2015.12.04 - Instagram - Statement from Velvet Revolver about Scott Weiland's death

Related article in The Hollywood Reporter, same date:
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Velvet Revolver Reacts to Scott Weiland’s Death: “We Are Deeply Saddened”

"It’s just so sad and brutal from any perspective."

Duff McKagan posted a statement from Velvet Revolver on his Instagram, reacting to the news Scott Weiland, their former frontman, passed away at the age of 48.

“We are deeply saddened to learn of the loss of our old friend and bandmate, Scott Weiland,” reads the statement. “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.”

Slash, McKagan, Matt Sorum and Dave Kushner also sent their condolences to Weiland’s children, Noah and Lucy. “We all traveled 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. Rest In Peace Scott.”

Weiland and the former Guns N’ Roses members came together in 2002, releasing an album called Contraband in June 2004 and one called Libertad in 2007.

Weiland “passed away in his sleep” while in Minnesota on a tour stop with his band The Wildabouts, his Facebook page confirmed Friday. The singer was also the former frontman for Stone Temple Pilots.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/music-news/scott-weiland-died-velvet-revolver-845825/

Article about Scott Weiland's death, The Hollywood Reporter, Dec. 3, 2015:
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Stone Temple Pilots’ Scott Weiland Dies at 48

Weiland was also the frontman for Velvet Revolver.

By Shirley Halperin

Scott Weiland, the former frontman for rock bands Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver, has died, his Facebook page confirmed early Friday morning (Dec. 4). He was 48.

“Scott Weiland, best known as the lead singer for Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver, passed away in his sleep while on a tour stop in Bloomington, Minnesota, with his band The Wildabouts,” a post on Weiland’s Facebook page reads. “At this time we ask that the privacy of Scott’s family be respected.”

Dave Navarro, guitarist and member of Jane’s Addiction, first tweeted the news at 9:01 p.m. PT on Thursday night: “Our friend Scott Weiland has died.” (He has since deleted the tweet.)

Weiland and his latest band, Scott Weiland and the Wildabouts, were scheduled to tour this month with upcoming dates at Reno, Nevada, on Dec. 18 and City Winery in Napa Valley on Dec. 19. The band was in Minnesota for a tour date at the Medina Ballroom. According to TMZ, Weiland was found dead on the band’s tour bus.

A California native, Weiland formed the band Stone Temple Pilots with brothers Robert and Dean DeLeo and saw huge commercial success in the 1990s. In 1993, the band’s debut album Core peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 followed by an even bigger achievement a year later in 1994 when STP released the No. 1 album Purple, which contained several radio hits including the songs “Big Empty,” “Vasoline” and “Interstate Love Song.”

The band would eventually land 11 top 10 hits on the Alternative Songs chart, including the three-week No. 1 “Between the Lines” in 2010. “Interstate Love Song” led the Mainstream Rock Songs chart for 15 weeks.

Featuring Weiland’s distinctive lower register singing style, a sort of growl that grew ever more popular in the post-grunge years, STP went on to sell 13.5 million albums in the U.S., according to Nielsen Music, but infighting eventually drove the members apart. The band took the first of several hiatuses just a few years after reaching the apex of their popularity, during which Weiland participated in several side projects.

Stone Temple Pilots would carry on in various incarnations in the coming years. Most recently, the group recruited Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington to handle frontman duties. He announced his exit from the group on Nov. 9.

In 2002, Weiland joined former Guns N’ Roses members Slash (guitars), Duff McKagan (bass) and Matt Sorum (drums) in a supergroup called Velvet Revolver. They released an album called Contraband in June 2004 and another in 2007 called Libertad, the last to feature Weiland on vocals. Combined, they sold 2.4 million units.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/music-news/scott-weiland-dead-stone-temple-845727/

Another article (with updates) about Weiland's death; Blabbermouth, Dec. 4, 2015:
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Ex-Stone Temple Pilots Singer Scott Weiland Found Dead

Former Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver singer Scott Weiland was found dead on his tour bus in Minnesota. He was 48 years old.

