Tom Vitorino, also confirmed to the Times about Weiland's death, but did not give any more information.
Dave Navarro, guitarist for Jane's Addiction, posted on Twitter at 9 p.m., "Just learned our friend Scott Weiland has died. So gutted, I am thinking of his family tonight." The tweet has since been deleted. He later tweeted:
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Dave Kushner, who was Weiland's bandmate in Velvet Revolver, tweeted:
RIP Scott Weiland
— Dave Kushner (@davekushner66) December 4, 2015
Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselić tweeted:
Although Weiland had a history of struggling with substance abuse issues, it's not clear what caused his death.
Weiland was born on Oct. 27, 1967 in San Jose, California, but would spend his childhood in Ohio when his family moved there. It wasn't until he was teenager that he would return to California to live in Huntington Beach, where he graduated from Edison High School, and would take classes at Orange Coast College.
Weiland would later form San Diego-based band Stone Temple Pilots (STP) with brothers Dean and Robert DeLeo and drummer Eric Kretz in 1989, and serve as the frontman. The band would release hit after hit, including "Plush," "Creep" and "Vasoline."
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The band broke up in 2002, later reuniting in 2008 to go on a world tour. They parted ways again in 2013. According to the Rolling Stone in 2013:
Earlier this year, Weiland was fired by his old band, who claimed the singer was battling drug addiction and chronic tardiness. STP then filed a lawsuit against Weiland for playing the band's material during solo concerts and using the band name to promote his career. The plot thickened even further when Weiland countersued, claiming the original lawsuit was illogcial since he founded and named the band (along with co-writing much of their material).
Weiland told told the OC Register in March that he had put it all behind him. "Honestly, I really don’t think about it. You know, now we have all of the legal stuff behind us and it’s all about me moving forward. I think that this is a rock band that put out a rock album that STP fans will still really be into."
Weiland also formed a super rock band, Velvet Revolver, with former Guns N' Roses members Slash, Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum in 2002. They released two studio albums together, Contraband and Libertad, with hits like "Slither" and "Fall to Pieces," before Weiland left the band in 2008 to focus on STP. They would reunite again in 2012.
Last March, he released his first album, Blaster, with Scott Weiland & the Wildabouts.
Weiland is survived by his wife Jamie and his two children, Noah and Lucy, from a previous marriage with Mary Forsberg. He and Jamie met in 2011 and married in 2013.
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Eds. note: An earlier version of this story misnamed Velvet Revolver's albums. It's since been corrected.
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