N
ow fronted by the former reality TV star
Jeff Gutt following Scott Weiland’s death
in 2015 and the exit of Chester Bennington
(who returned to Linkin Park before taking his own
life two years ago), Stone Temple Pilots are a tough
band to stop. Bassist Robert DeLeo previews the
band’s appearance at Download and two indoor
warm-up shows.Along with your guitarist brother Dean and
drummer Erik Kretz, you’ve started STP from
scratch three times, twice in heartbreaking
circumstance. Why such unswerving faith?
The bond between my brother and I is pretty
important. But personally speaking it’s about the
fact that I’ve always loved writing songs, and I want
to keep on doing that.The seemingly instant massive success of
the band’s f irst album, Core, brought anxiety
which induced drug addiction and brought
accusations of non-payment of dues. Did
success come too quickly?
Yes. I don’t know too many people that could have
handled that pressure. It will either make you
stronger or everything starts unravelling. That can
be deadly.How did it feel when STP were voted the Best
New Band of 1994 by the readers of RollingStone and Worst New Band by the same
magazine’s critics?
Oh I don’t know. I didn’t read any of that stuff.
I certainly wasn’t making records for the press. It
goes back to your first question. For me, the joy of it
all was wring music.The liaison with Chester Bennington brought
only an EP, High Rise. Did he get a fair crack of
the whip as a member of the band?
No. And I really, really miss Chester. He was a lovely
human being, and we needed his positive energy in
our world at that time. However, there really was no
time for our relationship to blossom. I’m saddened
when I think about Chester every day – just like
I think about Scott.Jeff Gutt joined in 2017 following two spells on
America’s The X Factor. What made him the man
for the job?
From worldwide auditions we received fifteen
thousand applicants, and of those around twenty
tried out. Jeff wasn’t among them. We found out
about him later on. Like us, he lives to write songs
and play music. He feels like a part of the family.On this tour the band will be playing some
songs that until now you’ve never played live.
That’s pretty cool.
Yeah, I agree. There’s always been pressure to stickto a certain set-list, but the
fans seem very appreciative of
hearing different songs, and
Jeff succeeds in making them
his own.You’re also going to be
playing at Download.
Will it be the same ‘deep
cuts’ approach there, even
though it’s a festival?
It’s a good question. The problem is that we really
haven’t played in Britain enough. The band never
really had a chance to establish itself there. In
a festival environment people are on site for twelve
hours a day and they get pulverised with sonic
hell. I guess we will close our eyes and do whatever
comes from the gut.Classic Rock’s review said last year’s self-titled
seventh album, the band’s f irst with Jeff, was
as “a promising f irst step into a new era”. When
do you take the second step?
We’re working on something right now. It has more
of an acoustic direction, which is something that
Dean and I have wanted to explore for quite a while.
I can’t say much more than that right now, but it
feels like there’s a lot of life in this band again. DLST P appear at the Download Festival on June 15.LIVE!LIVE!
Stone Temple Pilots
On tour and at Download, expect some never-played-live-before songs as well as hits.
98 CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM
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STONE STATS
Stone Temple Pilots
formed in San Diego in
1989.
Their second album,
Purple, sold three
million copies in just
four months.
Following the first
implosion, Scott
Weiland left and joined
Velvet Revolver.