Scott Weiland
Scott Weiland (born Scott Richard Kline on October 27, 1967) is a professional recovering drug addict and currently the vocalist for the American rock group Stone Temple Pilots.
Early Years[edit | edit source]
Scott Weiland was born a small black child. At the age of 3 he was dropped into pancake batter which is how he got his looks and creamy white skin.
Stone Temple Pilots (1986-1997)[edit | edit source]
In 1986, Scott met guitar hero and future Stone Temple Pilot, Matt Sorum. They then recruited popular hairdresser Duff McKagen to play bass and the legendary drummer Slash who went on to become their chief songwriter. Together they penned many top 40 hits of the era including the songs Even Flow, Alive and Jeremy. They were popular radio favorites and were put into heavy rotation. The band pioneered the genre of "grunge" rock and insisted that journalists use the term to accurately describe the type of music they play. However, tensions grew between the band members during the recording of their sophomore album, Vitalogy. Weiland wanted to stretch out into grungier territory but the other members felt that they were betraying their corporate roots. Stone Temple Pilot keyboardist Eddie Vedder is quoted in Rolling Stone Magazine, “The bands highest aspirations are to one day have one of our songs on a car commercial.” Later in 2001, they would achieve this personal goal when they sold Wicked Garden to Nissan. By 1997, Scott’s lyrics had become a redundant litany of recycled and trendy anti-corporate teeny babble. Later that fall, the band had a meeting to discuss whether or not the lyrics to Plush really meant anything at all. It was suggested that a split from Weiland might be inevitable. However, due to a hidden clause in the bands contract, they were given the option of either allowing Scott to buy out their stock and royalties in STP or listen to 5 minutes of his solo projects. The band quickly sold their rights to Scott and quit in unison.
Post STP and Training in Sri Lanka[edit | edit source]
After his break with STP, he trained in Sri Lanka under the tutelage of Guru Opa-Opa to build up his now legendary tolerance to heroin and graduated with a Masters of Immunity certificate on August 24, 1998. During the award ceremony, Scott successfully shot $75 worth of heroin and smoked $500 of crack cocaine in just under 40 minutes with no effect whatsoever. Afterward, he declared himself a genius. Having accomplished this feat, he no longer needs the drug to convince himself that he is a legend and super rock star/visionary and is now able to stumble out on to concert stages hours late for shows with a built-in excuse.
Solo Project, Benzodiazepines & Contributions to Science[edit | edit source]
Scott re-entered pharmaceutical school and trained for a Masters of Immunity in Benzodiazepines. This fact, along with the growing success of independent labels and indie music in general, gave Scott the confidence necessary to mistake grand indulgences in personal mediocrity for innovation in songcraft. He released the critically ignored 12 Bar Blues subtitled (My misunderstood Lou Reed phase) to dozens of sales. “This is going to alienate a lot of STP fans, so be it. Thirty odd years from now, I’ll be like recognized as an icon and pioneer in some underground revival of southern French teen-age retro-snobs in the year 2030,” Scott told Rolling Stone Magazine.
Shangri-La-Dee-Don't (2001)[edit | edit source]
Some critics commented that the album was a lyrical high point for Weiland. Scott may have recaptured some of his lost panache with lyrics like, “Left my meds on the sink again, my head will be racing by lunchtime.”
With Velvet Revolver (2004 - 2008)[edit | edit source]
In 2003, he was voted rock’s Most Valuable Player by the surviving drug addicts from Guns-n-Roses. Later that year, they combined forces to form, Velvet Revolver. "This is going to alienate some fans of Stone Temple Pilots," Scott told Rolling Stone Magazine. They played their debut single "Ain't talkin 'bout love" to a sell out crowd. Scott was especially proud of this performance. "I had been working a lot on my rock star moves and you can see me developing on stage here. All to often, the crowd expects me to just settle back and dance the good ol' fashioned junkie jig, but I like to throw a few poses too.
Contract with Hasbro[edit | edit source]
Scott recently signed a $2 million dollar contract with Hasbro to both appear in public as spokesman for the popular toy Mr. Potato Head and also to serve as model for the new updated Head. Scott is quoted in Rolling Stone Magazine, "This is going to alienate a lot of fans of STP."
Reunion With STP (2008 - Present)[edit | edit source]
As he'd addressed in his 2008 solo CD, Unhappy On Anti-Depressants, Scott came to the realization that it's always more important to return to your roots, than to continue a long and lonely path by your lonesome. That's why in 2008, he decided to tread old ground, and reform the long-defunct Stone Temple Pilots. Shortly afterward, they embarked on a world tour through Venice, and announced their intentions to record a brand new cassette for Atlantic Records. In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine regarding the new cassette, and it's foray into country music, Scott said that "this is seriously... seriously going to alienate many fans of Stone Temple Pilots. But fuck it. We don't care.". The cassette came out in limited quantity on May 25th, 2010.
Solo Discography[edit | edit source]
- 12 Beer Blues (1998)
- Unhappy On Anti-Depressants (2008)