In September of 1992 The Stone Temple Pilots album Core came out. Less then a year after Nirvana's Nevermind exploded into mainstream music. Alternative or Grunge had put a strangle hold on the air waves. A newly teen aged me had just come online to the sweet rockin' sounds of bands like these. I was obsessed. My friends and I were divided by the bands we loved. Were you an Alty Girl or a Riot Grrrl? I wrote the name of my favorite bands on my generic Chuck Taylor sneakers, as did my alternative gal pals. Emblazed was STP and Scott Weiland's name. I remember buying the retro STP embroidered patches from my local music store. Other girls obsessed over Gavin Rossdale in that decade. My friend Jenny and I preferred Weiland. This grinding, slithering, leather pants wearing Iggy Pop of grunge. One part Jim Morrison, one part soulful cowboy. Always bold as fuck.

So hearing about the death of Scott Weiland felt like one of the first real nails in the coffin of my childhood. The first being Robin Williams, my comedy hero. This was for sure the second one. Long gone are the days of staring at posters, cranking CDs and rocking out, waiting anxiously for them to come to my nearest city. I saw them during the Purple Tour at the New Haven Coliseum. Two things that will never happen again as both are officially gone. I'll never forget rocking out at that show, and then being wowed by the couch sitting acoustic set. It was one of my first concerts. My first ever rock concert. Many more followed, but this one, was the first.

You can't deny the guy had talent. I had never got into Velvet Revolver. Those albums came out during my "lost years" when I was poor, sick and sad. I watched the video for Slither and was like wow. Where the Hell was on this one?  I spent hours on YouTube watching videos. Remember. I forgot Sarah Michelle Gellar was in the video for Sour Girl. I forgot about all the awesome Letterman performances. Or that they did an MTV Unplugged, with awesome acoustic arrangements of some of their harder rock songs. Crazy man.

RIP Weiland. Goodbye teenage years. Thank you for making a depressed teenage girl a little less angsty. xoxox forever.