On Friday, December 4, the Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan and Velvet Revolver drummer Matt Sorum paid their respects to the late Temple Pilots singer Scott Weiland with a heartfelt, personal message.
"We mourn all that might have been. Billy Corgan said to Wonderwall.com. And as any fan, I find myself reflecting on what I do have: in scarce moments when Scott and I spoke as contemporaries and got to know each other as people… I’d try to make him giggle when I saw that the manic whirl of the dumb parties we were at (in Hollywood, no less!) might be causing undue stress."
“I don’t know how I felt initial. I can’t say it was a shock, but it was definitely …
I wasn’t expecting it because I felt like Scott was gonna be here hopefully longer than this,” Matt Sorum said to Billboard.com.
“Being in a band obviously in my career has never been a perfect ride, but the reality of it is rock ‘n’ roll is never a perfect ride, real rock ‘n’ roll. I think Scott Weiland was that guy.
He was complicated, yes, but the artistry was magnificent,” he added. “In the end, I just want the world to know that I feel like I made my peace with him,”
Corgan also shared an anecdote about befriending Weiland and trying to make the singer laugh while going to "dumb parties" in Hollywood.
Smashing Pumpkins and Stone Temple Pilots were forever linked in song, as both bands are named in the sardonic final verse of Pavement's "Range Life."
While Sorum shared how Scott made Velvet REvolver’s music come to live, and how he came up with his parts for Contraband in two weeks. Sorum said Velvet Revolver’s progress has been the highlight of his musical career.
Other musicians also paid their respects to the late rocker.
Singer Ryan Adams tweeted "Universe, please take care of him," rocker Alice Cooper tweeted "What a voice we've lost," filmmaker Judd Apatow said watching Weiland perform was "some of my favorite concerts of all time," and Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry called Weiland a "gifted performer."
Two days before Scott was found dead, he gave one of his last interviews backstages at Toronto’s Adelaide Hall.
In the five-minute video clip, the former Stone Temple Pilots singer discussed everything from his favorite STP album to being open to a Velvet Revolver reunion. Weiland also touched on his musical legacy.
Scott died in his sleep while on tour in Bloomington, south of Minneapolis.
Weiland is survived by his wife, Jamie, and his two children from a previous marriage — Noah, 15-year-old, and Lucy, 13-year-old.
