Fresno musicians pay tribute to Scott Weiland

Scott Weiland’s three-decade career ended in early December when the singer was found dead on his tour bus in Minnesota.

Within days, Gary Baxter was planning a tribute concert.

Baxter will join more than a dozen local musicians paying tribute to Weiland’s art and artistry Friday, Jan. 15, at Fulton 55. There will be two-song performances from Dr. Ruthless and the Helion Vibe, Hang ’em High and Wintercoat, followed by a longer set from Baxter’s band Llama Boy, plus the Campfire Girls, an 11-piece “house band” put together just for night. The musicians will showcase songs from throughout Weiland’s career – from his time with the ’90s grunge Stone Temple Pilots to his solo work and his time with the rock supergroup Velvet Revolver.

Obviously, Baxter is a fan.

He owns the entirety of Weilands’ catalog – minus the singer’s 2011 Christmas album. He appreciated Weiland’s lounge lizard aesthetic, his voice and lyrics and rock flamboyance; something that is missing from today’s music scene, Baxter says. He saw Weiland in concert in the Los Angeles in the ’90s.

He had plans to see him again. The singer’s new band, The Wildabouts, was scheduled to play in Fresno Dec. 22. The show was canceled following Weiland’s death.

For the past three weeks Baxter and the Campfire Girls have been in practice mode, preparing the 15 or so songs they’ll perform at the show. He’s obsessively listening to the music, learning lyrics to songs he thought he knew.

It has given him a new understanding of Weiland and the struggles he may have been going through.

“I had no idea how depressed he was,” Baxter says.

Indeed, Weiland’s work was bleak and many see his death from accidental drug overdose as less than heroic, Baxter says. But something positive can come from it, especially when people come together to share the music. That’s what he hopes for the show, at least.

On an acoustic version of Stone Temple Pilots song “Plush,” everyone will be asked to join in on a mega jam session, Baxter says.

“He influenced quite a few people,” Baxter says. “We’re just going to pay tribute to the artist.”

This story was originally published January 12, 2016 at 6:01 PM with the headline "Fresno musicians pay tribute to Scott Weiland."