Scott Weiland

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Scott Weiland
Scott Weiland in concert with Velvet Revolver. Seattle, 6/4/2004. ©Jill Lyons
Background information
Born	October 27, 1967 in Santa Cruz, California, USA
Genre(s)	Rock Grunge Hard rock
Occupation(s)	Musician, Vocalist, Songwriter
Instrument(s)	Vocals
Label(s)	Atlantic
Associated acts	Stone Temple Pilots Velvet Revolver Camp Freddy
Website	http://www.scottweiland.com/

Scott Weiland (born October 27, 1967 in Santa Cruz, California) is an American musician, lyricist and vocalist. He was the lead singer of the popular rock band Stone Temple Pilots throughout the 1990s and early 2000s and is currently the lead singer of Velvet Revolver.

Contents 1 Childhood 2 Career with Stone Temple Pilots 3 Career with Velvet Revolver 4 Trivia 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Childhood

Weiland was born Scott Richard Kline but his name was changed when his stepfather, David Weiland, adopted him. Though born in Santa Cruz, he moved to Chagrin Falls, Ohio, by age of five, and lived there until he was fifteen, at which point he moved to Huntington Beach, California, where he graduated from Edison High School in Huntington Beach. Before playing "Wicked Garden" with STP at the 2001 Family Values Tour in San Jose, Scott announced that he and drummer Eric Kretz were born in Kaiser Hospital.

[edit] Career with Stone Temple Pilots

Weiland met bassist Robert DeLeo at a Black Flag concert, and shortly thereafter formed the band Mighty Joe Young with DeLeo's brother Dean on guitar and Eric Kretz on drums. The band changed its name to Stone Temple Pilots when it was discovered shortly after signing with Atlantic Records that "Mighty Joe Young" was already taken.

Weiland wrote the band's lyrics and performed lead vocals. In 1992, they released their first album, Core, and their first hit, "Sex Type Thing" led to them becoming one of the most commercially successful bands of the grunge movement, the music genre that was spawned out of Seattle in the late eighties and became rock's central movement of the early-mid 1990s. The band was widely accused of copying bands like Pearl Jam and Nirvana in an attempt to cash in on the scene's burgeoning popularity; Weiland and STP bandmates Robert and Dean DeLeo have rejected such comparisons, however, and cited The Doors and ragtime guitar as more influential on their sound.

In 1994, Weiland married Janina Castaneda and STP released their second album, Purple, which saw the development of a more unique identity for a band. The year prior, STP toured with the Butthole Surfers, and Weiland picked up a drug addiction, claiming Butthole Surfers singer Gibby Haynes introduced him to heroin.[1]

In 1995, Weiland was caught and convicted of buying crack cocaine. He was sentenced to one year's probation. Issues with drug use did not clear up after his sentence.^[1] STP canceled most of their 1996-1997 tour in support of their third release, Tiny Music... Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop causing the album to fall flat quickly on the charts, and leading into the commercial failure of STP's next two albums.

With Weiland's status in the band uncertain and unpredictable, STP went on hiatus. The other members of the band created the group Talk Show with lead singer Dave Coutts. Weiland, meanwhile, adopted an androgynous look and released a solo album in 1998 called 12 Bar Blues. Weiland wrote most of the songs on the album, and collaborated with several artists, notably Daniel Lanois, Sheryl Crow and Jeff Nolan. The album was a critical and commercial failure, and Weiland was eventually caught in Manhattan buying heroin, ending his brief tour. A previous conviction in Los Angeles, coupled with numerous probation violations, earned Weiland jail time.

The constant relapses were too much for his marriage, and Castaneda filed for divorce. Weiland would later turn the experience of his relationship with Castaneda into two of STP's songs, "Sour Girl" and "Atlanta."^{[citation needed]} His period in jail had apparently helped to wean him from his habit, and once released, he rejoined Stone Temple Pilots. Soon after, he married model Mary Forsberg, with whom he has two children, Noah and Lucy.

In 1999 the band released "No. 4," often considered their highest artistic achievement, the album procued the hit single "Sour Girl" which featured a strange, surreal music video with Sarah Michelle Gellar.

