WEILAND & I
THE LAST FIGHT A MEMOIR BY ALEX DUPONT
WEILAND & I THE LAST FIGHT
A MEMOIR BY ALEX DUPONT
INTRODUCTION “This guy was an absolute animal, a showman and a gem of a frontman. He was singing faster than Steven Tyler from Aerosmith did on “Walk this Way,” and screaming into the microphone like an air raid siren, it was catch your breath stuff.” ——-ALEX DUPONT From the pages of Weiland & I, The Last Fight December 2015 was a sad time for rock music, as it marked the beginning of a torturous year, where a string of legendary musicians were passing away on a regular basis. This news dominated the headlines and appeared to be mostly artists with a history of substance abuse problems. Many people said it was Lemmy from Motorhead’s death that started it all, when it was actually former Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver singer Scott Weiland on the 3rd December 2015. I would know, I met him three months before in London.
Weiland & I, The Last Fight is a hard rock memoir that explores my relationship with my favourite rock singer, and how his music helped change my life. I discuss how I first discovered Weilands music; to borrowing a copy of Velvet Revolver’s Contraband, listening to the infamous Howard Stern interview, and buying a copy of his last ever solo record, Blaster. I share my story of the race against the clock to see Weiland perform for the first and final time, after nearly a year’s worth of waiting due to cancellations and excuses. This book also contains tales of Weilands junkie lifestyle that almost killed both bands he was in, before it ended up killing him. Why did I continue to stand by this troubled frontman after he had been frustrating his fans and bandmates for a full two decades? This book includes stories that will appeal to anyone who has ever enjoyed Scott Weiland’s music, and will be revelatory to music fans of all generations.
A 2017 issuu publication Copyright @ Alex Dupont All Images Taken by Alex Dupont
CONTENTS 1. First Impressions - Wow!
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2. Contraband
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3. Stone Temple Pilots
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4. The Howard Stern Interview
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5. Weiland in London?
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6. Live in the Windy City
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7. Do it for the Kids: Meeting the Rock God
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8. Dead & Bloated
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1. FIRST IMPRESSIONS - WOW! I will forever cherish the memories of watching the worlds greatest rock bands at Download Festival every June. The event was held at Donington Park and felt like Christmas due to my enjoyment of live music. However, I look back on the years when I was too young to attend the festival, and tried to imagine being there. It was September 2013, I was twenty years old, and I was watching classic YouTube highlights of Ozzfest 2005 live at Donington. The footage was showcasing live performances of hard rock and heavy metal bands all performing on the same day, before the mighty Black Sabbath headlined the event. I was left jaw dropped by a ten minute clip of supergroup, Velvet Revolver, who sub-headlined the event before Sabbath. The footage began with an interview with lead guitarist Slash before bursting into a performance of set opener “Sucker Train Blues.� I was blown away by the
2 sheer decadence of the performance and in particular lead singer Scott Weiland’s onstage charisma. I could immediately tell this band was not only rock and roll as fuck, but equally dangerous. Watching Weiland glide across the stage whilst effortlessly upstaging his established bandmates in Slash and Duff McKagan was something I hadn’t seen before. This guy was an absolute animal, a showman, and a gem of a frontman. He was singing faster than Steven Tyler from Aerosmith did on “Walk this Way,” and screaming into the microphone like an air raid siren, it was catch your breath stuff. Weiland was wearing sunglasses, a pilot hat, a black t-shirt, a red tie, Italian boots and skin tight black trousers. A guy who looked this badass was bound to have a big ego, but in many ways deserved to. He was an epic force onstage that would bury any band performing after him. I was gutted that this footage was eight years old, as I envied every audience member who had the privilege of witnessing that performance. One reason was because Velvet Revolver had been broken up for five years.
