Photo credit: Jamie Weiland
In a story that we missed from The Blast a little awhile back, late Stone Temple Pilots singer Scott Weiland’s legal battle with Art of Anarchy involved a lot more money than fans originally thought.
Scott Weiland openly trashed the rock supergroup Art of Anarchy — which he was a part of — and it turns out the company that put the group together sued him for $20 million just months before he died.
The Blast uncovered a lawsuit filed in July of 2015 by Vice, Inc. claiming they were responsible for assembling the band, which consisted of Weiland, Jon and Vince Votta, Disturbed bassist John Moyer and former Guns N’ Roses guitarist Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal.
According to the suit, Weiland agreed to write and perform the lyrics for 10 songs for the band’s debut album. Vice says they paid Weiland $230,000 up front for his work.
But in 2014, before the release of the album, Vice says they became involved in several disputes with Weiland. They claim Weiland refused to help promote the album and take part in music videos.
Vice claims they finally reached an agreement with Weiland to promote the band, but he still refused to post a teaser for the band and continued to use his social media accounts to promote other projects over Art of Anarchy.
The final straw, Vice claims, was when Weiland said in an interview that Art of Anarchy was a “scam from the beginning.”
“I had them send me the files, and I worked in my studio with my engineer, and I wrote the lyrics and the melodies, and I sent them back,” he said in the interview. “I didn’t even know what their names were.”
Vice sued Weiland to recover their $230,000 and asked for an additional $20 million in damages for ruining any chance the album would be successful and for lost revenue for the planned tour and merchandise sales.
A month before the singer died from an overdose, Weiland counter-sued Vice and the Art of Anarchy bandmates, accusing them of unlawfully using his name and image to promote the band. He was asking for $2 million and sought an injunction against them from using his name to publicize the band.