A source connected to Scott's band The Wildabouts told TMZ Scott was discovered unresponsive on their bus Thursday night around 9 p.m. They had been scheduled to perform Thursday night at the Medina Entertainment Center in Medina, Minnesota. However, that concert was canceled nine days ago because of slow ticket sales, according to StarTribune.com. The group was set to perform in Rochester on Friday (December 4) at the Wicked Moose.

Weiland's wife, Jamie Weiland, confirmed his death to the Los Angeles Times, saying, "I can't deal with this right now… it's true." Weiland's manager, Tom Vitorino, also confirmed that the singer died Thursday. He said he learned of Weiland's death from his tour manager.

A posting on Scott Weiland's Facebook page reads: "Scott Weiland, best known as the lead singer for Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver, passed away in his sleep while on a tour stop in Bloomington, Minnesota, with his band The Wildabouts. At this time we ask that the privacy of Scott's family be respected."

A few days ago, Weiland did an interview with Canada's "The Todd Shapiro Show" where he gave a lot of one-word answers and barely coherent responses. You can listen to the chat in the YouTube clip below.

Jane's Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro was the first fellow musician to respond to Weiland's death. He tweeted: "Just learned our friend Scott Weiland has died. So gutted, I am thinking of his family tonight." That tweet later appeared to have been removed.

Weiland had a history of drug abuse. He was arrested in 1995 for attempting to buy crack cocaine before being arrested again two years later for heroin possession. In 1999, the singer was ordered to spend a year in a county-jail recovery center due to a probation violation. He also entered rehab following a DUI arrest in November 2007.

STP fired Weiland in February 2013 after reuniting with him in 2010 for a series of tours and one self-titled album. The band had previously been on hiatus since 2002, primarily due to the singer's struggles with drugs and alcohol. Stone Temple Pilots then recruited a new frontman, Chester Bennington of Linkin Park, and released one critically acclaimed EP, "High Rise".

Speaking to a Canadian reporter last year, Weiland denied that his "demons" were still a factor as he continued to tour with The Wildabouts. "Past demons are past demons; that's stuff that I dealt with 14 years ago," he said. "I mean, I guess Keith Richards gets asked about [his past drug use], so why shouldn't I? But it's not something that I think about, ever. Those days of my dope abuse, and use, are long since by me."

Weiland was harshly criticized following several performances on his recent tour, with one review calling his performance "sluggish" and another stating flat-out that the vocalist "appears to have crashed and burned. Badly."

A fan-filmed April 28 video of "Vasoline" in Corpus Christi went viral, showing Weiland launching into a painfully out of tune and apathetic vocal performance that was called "unacceptable" and "heartbreaking" by fans on YouTube.

A rep for Weiland issued a statement explaining that Weiland was tired and had had a couple of drinks before the show, in addition to his earpiece audio issues.

The Wildabouts guitarist Jeremy Brown died in March. The cause of his death was released in May by the Los Angeles Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner. The report stated that Brown's death was an accident, and the result of intoxication from multiple drugs.

Weiland and his band The Wildabouts were on the road promoting his new album, "Blaster", which came out on March 31.

Weiland is survived by two children, Noah and Lucy, whom he had with his ex-wife Mary Forsberg, and his current wife, whom he married in 2013.

**UPDATE #1**: Police audio recordings related to Scott Weiland's death have been posted on the MNPoliceClips.com web site.

**UPDATE #2**: According to Billboard.com, the Bloomington, Minnesota Police Department issued a statement at 11:15 p.m. PT detailing the events as such: On December 3 at 8:22 p.m., officers responded to a report of an unresponsive adult male in a recreational motor vehicle located in the 2200 block of Killebrew Drive. Officers arrived and determined the adult male was deceased. The address seems to correspond to a local Country Inn & Suites hotel.

**UPDATE #3**: TMZ has obtained audio of communications between the Bloomington, Minnesota police department and the Hennepin County sheriff’s department that reveals that Scott Weiland was not breathing when he was found in his tour bus in the parking lot of a motel.The dispatcher conveyed that Weiland had possibly gone into cardiac arrest as the immediate cause of death. However, the underlying cause of death has yet to be determined.

https://blabbermouth.net/news/ex-stone-temple-pilots-singer-scott-weiland-found-dead