RIP: Scott Weiland (1967–2015)

The Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver frontman was found dead on his tour bus in Bloomington, MN.
RIP: Scott Weiland (1967–2015)

The Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver frontman was found dead on his tour bus in Bloomington, MN.

Words: FLOOD Staff

photo by CRL/Creative Commons

December 04, 2015

Scott Weiland / photo by CRL/Creative Commons

Scott Weiland, the lead singer of alt-rock-era mainstays Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver, passed away in his sleep on Thursday night on his tour bus in Bloomington, MN, where he was slated to play a show with his band The Wildabouts. He was forty-eight.

Stone Temple Pilots rose to fame on the strength of Weiland’s voice in the early ’90s. Thanks to the immense popularity of singles “Sex Type Thing,” “Plush,” and “Dead and Bloated,” the group’s 1992 debut Core sold in excess of eight million copies. The band remained active through the decade, shifting away from the grinding grunge of their early work into Beatlesesque pop (“Lady Picture Show”) and mature noir (“Sour Girl”) before placing themselves on hiatus in 2002. The next year, Weiland formed Velvet Revolver with members of Guns ‘n’ Roses. Stone Temple Pilots reunited with Weiland in 2008, releasing a self-titled LP in 2010.

Weiland struggled with substance abuse throughout his life. As Billboard reports, he was arrested for purchasing crack cocaine in 1995, and was known to have problems with heroin. He checked into a rehab facility in 2007 but left before completing the program.

In addition to his work with Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver, he released three solo records—1998’s 12 Bar Blues, 2008’s “Happy” in Galoshes, and the 2011 Christmas record The Most Wonderful Time of the Year—and earlier this year put out Blaster with The Wildabouts.