Scott Weiland: Spoke of STP reunion, bipolar disorder and Christmas with family

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Scott Weiland
Scott Weiland

In an interview two weeks ago, rock singer Scott Weiland spoke about struggling with biploar disorder, the possibility of a Stone Temple Pilots reunion and how he was looking forward to spending the holidays with his wife of 2 1/2 yeas, Jamie.

“We’ll have a family Christmas and it will be a wonderful one,” Weiland told freelance writer Brent X Mendoza in an interview intended to preview a Dec. 21 concert by his band Scott Weiland & the Wildabouts at the Roxy Theatre.

Weiland, 48, died late Thursday after being found unresponsive on his band’s tour bus in Bloomington, Minn. The former singer of Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver had a long and well-chronicled history with substance abuse problems, but today he was being remembered by the rock community beyond his skills as a dynamic frontman for his generosity, enthusiasm and charisma.

In a statement posted to Duff McKagan’s Instagram, his former Velvet Revolver bandmates said: “We are deeply saddened to learn of the loss of our old friend and bandmate, Scott Weiland. We experienced a good chunk of life with Scott, and even in his darkest times, we all had hope and love for him. His artistry will live on, of that, there is no doubt. Deepest condolences and sadness are for his children, Noah and Lucy. We all travelled around this world together on tour; our band, wives, and kids … and we grew to a big family that still remains to this day. It’s just so sad and brutal from any perspective.”

Update: Stone Temple Pilots posted a remembrance as well. “You were gifted beyond words …”

Billy Corgan also penned a eulogy on the Smashing Pumpkins website.

In the interview with Mendoza, on Nov. 18, Weiland, whose performances with his current band this year had been uneven, talked about the roller-coaster effects of bipolar disorder:

How you feel that affects your creative process?

Weiland: If I was in a manic state I could write three to four songs in a night at my studio — write, record and produce and it would be incredibly prolific. … If I was in a downward spiral … all I wanted to do was lay on the couch and watch TV.

Is that hard for you? A constant struggle, you know, feeling good?

Weiland: No, because I’m medicated. I take medication for it which makes things even out.

The singer was also asked about a possible reunion with Stone Temple Pilots in the wake of the departure of Chester Bennington, whom the band brought on in 2013 after they fired Weiland. Although he had not been in contact with the band, Weiland told Mendoza, “I just have a feeling that at some point it will probably happen.”

The previous week, Weiland and his band has also visited the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, and he spoke fondly of getting to see the exhibitions of the Beatles, Elvis Presley, the Rolling Stones, Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf. Then:

What kind of things do you think would be in a Scott Weiland retrospective?

Weiland I don’t know… probably some ancient lyric book and an old broken-down, road-used megaphone.