Noah Weiland, the son of the late Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland, opened up about his current living situation in a new interview, insisting that he isn’t a rich kid riding the coattails of his legendary father.
The aspiring singer cleared up a common misconception: “I’m not a trust fund baby or anything like that.”
“I always get annoyed when people say that type of stuff,” he told Rolling Stone. “My dad was millions in debt when he died. My mom has always worked a normal job. And truthfully, even if my dad’s estate ever does get out of debt, I don’t even want that money. I want to make a career out of myself as much as possible.”
Heavy Consequence has covered Noah’s solo music, a pop/hip-hop hybrid that’s self-described as a “gritty alternative” take on Justin Bieber, as heard on his recent single “Yesterday.” Before emerging on his own, Noah was briefly in the the rock band Suspect208, a supergroup of rockstar offspring that also included Slash’s son London Hudson on drums and Robert Trujillo’s son Tye on bass. Noah would only record a couple of songs with the band before being replaced, with the other members citing his drug use a reason for the split.
“I wasn’t necessarily an addict at that time,” he clarified to Rolling Stone. “But they made it seem like they were trying to get me help or get me into treatment. They never did anything like that. That’s why I’m so confused.”
He continued: “Everyone already thought of me as a drug addict. I was like, ‘If everyone already thinks I am, then what’s the point?’ I just gave up and actually became a drug addict. I felt like all the hard work I put in just vanished, and there was nothing I could do about it. That’s obviously a very childish mindset, but it’s where I was at the time.”
The young Weiland says his own battle with addiction actually led him to forgive his late father, stating, “It made me finally understand his situation. It made me realize it wasn’t his fault. He was just in too deep. He had too many demons. They caught up to him. It actually made me forgive him.”
After a stint in rehab, Noah is now clean from opioids and continues to work steady blue-collar jobs. He makes music on an iPhone with the help of his co-managers, actor/comedian Ashley Hamilton and Kevin Watterson, with the former also serving as Noah’s sponsor.
“This is the happiest I’ve been in years,” he said. “My goal now is to become financially stable with music. I mean, I could say I want to be the biggest artist and take over, but realistically, I’m doing one thing at a time. I’m not in a rush to blow up overnight. I want to build a cult fan base. I’ve played a few concerts, and I want to make them feel like parties.”
Revisit Noah’s latest single, “Yesterday,” below, as well as our interview with Noah and the other member of Suspect208 when they were still together.