SCOTT WEILAND IS NOT “A REBORN STRAIGHT EDGE”
I don’t think anybody with half a brain really ever believed that Scott Weiland was still sober. Sober people can take their coats off like a big boy, and Scott Weiland cannot. And sober people generally don’t fall off the stage and forget the words to, ironically, a song called “Dead and Bloated,” as their band mates exit the show “in apparent embarrassment and disgust.”
But that hasn’t stopped Scott Weiland from swearing up and down that he’s clean, and even writing a song about it.
So he probably feels at least a little embarrassed that STP bassist Robert DeLeo has now publicly admitted that Weiland is now “popping pills.”
From the excellently named Grunge Report:
[Weiland] said, “Heroin made me feel all right in my own skin. Before I did it I was uncomfortable going into crowds, which is interesting given my profession. But when I did dope, the fear went away. That’s why I hung on to it so long. But my kids fill up that hole now.”
But DeLeo has voiced fresh concerns for his pal’s health after he reportedly showed up two hours late for a recent photoshoot and interview with U.S. music magazine Spin and requested four glasses of whisky upon his arrival.
And DeLeo insists Weiland should undergo treatment for his personal problems before it affects their promotional plans for their new self-titled album, which is released in the U.S. on Tuesday (25May10).
He tells Spin magazine, “He can’t got on tour. He needs help… He thinks he’s clean just because he’s not shooting heroin. But he’s popping pills.”
Well, first of all, good for DeLeo for speaking publicly about Weiland’s ongoing problems, and not just cashing-in as much as he can before Weiland kills himself. It takes balls to out your singer like that just weeks before you release your big comeback album.
Second of all – and I know this should go without saying – Weiland should, like, take DeLeo’s advice. It seems to me that if Weiland has just jumped from one substance to another, there’s probably some deeper issue at play that he’s not confronting – but regardless of the “why” of it all, I know the dude still has a lot of fans (like Vince and Anso!), and it would be nice if he could continue to make those fans happy in another ten years. And see his kids grow-up. And continue a lucrative side-career as a John Varvatos model.
Weiland is terrible at keeping his mouth shut during these kinds of situations, so I assume he’ll have a response to DeLeo’s accusations soon. But unless that response involves the phrase “I’m seeking help,” I don’t think anyone should take anything he says too seriously.
-AR