“Hands are shakin got your finger on the trigger Jesus ain't complainin gonna figure it out Somebody raped my tapeworm abortion Come on motherfuckers and deliver the cow” (S. Weiland) ——- Sucker Train Blues Velvet Revolver Contraband 2004
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2. CONTRABAND I knew my brother owned Velvet Revolver’s debut album Contraband, and that it had been in his collection ever since it was first released in 2004. I decided to borrow the album from him, as I was desperate to listen to it after watching the Ozzfest 2005 footage. I only knew one Velvet Revolver song which was the classic hit single “Slither,” which I first heard on music video station, Kerrang, around eight years before. The video featured the band performing in a tunnel with topless singer Scott Weiland standing and sliding along the walls, whilst posing at the camera. As a young teenager I enjoyed the song and but wasn’t a mature enough rock listener at the time to give the album it came from any attention. Before pressing play, I had a feeling I would enjoy Contraband because three members of Velvet Revolver were previously in Guns N’ Roses, a band I had a lot of history listening to.
4 I listened to Contraband twice and fell in love with the album. The songs had incredible versatility ranging from anthems in “Big Machine,” to ballads like “Loving the Alien,” and provided elements of hard rock, metal, glam and punk. What took me so long to listen to this modern classic? Former Guns N’ Roses members Slash, Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum continued their remarkable chemistry as the bands rhythm section by showcasing huge riffs, thunderous drum sounds and rhythmic bass lines. However, it was the former Stone Temple Pilots frontman; Scott Weiland, who made the record for me, as his grungy yet glam controlled style, showcased his abilities as a singer and songwriter. “ “Fall to Pieces” was a personal highlight due to the meaning and integrity of the power ballad, along with the huge sing along chorus. The track was about Weiland’s problems with heroin addiction and on-going issues with his wife Mary Forsberg. This was demonstrated by the powerful and autobiographical accompanying music video in which Weiland is saved by bassist Duff McKagan after overdosing in a nightclub toilet. Watching this clip gave me an insight into Weiland’s wild lifestyle, and this reminded me of previously reading rock journalist Eddie Trunk’s 2011 book, Essential Hard Rock and Heavy Metal. Trunk mentioned how Weiland’s substance abuse problems got him kicked out of Velvet Revolver in 2008.
“I keep a journal of memories I'm feeling lonely, I can't breathe I fall to pieces, I'm falling Fell to pieces and I'm still falling” (S. Weiland) ——Fall to Pieces Velvet Revolver Contraband, 2004
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3. STONE TEMPLE PILOTS Scott Weiland was best known as being the frontman of Stone Temple Pilots. The forty million selling, San Diego grunge legends from the nineties. I only knew the single “Plush,” after hearing it on the 2004 PlayStation 2 game, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. I knew STP were successful, but I hadn’t given them any time due to initially comparing their sound to one of my favourite bands, fellow nineties grunge band, Pearl Jam. After mentioning my enjoyment of Velvet Revolver’s Contraband to my old work colleague Grant Sharkey, he told me to listen to Stone Temple Pilots first three records, claiming they were all masterpieces in alternative music. I went into HMV and picked up a copy of STP’s first studio album, 1992’s Core, which I thoroughly enjoyed upon first listen. This was due to the record being filled with huge choruses, classic rock
6 riff intros and beautiful melodies. I quickly became obsessed with the band, and went on to own all six studio albums. I listened to their songs on shuffle every day at work, drove in the car with their CD’s playing, and praying that one day they would reunite. I had been listening to rock music for fourteen years at this point and I hadn’t heard a group so musically diverse with each record. There wasn’t a single Stone Temple Pilots track that I disliked from the bands back catalogue. There were elements of The Doors, John Lennon, David Bowie and the Sex Pistols in their sound, lyrics and song structure. Combine this with alternative grunge from the nineties Seattle movement, meant a reliably consistent rock band to enjoy for a lifetime. My favourite record from STP was the group’s second album Purple from 1994. It was the home for classic singles such as “Interstate Love Song,” “Big Empty,” & “Vasoline,” whilst also featured fan favourites such as “Meat Plow,” “Pretty Penny,” and “Unglued. The album remains Stone Temple Pilots only number one album on the billboard hot one hundred chart. The record proved that STP were not just another sound alike grunge band, as they also displayed elements of psychedelic rock, folk and country on the record. Purple gave Stone Temple Pilots an identity of their own and distanced them away from Seattle giants like Pearl Jam & Alice in Chains. What drew me to Scott Weiland was what made him the complete frontman. The baritone vocal range, the onstage flamboyance, the fashion sense, the arrogance, and the regular change in appearance. Using a megaphone onstage for vocal effect was one of Weiland’s trademarks both onstage and in the studio, particularly on Stone Temple Pilots Core album opener “Dead and Bloated”. The guy was a real intimidating and in your face rock star, a rebel and a force to be reckoned with.
