Scott Weiland knows how to answer a question. Responding to a reporter from the Los Angeles Times, who asked the Stone Temple Pilots singer how he felt about being sentenced to eight days in jail for a November 2007 drunk driving charge, Weiland simply spat a huge green loogie at the wall, narrowly missing two of his bandmates, Robert and Dean DeLeo.
It was downhill from there. The gaunt, sullen vocalist, now on a 65-date reunion tour with the Pilots having left Velvet Revolver last spring, proved to be a combative interview. The rest of the exchange is as follows:
Where's your head at right now just before going to jail?
All these questions are…man. Who do you interview? To what level?
A lot of famous musicians. Not Michael Jackson-famous, though.
Do you interview Keith Richards? David Bowie? Do you interview people who over a 20-year career who aren't…born-again Christians? Who aren't part of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir?
Um, yes. A lot of those guys. I interviewed Bowie, but not Keith.
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Then you should know. Our contribution is music, you know? This is the problem with the press. Are you part of the paparazzi?
I write for the Los Angeles Times.
Is there a difference anymore?
Well, the paparazzi don't write. They take pictures.
I'm not so sure, man. Rolling Stone is borderline these days.
If I've said something that put your nose out of joint, I apologize.
My nose isn't out of joint. I live my life the way I live my life. I don't have to make any apologies. I just find it a little hilarious that you'd ask such a question. Cccchh-www-thhsptttt [Weiland spits on the wall].
Joe is a freelance journalist who has, over the past few decades, interviewed hundreds of guitarists for Guitar World, Guitar Player, MusicRadar and Classic Rock. He is also a former editor of Guitar World, contributing writer for Guitar Aficionado and VP of A&R for Island Records. He’s an enthusiastic guitarist, but he’s nowhere near the likes of the people he interviews. Surprisingly, his skills are more suited to the drums. If you need a drummer for your Beatles tribute band, look him up.
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