Scott Weiland

I almost feel as if I'm obligated to write something about Scott on this blog only because he was a phenomenal talent. We were both born on October 27, we both shared self-destructive habits and he was almost as handsome as I (I kid 100%).
But frankly he came across in interviews and in person-- the one time I "met" him-- as a dull person. I "met" him at a bookstore in Hollywood. He signed copies of his autobiography. He didn't look at me or anyone else as he signed the cover page, and I saw him barely glance at someone when she said something to him. Apparently this behavior was quite normal for him.
So it's easy to see why his bandmates didn't tolerate his crap.
I'm very glad that I saw him one time with the original, reunited lineup of Stone Temple Pilots at the Hollywood Bowl in 2008, but it's very telling that when I read the article in that link I only just remembered details about it-- it was forgettable other than a security guy who addressed me with attitude when I sat on the stairs near the front rows.
Scott was also miserable and his voice was completely shot when I saw him for the first time with Velvet Revolver in Detroit in 2004-- in fact, it was probably the worst concert that I've ever seen in my life, which is ironic because I saw the first and best concert that I've ever seen in my life in that same venue just eleven years earlier (Nirvana). Even Slash's guitar work was way off.
But their performance on December 2007 at the Gibson Ampitheatre was one of the best concerts that I've ever attended, and I only just remembered as I was writing this entry that I took video of VR's reunion and final performance on January 2012 in L.A.:


Maybe I shouldn't care if millennials have regard for a guy who was among a wave of musicians who destroyed the old '80s way of doing things. Maybe I shouldn't care that modern Americans don't care about anyone in pop culture who isn't Kim Kardashian or Kanye West. But it bothers the hell out of me.