7 Who else could run around a stage that fast whilst singing in key and looking that cool? He had such mesmerising stage presence and became a towering figure in rock and roll music, despite only being 5 feet 11 in height. David Bowie was a clear influence on Weiland’s artistic nature due to Bowie’s chameleon like persona in changing wardrobes, vocal styles and musical genres on each passing record. Weiland was a versatile enough performer to sing and write music that ranged from different genres when fronting Stone Temple Pilots, including grunge, glam, hard rock, country and neo-psychedelia. He then showcased other styles of writing on his records when singing for Velvet Revolver, including anthems, ballads, folk songs, jazz fusion and psychedelic lyrics. Weiland wrote lyrics after listening to a finished piece of instrumental music that was presented to him by his bandmates. He was one of the best in the world at writing material that matched the quality of the songs arrangements. I knew Weiland had been fired from his parent band, Stone Temple Pilots, earlier in the year as I found out through an online radio show called The Metal Hammer Podcast, which updated me on music related news. I also learnt about Weiland being a controversial character that was difficult to work with, and had been fired from the two bands that made him famous due to his diva behaviour. The vocalist had many highs and lows in his career but gained a reputation for being an unreliable junkie after being given too many last chances by his bandmates. It took balls for the DeLeo brothers in Stone Temple Pilots to fire their frontman and lead songwriter in February of 2013, twenty four years after forming and having a successful career.
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4. THE HOWARD STERN INTERVIEW I watched an online interview that Scott Weiland had on “The Howard Stern Show� from 2011 to promote his memoir, Not Dead and Not for Sale. Weiland was twenty minutes late to the studio, and did not apologise to any of the staff members working on set. Howard Stern was known for being up front and honest when interviewing celebrities, and did not shy away from asking questions related to Weilands troubled life. For the entire fifty minutes, I got the impression that stern was pissed off with him for being late. Stern criticised Weiland for the lack of respect towards his bandmates in both Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver, and how his demons were costing the bands money. Weiland confessed a lot of his sins, but admitted that he was not alone when it came to drug addiction, and that the problems in both projects were not directly his fault. He
9 explained that there were incidents that the media didn’t know about regarding the behaviour of his fellow band members, and how he was always the easiest to blame due to being the lead singer. Weiland claimed Stone Temple Pilots guitarist Dean DeLeo was also a junkie and a crack smoker. The singer also stated that Velvet Revolver guitarist Slash’s wife had been showing up to the bands rehearsals, which affected the chemistry between the group. In the book he confessed that he only joined Velvet Revolver for money which was something that I was disappointed to read. Velvet Revolver was the band who not only helped him kick heroin, but introduced him to a whole new generation of kids, including myself. Even whilst in his late thirties. Weiland confessed to Stern that he had earned around thirty million dollars in his twenty year career, however lost a large chunk of it due to substance abuse and trying to get clean. In 2003, Weiland claimed to have spent ninety thousand dollars a month on rehab, whilst attempting to kick heroin. Weiland had also been divorced twice, most recently to model Mary Forsberg in 2007. Weiland told Stern that he continued to send his ex-wife and two kids a total of sixty thousand dollars a month. He explained how the music business had changed and how rock bands made more money from touring rather than selling records. This was financial pressure for a guy who lived such a troubled life. Weiland hesitated and took his time when answering questions as he looked miserable and on the verge of bursting into tears. There were times during the interview when I felt uncomfortable as a listener. Sterns no nonsense approach to asking such personal questions felt very blunt. “Did you ever feel so bad that you felt like Kurt Cobain? You just wanted to fucking end it all?” Some of the subjects in Weilands book needed addressing, but I thought that Stern bullied him throughout the discussion. In many ways, Weiland deserved to be criticised after years
10 of behaving like an asshole, however, you could tell that he found Howard Stern patronising. The host rudely asked questions like “You’re depressed aren’t you?” after discussing several painful memories beforehand without giving the singer much encouragement. Sensitive subjects were mentioned such as Weiland being raped as a child by a fellow student. This was well documented in the book, why talk about it with the public listening? I learnt a lot about Scott Weiland from watching that interview, and it appeared that years of drug abuse were catching up with him. The vocalist continued to smoke and drink whilst performing four nights a week and admitted that he was having problems with his voice. He didn’t appear to be getting on with his Stone Temple Pilots bandmates at the time either as they each travelled on separate tour buses to each other.