On November 2001 Weiland was invited to perform on the show VH1 Storytellers with the surviving members of The Doors. Weiland did vocals on two Doors songs, "Break On Through" and "Five To One." That same month Stone Temple Pilots appeared on The Doors tribute CD, "Stoned Immaculate," with their own rendition of "Break On Through."

In late 2001, Weiland was arrested on domestic violence charges in Las Vegas, apparently for shoving Forsberg. While the charges were eventually deferred upon the couple agreeing to counseling, Forsberg eventually filed for divorce. The couple eventually reconciled. Weiland's career also took a hit, with an altercation between Weiland and Dean DeLeo on the final gig of STP's Shangri-La Dee Da tour, leading to the band's official demise.

[edit] Career with Velvet Revolver

After the breakup of STP, Weiland was arrested on October 27, 2003, in Hollywood, California, after a traffic collision. He was charged with driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol. His charges were eventually dismissed after he successfully completed rehab and subsequent drug tests.

Around this time, Weiland was asked to join a band started by former Guns N' Roses members Slash, Duff McKagan, and Matt Sorum. Weiland joined, and Dave Kushner later joined as a second guitarist. The band used the working title "The Project", and later becoming "Velvet Revolver".

Velvet Revolver's debut album Contraband was released in June 2004 to much success. It debuted at Number One on the Billboard 200 and has sold over three million copies world-wide to date. Two of the album's songs, "Slither" and "Fall To Pieces", reached number one on the Billboard Modern Rock charts.

The band is currently working on their second album titled Libertad. Besides working on Velvet Revolver's second album, Weiland is also working on a follow-up solo album to 12 Bar Blues. Other projects include co-starring in a film directed by Joe Carnahan, issuing his own line of clothing through Von Dutch, and writing an autobiographical novel (due out in 2007). In December 2006, Weiland announced that he had started his own record label, Softdrive Records. He has also said that his upcoming solo album will not be released until late 2007 or early 2008. He is also contributing to the soundtrack of the movie Bug which is released in 2007.

[edit] Trivia

• He is a member of the cover band Camp Freddy.
• Weiland is known to constantly change his appearance, especially his hairstyle and hair color. However, he is recognised by many for his famously low slung trousers, often without a shirt.
• Weiland is a Notre Dame football fan, as his father is an alumnus. In September 2006, Weiland performed at the University of Notre Dame's Legends Restaurant on 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".
• He performed with Fred Durst and Limp Bizkit on the album Significant Other in the song "Nobody Like You" along with Jonathan Davis from Korn. He was also tributed in the same album with the song "Show Me What You Got", along with Eminem, Kid Rock, Jordan, The Firm, Wu-Tang Clan, Method Man, and Staind. He was also featured on Limp Bizkit's third album, Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water, in the song "Hold On."
• Weiland has bipolar disorder. In an interview with VH1.com, he said that he does not take medication for the disorder, and so he goes through manic and depressive episodes. [2]
• He is married to wife, Mary, and they have two young children together

[edit] References

1. ^ Stone Temple Pilots on ticketspecialists.com. Accessed 15 October 2006.

[edit] External links

• Official Scott Weiland Web Site
• Official Velvet Revolver Web Site
• Official Stone Temple Pilots Web Site
• Scott Weiland Official MySpace Page

Velvet Revolver
Scott Weiland | Slash | Duff McKagan | Matt Sorum | Dave Kushner
Discography
Contraband | Libertad
Related articles
The Cult | Guns N' Roses | Johnny Crash | Neurotic Outsiders | Stone Temple Pilots | Slash's Snakepit

Stone Temple Pilots
Scott Weiland | Dean DeLeo | Robert DeLeo | Eric Kretz
Discography
Studio albums: Core | Purple | Tiny Music... Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop | No. 4 | Shangri-La Dee Da
Compilations: Thank You
Singles: "Sex Type Thing" | "Wicked Garden" | "Plush" | "Creep" | "Big Empty" | "Vasoline" | "Interstate Love Song" | "Unglued" | "Pretty Penny" | "Dancing Days" | "Big Bang Baby" | "Trippin' On a Hole in a Paper Heart" | "Lady Picture Show" | "Tumble In The Rough" | "Down" | "Sour Girl" | "No Way Out" | "Days of the Week" | "Hollywood Bitch" | "Revolution" | "All In The Suit That You Wear"
Related articles
Talk Show | Velvet Revolver | Army of Anyone