SINGER SCOTT WEILAND DISCUSSES SONG WRITING, INCLUDING SOME STP AND VELVET REVOLVER MATERIAL
Greg Prato of Songfacts spoke with former Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver singer Scott Weiland. Excerpts from the interview appear below.
Songfacts: How would you say that you write your best songs?
Scott Weiland: Well, this album is different, the current one that I’m working on with the band. In the past, writing alone, I’ve written much more eclectic records. It’s more obscure music. The two big bands that I’ve played in up to this point, Velvet Revolver and STP, are known for big, D-tuned power riffs, power chords, and big sound. So it’s different.
When I was writing with STP and Velvet Revolver, it was kind of the same thing: One of the guys would have a song idea and we’d kind of suss it out with the band and then I’d write my melodies and then write my lyrics to the melodies. And as a solo artist, I kind of felt free to go off and explore all different styles of music that I’ve been interested in over my lifetime and find some sort of cosmic melting pot for it. That was fun, but it was more difficult to bring that to the stage, because it meant we had to have more players and a lot of effects.
We’d bring in loops and stuff – the loops that we created for the album, we’d bring them out live. Which was fun, but I think for a lot of the STP and Velvet Revolver fans, it was kind of a stretch for them to wrap their heads around because they were very left-of-center records, 12 Bar Blues [1998] and Happy in Galoshes [2008]. This is much more of an indie-sounding record, but it still is very much a rock and roll record. There’s big, fuzzy riffs and it’s cool. It’s a whole new experience.
Songfacts: What was the lyrical inspiration behind the STP song, Dead and Bloated?
Scott: It’s not really about anything. It’s just stream-of-consciousness words. I mean, at the age of 21, 22, I didn’t have a whole lot of life experiences. So it’s more about the vibe, the angst and that kind of a thing, as opposed to actual life experiences.
Songfacts:…what about the STP song Creep, what do you remember about the lyrical writing of that song?
Scott: That’s just the idea of being a young person somewhere, caught between still being a kid and becoming a young man. It’s that youth apathy, that second-guessing yourself, not feeling like you fit in.
Songfacts: And what about Slither from Velvet Revolver?
Scott: That song, what was that song about? Just got done performing it. The lyrics are about a relationship. “When you look you see right through me, cut the rope, fell to my knees, born and broken every single time.” It’s just feeling not right in a situation.
Read more at Songfacts.
source: songfacts.com
Former great talent that had tonnes of potential. Ended up a selfish pr–ck junkie and just a terrible person overall. What could have been….
you’re f*cking rude man.
1000% correct and well said. This drugo couldn’t sing at the blood pressure machine in CVS or RITE AID. Oh I sound like THE R—MAN.
This guy just sucks. A stinkin drug addict that barely deserves a job at a guitar center….
Better than Wal Mart where you work.
you must work at a bathhouse
Somebody with Ebola standing on a third rail has a better chance of being alive in 5 years than that goof.
Aren’t you mature?
Look, STP does have male groupies!
You are correct about the 5 year thing.
I love the first two STP album, Core and Purple. But Scott’s such a screw up of a human being. He’s had addiction problems, that’s well known, but aside from that he keeps screwing up his career by being an unbalanced, destructive person. He had potential to be one of the greats of his generation but it’s ridiculous how he keeps shooting himself in the foot like he has over the last 20 years. The bands he’s worked with finally had to cut ties with him and that’s understandable.
Talktopete must’ve run out of time and couldn’t tell you how stupid and classless an individual you are
Actually it’s probably because I wasn’t really bashing Scott as much as I was expressing how much it bewilders me that Scott can’t seem to stay on a direct path. Scott is so talented and the times he’s had some clarity in his life he’s amazing. But his demons just keep getting the best of him and it’s sad. I would love to see him get on top of the world and stay there, but it’s up to him if he wants that or not. Saying he’s a screw up is not bashing his talent, just his life choices. Hopefully he can finally change that cycle. I’d be proud of him for sure.
This guy rocked us harder than most people with great f@#$# songs from stp first 2 cd which are masterpieces!! The next 2 releases from the band has some killer stuff on it also. also velvet revolver has some great songs on their two cds! This guy has got has seen greatness and will put something out great again at some point! ALSO YOU PEOPLE SHOULD BE KISSING HIS ASS AND SEEING WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP HIM FOR THE GREAT MUSIC HE HAS GIVIN US!! HEROIN IS A ROUGH, TOUGH DRUG AND MAKES YOU DO STUPID THINGS! And he could have passed away from this drug. How would you fools saying stupid thing feel then.
Kissing his ass? Believe it or not, some of us aren’t impressed by a vampire who made his career stealing from hacky Seattle bands.
i would feel fine, im not the ahole on crank
Hard to kiss that ass. Too many needle marks.