After years of struggling with a heroin addiction, the Stone Temple Pilots singer navigates his way back with a solo project and newfound spirituality.
By Jancee Dunn
Scott Weiland stands in the center of his posh hotel room in Beverly Hills, Calif. The embattled Stone Temple Pilots frontman wears a tasteful off-duty rock-star ensemble: slim-fitting black T-shirt, Levi's 517s, black loafers from barneys, Vamp nail polish. He is very thin. Nearby, a shiny blue 1964 Fender guitar gleams in its case besides a blazing fire. "When I'm sober, I buy guitars and a lot of clothes," he says. After numerous stints in rehab for a heroin addiction- puncuated by relapses and persistant rumors of the demise of STP- Weiland is aiming for a fresh start. For the past year, he has been working on his glammy solo debut, the tuneful 12 Bar Blues, and he is road-bound this month.
As he talks, Weiland, 30, flits restlessly around the room. He gets up. He sits down. He speaks in one unbroken stream of words. He rarely makes eye contact, and when he does, it is an intense stare. He smiles only once, at the end of our chat. "I thought there might be something in between my teeth," he explains.
You compare heroin addiction to being a vampire. How so?
When it starts out, you go to these great places at night. And you become part of your own secret group. But after awhile it stops being like that. Because you're like, "I gave this up for my real life and for my soul." And it becomes something you need just to stay well. If you don't have it, you're sick, and you long for the life you had before. And you stop going out... stop wearing flashy clothes... and you stop caring. {Starts eating roasted vegetables from a silver tray with his Vamped fingers, which become very shiny with oil} I don't very much, you know. I eat, like, salad.
Do you remember how it felt when you first tried heroin?
I fell in love with it right away. It scared me for a long time. But, um... {Pauses} It ruined the relationship with my wife. I turned my brother on to it and cursed him. I turned him into one of the undead. {Weiland's brother has since recovered from his heroin addiction.}
How long was it a good experience?
It was fun for about two years. With brief periods of pain and misery. But I bought into the myth. After about three months I didn't even care about having sex. I didn't have sex for six months with my wife. {Pauses} You don't age. You don't age until you stop doing it. Keith Richards looked great until 1981. Um, but...um. I love to do it. I'd love to do it right now.
Oh?
If I had some of it on me right now, I guarnatee I coudl get you to do it in a second.
How would you do that?
"I have some dope. Do you want to do that?"
Then I would say, "Nah, I'm too afraid."
And I'd say, "Afraid? That's OK. I'll show you how. I've got two clean needles in my pocket. If you don't want to shoot up, you can snort it, or smoke it. It'll give you the best high you'll ever get. It's like you're being embraced and called by God." {Leans Forward} The first time I ever did it, I felt like I found the keys to unlock the doors to all the secrets. It's like... it goes right to the pit of your stomach, then it crawls up to your lungs, then it rushes to your head. And it's warm; you just close your eyes and smile. And... it's hard talking about it. {Looks around the room} I wanna smoke a cigarette or something.
OK, let's change the subject. You made a really great record.
Sometimes I can't believe I've made this album and wrote all these songs myself. It humbled me to listen to it. And hopefully, there will be an STP record between this and my next solo record. There will be another STP record. If both of my two goals are achieved. One is to achieve total commercial success. And alos, I would love it if [my album] was well recieved by critics and my peers.
Each song has its own seperate personality.
In a Fellini movie, you have your body work, which is, like, the album, and then you have your characters, which are the vocals on each song. Each character goes through different moods; so wih each song, my voice may sound totally different. In one song I may be feeling sexual, and what might be exciting me is the thought of having sex with multiple partners. It might be resentment toward my wife. It might be resentment toward the f---in' Ritz-Carlton because I asked for a down comforter and they gave me nylon. You know how rock stars can be.
So you have no problem wishing for commercial success?
There's nothing wrong with making millions of dollars. There's nothing with being a rock star. It's exciting, it's fun. People like being able to see something that is larger than life but is yet not a comic book. I can continue making STP records for the next twenty years, and each one of them will be at least platinum. I don't know what's going to happen with this record. My gut feeling tells me something beautiful is in store for me, but I don't know.
What do the boys in STP think of your album?
They were in the studio, and they loved it.
They recently put out their own album as the group Talk Show. Have you seen them play?
Yeah. I went and saw them when they opened for the Foo Fighers. Of course, I think that the three guys from Stone Temple Pilots are great.
How about the one non-STP member, lead singer Dave Coutts?
Uh... he's a nice guy
Has a book ever inspired you to write a song?
Yeah, actually, Herman Hesse inspired my whole album- the whole idea that the main character [in Siddharta} is on a quest of enlightenment. He tries various paths to get to this point, thinking once he gets to this point he will be enlightened, not realizing the whole time the enlightenment is the journey. It's why I didn't enjoy my first few years with STP, because I kept wanting to get to the next level, thinking, then I'll be happy.
Are you a spiritual kind of guy?
I'm trying to learn more about spirituality, seraching inward and using other people as a teacher who have more experience than I do. And when i say I'm a humanist, a feminist, believe in love and not hatred, I can say 80 to 90 percent of the time that I'm walking the walk and not just talking the talk.
One of your good friends is Courtney Love.
She's probably the most brilliant woman I know besides my attorney and my mother. She is the most naturally funny and totally hilarious woman. She's someone I could spen an entire weekend with, completely sex-free, and never have a dull moment.
Whe you think about your future, do you feel hopeful? Are you an optimistic person?
Definately.
What's your geatest achievement thus far?
Experiencing love. It's the greatest thing anyone can achieve.
