Stone Temple Pilots' Scott Weiland Dies, Aged 48

Scott Weiland, best known as the lead singer for Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver, passed away Thursday night in his sleep while on a tour stop in Bloomington, Minnesota, with his band The Wildabouts. 

Weiland's dead has been confirmed on his official Facebook page.

He was born Scott Richard Kline in San Jose, California; he changed his name at age five after his stepfather adopted him. He moved to Ohio as a child but came back to California for college. There, in Long Beach, he met future STP bassist Robert DeLeo at a 1985 Black Flag show. Legend has it that after talking for a while, they both figured out that they were dating the same girl. The band formed shortly thereafter, first taking the name Mighty Joe Young. The band spent a few years playing around San Diego and eventually changed their name.

Stone Temple Pilots' 1992 debut, "Core," has sold more than 8 million units in the United States. Their hits include "Vasoline," ''Interstate Love Song" and "Plush," which won a Grammy in 1993 for best hard rock performance with vocal.

In 1995, he was arrested after deputies found him carrying crack and heroin. He pleaded guilty to felony heroin possession in 1998. And his arrests for drug possession and stints in rehab led the Stone Temple Pilots to cancel tour dates and contributed to their 2003 breakup.

After the band split, Weiland joined former Guns N' Roses members Slash, Duff McKagan, and Matt Sorum and former Wasted Youth guitarist Dave Kushner to form the supergroup Velvet Revolver. Weiland departed Velvet Revolver in 2008 to join the reunited Stone Temple Pilots.

RIP Scott Weiland

Devo's Founding Member Bob Casale Dies at Age 61

DEVO's founding member and guitarist Bob Casale, has died at the age of 61.

TMZ reported that Casale  passed away on February 17 after medical complications unexpectedly led to heart failure. 

Bob's brother Gerald confirmed the news saying: "Very sad news to report today. Bob Casale of Devo. Born: July 14th, 1952. Deceased: February 17th, 2014. As an original member of Devo, Bob Casale was there in the trenches with me from the beginning. He was my level-headed brother, a solid performer, and talented audio engineer, always giving more than he got."

"He was excited about the possibility of Mark Mothersbaugh allowing Devo to play shows again," the statement continued. "His sudden death from conditions that lead to heart failure came as a total shock to us all."

The cult new wave band formed in Ohio in 1972, the classic line-up of the band consisting of the Casale brothers, Mark and Bob Mothersbaugh and Alan Myers (Myers died of brain cancer in June 2013). Gerald recruited his brother Bob for guitar/keyboards. 

RIP Mr. Casale.

The Charlatans Drummer Jon Brookes Dies Aged 44

The Charlatans drummer and founding member, Jon Brookes has died this morning at the age of 44 after a battle with brain cancer.

Brookes was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2010 after collapsing onstage during a concert in Philadelphia. He had continued working on new material with the band despite undergoing several surgeries, including one in July. Though the band said the most recent operation had gone well, Brookes had remained in the hospital for further treatment. He is survived by his wife and three daughters.

The Charlatans formed in 1989 in the West Midlands region of England. Brookes was a founding member of the band, whose 2010 LP Who We Touch is the most recent of their 11 studio albums. The group has had 22 Top 40 hits in Britain, including "The Only One I Know" and "One to Another."

Charlatans frontman Tim Burgess tweeted that the band was "torn apart" at the news: "Jon Brookes, my friend, our drummer and inspiration to so many, passed away this morning. We are torn apart. Love & thoughts to Jon's family." 

He also thanked "everyone for their messages and memories of Jon. So much love on such a sad day".

A further statement from the band read: "Jon was a brilliant drummer, an inspiration, a founding member of The Charlatans, part of our family and a friend to everyone in and around the band. Losing someone who was always so full of life is a tragedy that will be shared by so many. Our thoughts are with Debbie and all of Jon's family."

RIP Jon Brookes.

Former Devo Drummer Alan Myers Dies

Alan Myers, Devo's most well-known drummer, has died on Monday following a battle with cancer. News of Myers' death was first reported on Facebook by his friend Ralph Carney, a jazz musician who knew Myers in Devo's hometown of Akron, Ohio.

Myers became Devo's third drummer when he joined the band in 1976. Known for his precision on the kit, his playing featured on Devo's first seven albums, including 1978's Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! and 1980's Freedom of Choice, which included the single "Whip It." He left the band in 1986 over a lack of creative fulfillment as the group increasingly used electronic drums, according to the 2003 book We Are Devo!

Myers' former bandmate Gerald Casale praised the drummer on Twitter as news of his death spread. The Devo founder called Myers "the most incredible drummer I had the privilege to play with for 10 years. Losing him was like losing an arm."

Continuing, Casale wrote: "I begged him not to quit Devo. He could not tolerate being replaced by the Fairlight and autocratic machine music. I agreed . . . Alan, you were the best – a human metronome and then some."

Drummer Josh Freese, who played in Devo from 2006-2012, has cited Myers as one of his major influences. "An underrated/brilliant drummer," Freese tweeted. "Such an honor playing his parts w/Devo. Godspeed Human Metronome."

RIP Alan Myers "The Human Metronome".

Watch Myers behind the kit with Devo.

The Divinyls Singer Chrissy Amphlett Dies Aged 53

Iconic Australian rock star Chrissy Amphlett, the singer and former frontwoman for The Divinyls, died on Sunday afternoon after suffering from cancer and multiple sclerosis. She was 53.

Amphlett's husband, Charley Drayton, released a statement in which he said her "light burns so very brightly". Drayton wrote that she "passed gently, in her sleep" and was surrounded by her close friends and family at her New York home.

Amphlett was the lead singer with pop band The Divinyls, which she co-founded in 1980, and released six albums with the group until they informally split in 1997.

Famous for Amphlett's sexy schoolgirl outfit, torn fishnets and wild on-stage antics, the Divinyls had their first hits, Boys in Town and Only Lonely, after appearing in the 1982 film Monkey Grip.

The band is best known for their 1991 single, I Touch Myself, which reached number 10 in the UK Top 40 and number four in the American charts, despite the song struggling to get airplay in the US due to its controversial subject. Amphlett later said that she hoped the song would remind women to perform breast examinations.

Amphlett went on to have a stage career, playing Judy Garland in the Australian production of The Boy from Oz in 1998.

The Divinyls re-formed in the late 2000s, during which Amphlett announced she had multiple sclerosis. She discussed her treatment for breast cancer on television in 2010, which, due to multiple sclerosis, had to be without radiation treatment.

The singer posted about her health problems on her Facebook page in March, saying: "the last 18 months have been a real challenge", but that she had not stopped singing.

Drayton added that Amphlett's life was one of "passion and creativity; she always lived it to the fullest. With her force of character and vocal strength she paved the way for strong, sexy, outspoken women."

Her death brought sadness to the local music industry. Her peers voted her the No.9 best Australian singer of all time in a News Limited poll last month. She leaves her husband and her sister Leigh.

RIP Chrissy.