R.I.P.: Scott Weiland of Stone Temple Pilots

Scott Weiland

(Reuters) -- Rock singer Scott Weiland, the troubled ex-frontman for the band Stone Temple Pilots, died during a tour stop with his new band the Wildabouts in Minnesota, according to a statement posted to his Facebook page late on Thursday.

Weiland, 48, died in his sleep while on tour in Bloomington, south of Minneapolis, according to the statement. His death also was reported by TMZ.com and Billboard.

The California-born singer, who had acknowledged a long history of substance abuse, was kicked out of Stone Temple Pilots in 2013 for what his bandmates' attorney called "destructive behavior." He also performed with the group Velvet Revolver for a number of years.

Weiland, known for his growling vocals and shock of dyed red hair, came to symbolize the early 1990s grunge era as lead singer and lyricist for the Stone Temple Pilots. Adept at altering his vocal style, he sometimes sang through a megaphone at concerts.

Weiland's Facebook page gave no details about the circumstances of his death.

Bloomington police said in a statement they received a call reporting an unresponsive man in a recreational vehicle on Thursday night and that officers who went to the site found he was dead. Police withheld the man's name, pending an investigation by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office and the local Sheriff's Office.

Stone Temple Pilots, also known as STP, was co-founded by Weiland in the late 1980s and went on to score such guitar-heavy hits as "Plush" in 1993 and "Interstate Love Song" the following year.

The band broke up in 2003 but reunited five years later only to collapse in acrimony again in February 2013 when Weiland's bandmates - Dean DeLeo, Robert DeLeo and Eric Kretz - forced him out.