“Feelin' uninspired Think I'll start a fire Everybody run Bobby's got a gun Think you're kinda neat Then she tells me I'm a creep Friends don't mean a thing Guess I'll leave it up to me” (S. Weiland) — — Creep Stone Temple Pilots Core 1992
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5. WEILAND IN LONDON? It was a Monday evening in June 2014, and I turned on my laptop hoping to switch off after working my monotonous retail job. I checked my emails to find that Scott Weiland and his solo band, The Wildabouts, had announced a one off UK show on the 28th October at the Garage in London. The gig would also be an exciting and rare opportunity to see the iconic frontman up close in an intimate setting of just six hundred people. I booked myself a ticket just two days later costing £25.00. I didn’t normally go to gigs on my own; however I knew that none of my friends would be interested in attending the concert with me. People thought of him as an unreliable junkie who did nothing but piss off his fans. I could see their point but that wasn’t going to stop me from seeing my favourite singer perform with his new band. Just four days before the event itself, Weiland wrote a Facebook status
12 telling his fans that the gig in London had been postponed until 9 th April 2015, due to recording commitments. I later got an email from Ticketmaster confirming that the event had been postponed and would be happening in April. Fans showcased their frustration in the comments section under his status calling him names such as an unreliable scumbag, junkie, has-been, and diva. Weiland using recording commitments as an excuse not to play the London gig was pathetic. I had been going to gigs for eight years up to that point, and I had yet to see a band or artist cancel a show or tour for that reason. Organisation and planning was key to a performers touring and recording schedule, and for an artist who had been doing this for twenty five years like Weiland, you would think he would know better. Why advertise that you’re playing in London, when it’s around the same time your recording new music with the band? Controversy had followed this man around throughout his career, and this was yet another careless move. The fans were offered refunds which many decided to do, however I chose to attend the event in April which my ticket was now valid for. There was no way I was missing this gig, despite Weiland’s unsurprising poor behaviour towards his UK fans. I had booked Thursday the 9th April off work to attend the rescheduled performance of Scott Weiland and the Wildabouts at the Garage in London. On the 30th March, and just ten days before the concert, news spread across social media confirming that Scott Weiland’s lead guitarist Jeremy Brown had suddenly passed away at the age of 34. Weiland wrote an emotional Facebook status about his guitarist, whilst dedicating the band’s new album Blaster to his memory. The record was released the day after Browns death, confirming his place in Weiland’s musical history. As expected the London gig was yet again postponed, as were several other US tour dates due to the band being a guitar player down and in mourning during this difficult and tragic period. The event
13 was now rescheduled to take place on the 3rd September 2015, nearly a year after it was originally meant to happen. In the meantime, I picked up a copy of Blaster and enjoyed the new record. There was no news on how Jeremy Brown had mysteriously passed away, but it was kept under the radar by the band who successfully recruited a new lead guitarist by the end of the month. I knew very little about Jeremy Brown, other than that he had been playing music with Scott Weiland for a good seven years, starting with the Happy in Galoshes album in 2008. Rated highly for his guitar playing by the former STP frontman, the news was unexpected and I felt bad for Weiland and the rest of the Wildabouts. On the 26th May the cause of Jeremy Brown’s sudden death was revealed. It was the accidental intoxication of multiple drugs. Being in a group with Scott Weiland, and passing away through a drug overdose did not sound all that surprising. A potential junkie being the leader of the band could only mean bad news. What was even more surprising was how Weiland himself managed to outlive his younger guitarist. Maybe Weiland had been telling the truth about his health, perhaps he was clean and his band mate wasn’t?
