Stone Temple Pilots

JUNE '08

Harder Beat Magazine Online

Stone Temple Pilots
On a mission...

by Kevin White

STP’s Scott Weiland in the good times...

As perhaps the only major grunge-era band to survive with all its original members still alive and active, Stone Temple Pilots have much to prove with their current tour and subsequent new release.

Yes, front man Scott Weiland continues to struggle with self-medication issues. Yes, the tensions from his aberrant behavior that drove the band apart to begin with still lurk not-so-far beneath the surface. But the fact that he has heretofore managed to avoid pulling a Cobain or Staley means there is hope. Hope that a rekindled relationship with his STP brethren will be the cure for what ails Weiland, and hope for a return to glory for one of the 90s’ biggest selling bands.

Founding brothers Robert (bass/vox) and Dean DeLeo (guitar), along with drummer Eric Kretz, know they are taking a risk. They may have only officially “gone on hiatus” five years ago, but the writing was on the wall well before the turn of the century. The same odd mix of chemistry and friction that inspired Weiland and Robert DeLeo to form Mighty Joe Young back in 1987, though, is what has ultimately brought them back together.

The two met at a Black Flag concert in Long Beach, CA, and discovered they were dating the same woman. The strangeness proved to be a catalyst for the two musicians, however, who recruited Kretz and, shortly thereafter brother Dean, to form the band that year. After they became aware of a bluesman using the name Mighty Joe Young, the new quartet changed the name to Shirley Temple’s Pussy. Once their popularity began to rise and label interest came about, their management decided the name was too harsh, and they briefly went by Stereo Temple Pirates to keep the STP initials in tact. By the end of the sessions for their first record, Core, in 1992, the name finally settled in as Stone Temple Pilots.

Riding the crest of the new waves created by the Seattle grunge movement, the band’s hard-edged sound and androgynous style struck an immediate nerve with the record buying public. If Nirvana were the Sabbath, Soundgarden the Maiden and Pearl Jam the Zeppelin of this new era, STP was the Kiss. The Southern California band’s shows were far more glam-like and over-the-top than their counterparts from the Pacific Northwest. The band cut its teeth playing in San Diego-area strip clubs and touring with Megadeth and Rage Against The Machine rather than bowing to the corporate pressure of the LA scene.

After scoring a Grammy for the single, “Plush,” STP released their second album, Purple, which debuted at #1. On the strength of monster hits like “Interstate Love Song” and “Vaseline,” the band was riding high into the mid-90s. It was in 1995 when Weiland’s first public troubles arose. While working on the follow-up for Purple, he was arrested for heroin and cocaine possession and faced a three-year prison term. He pleaded not guilty and went to trial, but the massive cracks in the band’s foundation could not be avoided. STP broke up for over a year, but because of contractual obligations, reunited in 1996 to record Tiny Music...Songs From The Vatican Gift Shop. The music seemed uninspired, and the band was teetering on the brink of extinction.

...and the bad.

The tour for Tiny Music never really got off the ground, as Weiland’s addictions spun wildly out of control. He was finally dragged, kicking and screaming, to rehab by court order. The band had decided to try to honor the last two records of their contract, but it appeared they would do so with Weiland not in the mix. After dabbling with side projects and basically avoiding each other for a couple of years, the band came back together in 1999 to record No.4. The record had a decent single in “Sour Girl,” but was a far cry from their previous successes.

Weiland did a year in the LA County Jail for violating probation before the band recorded 2001’s Shangri-La Dee Da. The single “Days Of The Week” drove the band for a fleeting moment, but the bell had already begun to toll for STP. Robert DeLeo and Weiland nearly got into a fist fight on tour in late 2002, and plans to record the band’s sixth record — one that was to be a throwback to its Core-era roots — were scrapped. A greatest hits CD/DVD called Thank You was released instead, and STP was no more.

The DeLeo brothers formed Army Of Anyone, enjoying moderate success and critical acclaim in the wake of the breakup. More famously, Weiland hooked up with former Guns N’ Roses members Slash, Duff McKagan, Matt Sorum and ex-Wasted Youth guitarist Dave Kushner, to form Velvet Revolver. The first release, Contraband, was a big hit, and it appeared VR was going to be the real deal. But Weiland’s demons eventually rose to the surface again. His continued struggles with chemicals and widely-reported dalliances with the law proved to cause more friction than the band could withstand. A public feud with Sorum led to the early 2008 announcement that VR had run its course, at least with Weiland at the helm. In the time since, Slash has made public his plans to keep recording and touring with a new lead singer.

The idea for an STP reunion came about after Weiland’s wife, Mary Forsberg, invited the DeLeo brothers to play at a private beach party. Whether this move motivates Weiland to right his own ship, or if it hammers the final nails in his coffin, remains to be seen. If he can stay at least moderately clean, the tour stands to be a huge success, as fans will clamor to see the band that defined hard rock for the better part of the decade. How long that success lasts and just how big it can get, though, is entirely on his shoulders.