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Scott Weiland of Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver dies at 48

by Jay Gabler

December 04, 2015

Scott Weiland, a rock singer and songwriter best-known for fronting Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver, has died at 48. Details surrounding the cause of Weiland's death have yet to emerge, but his Instagram account has verified that the singer "passed away in his sleep while on a tour stop in Bloomington, Minnesota, with his band The Wildabouts."

The Wildabouts were scheduled to play at the Wicked Moose in Rochester on Friday night; Weiland was reportedly found on his tour bus in Bloomington, deceased, around 9:00 p.m. on Thursday night. (A previously scheduled Thursday night show at the Medina Entertainment Center was cancelled several days ago.)

Bandmates and friends shared shocked and saddened reactions. "Just learned our friend Scott Weiland has died," tweeted Dave Navarro of Jane's Addiction. "So gutted, I am thinking of his family tonight."

Weiland, born in San Jose in 1967, got his start on the southern California rock scene in the 1980s and quickly rose to international stardom when Stone Temple Pilots released their first albums in the early 1990s. With hits including "Plush," "Vasoline," "Interstate Love Song," "Big Bang Baby," "Trippin' On a Hole in a Paper Heart," and "Lady Picture Show," Stone Temple Pilots were one of the defining bands of '90s alternative rock.

Stone Temple Pilots disbanded in 2002, and Weiland joined former members of Guns N' Roses and Wasted Youth to form Velvet Revolver, which released two albums and became one of the most successful supergroups in recent years. Weiland reunited with Stone Temple Pilots in 2008, and the band released a hit album in 2010. Three years later Weiland parted ways with the band, who carried on with new vocalist Chester Bennington.

Weiland released three solo studio albums under his own name, and in March of 2015 he released Blaster with the Wildabouts. He also appears on this year's self-titled album by the group Art of Anarchy, though he has downplayed his contributions to that project.

Blaster "came very easily because of the vibe between the band members," Weiland told Rolling Stone earlier this year. "The sound we were getting felt original and infectious and brought me back to the feelings I had when I made my first couple records. Just excitement, feeling invigorated. Youthful."

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