“This fight could be the last fight No giving and no winning One time could be the all the time Should we decide to end the misery” (S. Weiland) ——- The Last Fight Velvet Revolver Libertad 2007
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6. LIVE IN THE WINDY CITY On Thursday 3rd September I headed to the Highbury Garage in Islington, London to finally watch Scott Weiland and the Wildabouts at the third time of asking. This was my final night out before starting University in Winchester, Hampshire just a couple of weeks later. I was excited to watch him perform for the first time, but had little expectations due to poor reviews of the Wildabouts recent tour. Fans online had noticed that Weiland had been struggling to sing in time with the band and that he moved very little onstage. This was unlike the wild frontman they were used too. The venue was packed and I was surrounded by people older than me, a large percentage in their thirties and forties. These were fans from a previous generation and were most likely at past shows during the glory days of Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver.
15 Scott Weiland and the Wildabouts surprisingly hit the stage on time and they opened their set by bursting into STP classic “Crackerman” from the band’s debut album Core. The rhythm section of the Wildabouts sounded tight, as they played a set consisting of tracks from all of Weilands musical groups past and present. Five songs from new album Blaster were performed, and managed to hold up nicely next to the classic material. Weiland looked like he was enjoying himself as he moved around the stage like he did during his nineties heyday. Unfortunately, his vocals were all over the place, much to the frustration of the old school fans in the audience. It sounded like he was totally hammered or had taken something before going onstage. Despite the out of the tune singing, the band’s performance and Weiland’s showmanship helped paper over the cracks. Weiland rarely spoke to the crowd outside of introducing songs, and he did not apologise for the event twice getting rescheduled. In between songs he looked a frustrated figure, who didn’t appear to be with it. This was unusual for a professional musician, who held onto his mic stand staring at an open space at the back of the room. Totally in his own world, with a blank expression on his face, and looking a broken man. He did not thank the crowd for showing up and didn’t mention when his band would be returning to the UK. Regardless of all the problems, I still enjoyed the gig; I got to see Scott Weiland up close, performing classic rock and roll music I loved.
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7. DO IT FOR THE KIDS: MEETING THE ROCK GOD After the band had finished playing, I was informed by people around me that Weiland and the Wildabouts were planning on coming out to meet the fans. I had a lot of time before my last train was due to leave Waterloo, so I decided to stick around in hope of meeting my idol. Weiland came out the stage door with his bodyguard. He looked very frail and did not make eye contact with anyone who approached him. The guard then quickly asked the crowd to form an orderly line by the side of the stage, to take it in turns to meet the rock legend. I was around tenth in line and I was eager to get my ticket signed and possibly get a photo with him. I noticed that Weiland was saying very little when replying to fan questions and he demanded that selfies be taken as quick as possible. I personally thought Weiland was being rude, but the guy could do what he wanted, after all it was his event.
17 By the time I reached the front of the queue, Weiland had told his body guard to tell the remainder of the queue “He’s done for the night”. In total panic mode, I took out my phone and took a photo of him standing in front of me as evidence of being within touching distance of a legend. I then looked at my hero and shouted at him passionately. “Come on Scott, don’t leave, I’m wearing a Velvet shirt, please, don’t let your fans down again.” Weiland then looked at me straight in the eyes, and starred at me in a way that would continue to haunt me to this day. It was the look of someone who needed help, as the sad expression on his face looked like that of a manic depressive. Having a face that recognisable gazing at you was strange enough, and he came across as tired and exhausted. He also looked ill, like he was still on drugs, despite claims not to have taken any for thirteen years. Weiland carelessly didn’t reply to my comment, I wasn’t important enough; after all, I was just a fan. Too young to remember him in the nineties, and too stupid to ask him anything that he would care about. Weiland turned towards the door and walked out with his bodyguard, leaving the remaining fifteen people in the queue disappointed. Weiland was the only musician I had known to please his fans by coming out to meet them, to then quickly letting half of them down by leaving early. I could now relate to many of his fans who had been left disappointed over the years. His performance, and the way he treated me represented his ongoing downward spiral. That night, I truly understood the expression “never meet your heroes.” I left the venue with mixed feelings on the evening, but at least I had university to look forward to.
