Apparently Scott Weiland, formerly of the Stone Temple Pilots, and Velvet Revolver (and heroin), has gone religion. He is (supposedly) not crashing his cars into nightclubs anymore, and scored a publishing deal for his upcoming auto-biography entitled- “Desperation #5”. Last year was the year Weiland divorced from his wife, his brother/drummer Michael Weiland overdosed during the Velvet’s “Libertad” sessions, his mother suffered cancer, and even Atlantic Records has been blamed for preventing STP from reuniting on record. (rumor has it, that Weiland won’t conform to Atlantic’s radio-test standards. who is he, Morrissey?) On the flip-side, Weiland released a 20 track double album (“Happy in Galoshes”- recorded by legendary producer Steve Albini), started an old-fashioned Rock war with recluse- Axl Rose, separated himself from Sony by starting his own independent label (Softdrive Records), and is back on tour this time as a solo act known as - The Scott Weiland Electric Band. (Shirley Temples Pussy wasn’t available?) Evidently, Weiland DOES think he’s Morrissey, performing in cash-cow celebrity suits, parading his remarkable operatic vocal skills (who knew he could sing?), glamming it up like a true David Bowie impersonator, all to keep his mind off the fact that he’s running out of schticks to pursue. In his defense, David Bowie was criticized for being gimmicky, and a rock and roll chameleon who stole his moves from Lou Reed during the 1970’s, so it’s not necessarily a fact, that Weiland isn’t the real deal. He’s admitted to acts of schizophrenia, addiction to diet pills, domestic violence (although his wife played the role of the “wife-beater” in this case), flamboyant backstage bi-sexuality that didn’t go over too well with his former schlock-rock bandmates, and an attention addiction he says he can’t swear off if he tried.
'Karl Marx once said that history repeats itself. The first time as tragedy, the second time as farce.' The thing that makes Weiland great, is he embraces his buffoonery, his Pop star persona, in order to make the music he really wants to make. When I saw him on his recent K-Rock tour at Irving Plaza, he was so miscast with the rest of the bands on the bill, it was like seeing Serge Gainsbourg on tour with The Goo Goo Dolls. I stood before thousands of perplexed Metal-heads chanting- “Sex Type Thing!” “Plush!” I think I was the only person in the room who knew it was him, when he hit the stage singing Smiths and Flaming Lips songs. The fact is, performing is much like acting, and if you’ve got the talent to do-it-all, why not try-it-all. Parallel to David Bowies career, I would say Weiland is in his “Young Americans” phase, and his new record is quite good! I even love his version of The Smiths- “Reel around the fountain”, as he sings a pitch-perfect Morrissey impression, and Albini’s production skills actually make this version rockier and more punked-out than the original.
Say what you want about The Velvet Revolver crew, or STP, Weiland makes his mark as a true solo-artist on “Happy in Galoshes”. If you take the time to check it out, you’ll discover how impressively multi-talented this aging Pop star really is. (I promise, you’ll enjoy it more than Axl’s “Chinese Democracy”)
(david bowie's Andy Warhol (STP), Reel Around the Fountain, Live in Boston $$$)
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