A Canadian radio show host who conducted one of the last interviews with Scott Weiland says his conversation with the former Stone Temple Pilots frontman was “a little bit peculiar,” but he didn’t think much of it at the time.

Todd Shapiro, the host of the eponymous show on Sirius XM, interviewed Weiland last week, just days before the singer died during a tour stop with his current band, The Wildabouts.

He said Weiland was supposed to call in to the show at around 4:30 p.m., but his tour manager said he was “exhausted” and would call back later.

When Weiland eventually called about 15 minutes before the show ended, “I just thought he was out of it,” Shapiro told CTV News Channel Friday.

But he assumed that Weiland was just tired and continued the interview, trying to “extract a humorous side of Scott.”

Weiland, 48, died on Thursday while on a tour stop in Minnesota. A statement on Weiland’s Facebook page says the singer “passed away in his sleep,” but the official cause of death has not been released.

Still, many of those who knew Weiland or interviewed him over the years believe his death had something to do with his longstanding, public battle with substance abuse. 

“He leaves behind two children who are growing up without a father,” Shapiro said of Weiland’s son and daughter. “I wish someone grabbed a hold of him and said, ‘Hey man, be here for them.’”

Regardless of his struggles, Weiland will always be remembered as “one of the best of our generation,” Shapiro said.

Weiland’s arrests and stints in rehab were well-documented and his bands often had to schedule their tours around Weiland’s court dates, said Eric Alper of eOne Music Canada.

Weiland rose to fame in the 1990s as the Stone Temple Pilots frontman. He later joined the Velvet Revolver, with guitarist Slash and other famous rockers.

Alper said the Stone Temple Pilots were among the most successful grunge bands of the era, along with Nirvana, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains.

The Stone Temple Pilots went from “0 to 100” and quickly achieved success. Mainstream radio embraced Weiland’s voice and the band’s “very melodic” songs, Alper told CTV News Channel.

“He just seemed to be the right frontman for the right time.”

He added that it’s frustrating to see yet another rock star die prematurely after years of drug and alcohol abuse.

“The person has to want to stop. And that’s a really tough thing for someone to do,” Alper said.

Fans and musicians around the world have expressed shock at the news of Weiland’s death. Many of them are posting tributes to the singer on social media.