Stone Temple Pilots: “Creeping Their Way Back”

It seems as though no matter how hard we try, we just can’t quite escape the golden age of the 1990s. The 1990s brought us the grunge and alternative rock revolution and although it ended some time ago, this music has remained extremely popular on the radio and in the media. Most of the important players of this time (Nirvana, Soundgarden, the real Alice In Chains, Hole) are long gone, but some have somehow endured the years (Pearl Jam, Tool, R.E.M.). Some that we thought were gone have also come back in recent time such as Rage Against The Machine and we can add the newest addition to this list, Stone Temple Pilots. Stone Temple Pilots, or STP for short, are back with their original four piece lineup intact. The band has formally announced the reunion, as well as a huge summer tour and a brand new studio album to follow. Rather than focus on the band’s history, let’s take a look at what the members have been up to the last few years and how this whole reunification took place.

Prior to the big announcement, the last we had heard from STP was in 2002 when the group played a few concerts in support of their last album, 2001’s Shangri La Dee Da. This was an anxious time for STP as Shangri La Dee Da was supposed to be the band’s comeback album but instead turned into a commercial flop. Additionally, there was inner tension developing in the band which peaked when a fist fight broke out between lead singer Scott Weiland and guitarist Dean DeLeo. Around this time, Weiland was introduced as the lead singer of a new band concocted by the former members of Guns N Roses (later called Velvet Revolver) which effectively put a nail in the coffin for STP. Although there was no formal breakup announcement, it was clear that the band was on an extended hiatus which was further solidified by Dean DeLeo and his brother Robert announcing the formation of a new band with Filter lead singer Richard Patrick called Army of Anyone. The only member to stay out of a new band was drummer Eric Kretz who focused on running his own recording studio called Bomb Shelter Studios in Los Angeles.

The band members’ post-STP projects all had varying degrees of success. Weiland and Velvet Revolver started out strong with their 2004 debut album Contraband, but as time passed, the popularity and excitement began to fade. They did manage to release a second LP called Libertad in 2007, a record that did not fare very well commercially. On the other hand, Army of Anyone released just one album in late 2006. And although it contained some decent material, the album and the group never caught on commercially. The record sold poorly and there was simply a general lack of interest in the band itself.

The lack of interest in Army of Anyone resulted in the group lasting less than a year. Lead singer Richard Patrick announced that he was working on a new Filter album which effectively put the band on indefinite hiatus. On the other side of things, rumours began to swirl about tensions between Weiland and the rest of Velvet Revolver. These were intensified by Weiland telling the crowd at one of the group’s shows that it would be the group’s final tour. The breakup was made official on April 1st, 2008 when the other four members of the group released a statement that they were parting ways with Weiland because of his erratic behaviour and lack of commitment towards the band.

With the breakups of both bands, the table was now set for an STP reunion. Strangely enough, the catalyst of the reunion happened to be Weiland’s wife Mary when she called Dean DeLeo to ask if he and Robert would play for a private party she was involved with. In the midst of the conversation, she mentioned to Dean that Weiland was there and asked if he wanted to speak to Weiland. The two started chatting which resulted in a few other phone calls and suddenly a reunion tour was in the works.

STP has scheduled a number of dates on various summer festivals including Edgefest in Toronto as well as several shows they will headline themselves beginning May 17th in Columbus, Ohio. The tour will run right through until the end of August and it will not only act as a reunion for the band but also a tune-up for the recording of a new Stone Temple Pilots record. The band plans to begin writing and recording their first new music together in eight years after the conclusion of the summer tour with the hopes of a spring or summer 2009 release date. STP is back and it could not have come at a better time with the dullness that currently pervades rock and roll. Let’s just hope they can show some of these other bands how it’s really done.