"The band didn't break up, and Scott hasn't been fired," band manager Steve Stewart told E! Online. "He made some calls to myself and the band before the shows last week, and we decided it wasn't prudent to go on...He was never lost, never arrested and the band didn't break up, like some people are saying."
While Stewart stopped short of saying Weiland had relapsed, he said the singer had entered a California treatment facility and "is in a situation where he can get some care."
The whispering started in earnest last week when Stone Temple Pilots canceled a New Year's Eve concert in Anchorage and two weekend dates in Honolulu for "personal reasons." Rumor-mongers noted Weiland had recently checked out of a court-ordered drug rehab center after a very public addiction to cocaine and heroin--a problem that kept STP off the road.
But until this week, no one would say why the shows were called off. "It's not like they canceled their tour," said an Atlantic Records spokeswoman. "It was just a few shows here and there." The band has a history of keeping information to itself, she said.
Stewart said no decision had yet been made on rescheduling the Alaska and Hawaii dates, or any of the 30 shows the band had planned to play in February and March. "Those shows have never been confirmed, but they are on hold for now," Stewart said. "Right now we all want Scott to get better."
Although STP hired drug counselors to accompany Weiland on the current swing, the band only managed to play about 20 shows before the singer's problems resurfaced.
Weiland agreed to complete four to six months at a 24-hour facility after his 1995 arrest for possession of cocaine and heroin. The band refused to tour last year until Weiland cleaned himself up. Music industry observers say the lack of a tour hurt sales of the band's latest album, Tiny Music...Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop.