![\"Issue39-scott-weiland\"](\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Issue39-scott-weiland.jpg\")
<\/h1>\n<\/h1>\nBlaster<\/i> is Scott Weiland\u2019s third solo album and his first under the moniker Scott Weiland and the Wildabouts. But whatever the name, any music Weiland releases lines up with the unforgettable output of his former bands: \u201990s alt-rock greats Stone Temple Pilots, and supergroup Velvet Revolver, with Slash and Duff McKagan. At separate times over the past 20 years, both bands enjoyed monster careers, earning Weiland a couple of Grammys and album sales in the tens of millions.<\/p>\n
But along with the ecstasy of brilliant success, Weiland has also suffered the agony of substance abuse, brushes with the law, and tumultuous relationships with bandmates. Vivid details of his rock-star excess were revealed in national headlines over the years, and in his 2011 memoir,\u00a0Not<\/i> Dead and Not for Sale<\/i>. With his chaotic past in the rearview mirror, Weiland, 47, is firmly focused on his new music. Blaster<\/i> was recorded at his Lavish Studios in Burbank, Calif., with Rick Parker (Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Beck, the Von Bondies) at the helm, along with the Wildabouts\u2014guitarist Jeremy Brown, bassist Tommy Black and drummer Danny Thompson.<\/p>\n
Compared to his more eclectic solo albums\u20141998\u2019s 12<\/i> Bar Blues<\/i> and 2008\u2019s \u201cHappy\u201d in Galoshes<\/i>\u2014Blaster<\/i> is more straight-up rock, colored with shades of chunky feral blues (\u201cWhite Lightning\u201d), breezy pop rock (\u201cBeach Pop\u201d and T. Rex\u2019s declaration of self-determination, \u201c20th Century Boy\u201d), and British glam rock (David Bowie\u2019s ode to bohemian debauchery, \u201cThe Jean Genie\u201d). Weiland\u2019s fondness for Bowie was previously on display in \u201cHappy\u201d in Galoshes<\/i>\u2019 cover of \u201cFame.\u201d<\/p>\n
Compared to your previous solo albums, Blaster<\/i> is a return to rock \u2019n\u2019 roll.<\/b><\/p>\n
Definitely. That was the whole idea of my forming the band with these guys. My two previous solo albums were more artistic adventures. There\u2019s a lot of different music that\u2019s influenced me throughout my life. After being in STP, when I took a break to do my first solo album I wanted to do something that was a departure. Personally, it was very fulfilling. I have to keep evolving, otherwise it would all get quite boring. But I think it was hard for some STP fans to wrap their heads around\u2014and probably it was the same with \u201cHappy\u201d in Galoshes<\/i>. But this record is definitely more of a rock album. We set out to have our own sound, though, and I think we achieved that.<\/p>\n
Describe your writing process.<\/b><\/p>\n
I started writing the album with the guys in the band\u2014we collaborated on the songs. Some were just riffs I had for a while that never worked out. But this time, we put those ideas down and it worked. I had the riff on \u201cWhite Lightning\u201d sitting around for quite some time. Same goes for the riff in \u201cAmethyst.\u201d My guitar player, Jeremy Brown, came up with a lot of the riffs, too. He would bring them to rehearsals and we\u2019d suss out those ideas, I\u2019d write melodies and lyrics, and they\u2019d become songs we\u2019d finish together.<\/p>\n
How did you meet your bandmates?<\/b><\/p>\n
We\u2019ve known each other for around nine years. They jammed with me on the \u201cHappy\u201d in Galoshes<\/i> tour and some of them played on that album. But this is the first time we decided to form a band to make a band album, to work creatively as a band.<\/p>\n
What was your process in the studio?<\/b><\/p>\n
We got into a creative mode early. We\u2019d make our own demos of the songs as we wrote them. Once we\u2019d sussed those out, we\u2019d get together with our producer, Rick Parker, and record them. Then we\u2019d go back out on the road for a few weeks and come back for more studio work.<\/p>\n
Why did you choose Rick to produce the new record?<\/b><\/p>\n
I hadn\u2019t worked with him before, but Tommy had been in bands with Rick and worked with him. It was great working with Rick. We just recorded a new song, \u201cBack to the City,\u201d with him the other night. The song fits right in with the others on the album. It has a lot of the same guitar tones, but it has a swing beat, and it\u2019s really quite slinky. It\u2019s a departure only because of the beat. We\u2019ll probably make it available on iTunes when the album comes out.<\/p>\n
Any favorite songs?<\/b><\/p>\n
I\u2019m proud of how the whole album turned out, but I have some favorites: \u201cWay She Moves,\u201d \u201cHotel Rio,\u201d \u201cModzilla\u201d and \u201cCircles.\u201d That was one of the first songs we recorded, actually. From the point of writing them and rehearsing them and then going in to record them, my favorite part was when we processed songs and added effects for coloring and mood. Some extra guitar parts were added that are quite ethereal and changed the songs for the better.<\/p>\n
The album includes two British glam-rock covers\u2014did that era influence you?<\/b><\/p>\n
Definitely. Bowie is my wife\u2019s favorite musical artist. But as an artistic and fashion and musical influence, he\u2019s a good gauge on whether you\u2019re changing artistically. I think it\u2019s very good to change artistically. I listened to a lot of that music growing up, especially in high school. Even with STP, when we started making our third album, Tiny Music<\/i>, we ventured into glam-rock territory with \u201cBig Bang Baby.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhite Lightning\u201d was influenced by Lawless<\/i>, a film about moonshiners.<\/b><\/p>\n
We were just starting to work on the song, and I saw the film and was inspired by the story. I thought it paired nicely with the song\u2019s powerful stomp, which you hear in the riff and the beat.<\/p>\n
How do you view STP\u2019s legacy?<\/b><\/p>\n
We were very fortunate. That\u2019s the beautiful thing about those kinds of songs: If you\u2019re successful with an album, then the songs on that album are just everlasting. I\u2019m quite fortunate in that I have written some songs that have lasted\u2014and that\u2019s quite an honor.<\/p>\n
You\u2019ve had a career with extreme highs and lows. Did you ever want to quit?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
Not really. But I\u2019ve always been interested in being a producer. That\u2019s something I still want to do. I\u2019ve done a little bit of it. I have my own commercial recording studio. But music\u2019s what I do. With this record, I haven\u2019t been as excited since making my first album, Core<\/i>. I got to make it with close friends, and we put a lot of high expectations on ourselves to make the best album possible.<\/p>\n
You always seem especially comfortable onstage. Why?<\/b><\/p>\n
It\u2019s always been that way. I\u2019ve always enjoyed being onstage. I\u2019ve figured out my own style of performance. I\u2019ve taken all the influences I had and come up with my own signature style.<\/p>\n
Tell us about the new tour.<\/b><\/p>\n
We\u2019ll play most of the songs from Blaster<\/i>, but we\u2019ll throw in songs from STP and Velvet Revolver as well. We have taken a lot of effort to make them ours, rather than just do them as those two bands did them. It was important that we found a way to make those songs our own.<\/p>\n
\u2013Kenneth Partridge<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
SCOTT WEILAND\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 The former STP frontman returns to rock \u2019n\u2019 roll on his latest solo set Blaster is Scott Weiland\u2019s third solo album and his first under the moniker Scott Weiland and the Wildabouts. But whatever the name, any music Weiland releases lines up […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7],"tags":[7623,7677],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14770"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14770"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14770\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14772,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14770\/revisions\/14772"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14770"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14770"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14770"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}