Since the news broke about the death of Scott Weiland, I've seen two different reactions: An out cry of sadness and the people who say he got what he deserved because he was a junkie. And I get both reactions. It is a sad, tragic situation. But, for those that spent any time at all with Scott, he was much more than a junkie. He was a father, a husband, a broken genius.

I have a lot of friends in the music business. Scott Weiland wasn't one of them. But, that doesn't mean I didn't have a connection with the man. He's not like Kevin Martin or Morgan Rose, where I talked to him on the phone from time to time or anything like that. But, over the past decade or so, I had lots of interactions with Scott. Some good and some bad. But overall, Scott was a decent human being. And some folks need to be reminded of that.

When he was in town for Festapalooza a couple years ago, I got assigned to be his personal driver for the weekend. I picked him up from the airport, took him to his hotel...anywhere he needed to go. And during that time, we bonded a bit. And even when I wanted to punch him in the face because he was being a condescending dick, I couldn't help but just want to love the guy. 

We talked music, his personal life, preference in cigarettes and booze...and while he only vaguely remembered me from radio stuff over the year and essentially I was a stranger, he tried to treat me like a friend. The man was lonely. He was strung out from the road. I saw a lot of things that weekend that I could have talked about on the radio, some flattering and some not. But, I didn't. Because I could see that the man just needed someone to confide in.

Before he boarded his plane back to LA, we had one last cigarette and conversation. He asked me if I needed anything, an autograph or picture or anything like that. I told him no, he gave enough to me with his music. He liked that.

Scott, no matter what demons or troubles he had, gave his mind, body and soul to this business. And make no mistake, Scott Weiland was NOT in the music business. He was in the business of healing souls. Everyone's but his own. So, from all of us who were touched by your music, thank you. It wasn't always a pleasure knowing you, but it always made me feel better knowing you were around.

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