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8. DEAD & BLOATED On the morning of Friday the 4th December 2015, I turned on my laptop to find out the distressing news that Scott Weiland had passed away in his sleep on his tour bus at the age of forty eight. I read that he was found unresponsive by his tour manager and appeared to have died by cardiac arrest in Bloomington, Minnesota. The news was posted on the singer’s official Facebook page and they asked for the privacy of Weiland’s family to be respected. I couldn’t believe it; this was a guy who I met in person just three months before in London. I could tell that his onstage energy had dwindled and his voice was severely weaker than on previous tours. It was obvious just by the night at the Garage that Weiland clearly had issues that needing fixing before going out on the road. The music world had lost a giant, as Weiland became the third iconic grunge frontman of the
19 nineties after Kurt Cobain and Layne Staley, to pass away through drug related issues. It couldn’t have been drugs that killed him, as he made it very clear in interviews that he had been clean since the year 2002. However this was Scott Weiland, he had told lies before and this was well documented on the Velvet Revolver documentary, “(Inside)Out: The Rise of Velvet Revolver.” Later that day, news came through saying cocaine was found on the bands tour bus which apparently belonged to Wildabouts bass player, Tommy Black. Weiland’s wife Jamie Wachtel also claimed that the singer was clean when he passed away. Maybe being on the road had killed him? He had to tour to survive, as he was no longer the rich man he once was. On the 18th December it was confirmed that Scott Weiland had died of an accidental drug related overdose. This included the combination of cocaine, ethanol and MDA. I was disappointed as he lied to his fans by claiming he was clean. I was also surprised that he wasn’t dead sooner and that he lasted until age forty eight The demons of addiction were very clear just by watching his final interview online. The guy appeared to have taken pills, wasn’t sober, stuttered when answering questions and looked very fragile. Rock stars dying of drug related sickness is now considered a rock and roll cliché, and happened to the coolest of rock stars like Jimi Hendrix and the Doors singer, Jim Morrison. However, this was not a cool death; this was a very sad one that happened at the lowest point of Scott Weiland’s musical career. After years of bad behaviour, poor performances and two decades of substance abuse, his entire world had given up on him. This included his bandmates, family, friends and a large percentage of his fans. The struggle was now over, Weiland was gone.
20 I was devastated as I knew that I would never see my favourite rock singer of all time perform again. I needed to cherish the back catalogue of albums I had collected, as there would be no more new releases with Scott Weiland’s voice on. It was a sad time and I could relate to how Nirvana fans felt when Cobain died. The music world had lost a true giant. Listening to Weilands music took me to a place where I felt cocky, cool and happy and I had the pleasure of seeing him perform at his last ever UK show. Over the past year, whilst studying at University of Winchester, I used Weilands memory to help inspire me when working on creative and professional writing assignments. He continues to be an influence when performing on stage, as an artist, showman, singer and songwriter. In tribute to his awesome career, I played two hours of his music on my weekly Student Union radio show exactly one year after his death. He was the greatest frontman of his time and will be greatly missed in the rock community.
”I am smellin' like the rose that somebody gave me on my birthday deathbed I am smellin' like the rose that somebody gave me cause I'm dead & bloated” (S. Weiland) ———Dead & Bloated Stone Temple Pilots Core 1992
“I thInk you have to have an ego to some extent, to be able to get up in front of Twenty thousand people every night, and fool yourself that your goIng to entertaIn them” —— Scott weiland 1996