Stone Temple Pilots fired lead singer and founder Scott Weiland.
The group announced the decision in a single sentence press release that said: "Stone Temple Pilots have announced they have officially terminated Scott Weiland."
STP reformed in 2008 after a five-year hiatus and toured through last year. No word on if the band will go on with a new singer.
Rolling Stone spoke with Weiland the day before the announcement and he denied all rumors that he had been fired from the band.
He said: "STP has not broken up. I haven't quit. I haven't been fired."
Weiland is starting a solo tour next month that will focus almost entirely on material from the first two STP albums, but he said the band is still a priority.
He said: "My personal feeling is that we need some new blood in the band. We've been playing the same greatest hits set since we got back together. I'd like to make a new record. It will breathe new life into the group."
"There were some hurt egos. But that's the way it is. No one has ever fired anybody in STP. We're like a family. It's also a partnership. I started the band. We've always kept things going. We've taken time off before. They've done their own projects and I fully support that. No one has been fired and I haven't quit. That's all hearsay."
A few hours later, Weiland released a statement that said:
"I learned of my supposed 'termination' from Stone Temple Pilots by reading about it in the press. Not sure how I can be 'terminated' from a band that I founded, fronted and co-wrote many of its biggest hits, but that's something for the lawyers to figure out. In the meantime, I'm looking forward to seeing all of my fans on my solo tour. – Scott Weiland"
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