Guitar Interactive – Issue 66 2019

(^24) Guitar Interactive Issue 66
to command an enormous fan base.
Debuting at number one on the
Billboard charts and holding that
position for three weeks, the record
went platinum six times over in America
on the strength of “Vasoline” and
“Interstate Love Song” (both of which
hit number one on the Mainstream
Rock Tracks chart), and “Big Empty,”
a sweeping, melancholy epic that
originally appeared on the popular
original soundtrack to ‘The Crow.’
It was on 1996’s infectious ‘Tiny
Music... Songs From the Vatican Gift
Shop’ that Stone Temple Pilots truly
embraced that fearless, experimental
streak that persists to this day. Blending
new wave and glam explorations with
a spirited Beatles influence, the band
kept their multi-platinum streak alive
while further expanding their audience.
“Big Bang Baby,” “Lady Picture Show”
and “Trippin’ on a Hole in a Paper
Heart” all reached number one on the
Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart,
adding ammunition to STP’s already
formidable live arsenal.
Three years later, the muscular ‘No. 4’
nodded to STP’s early days, delivering
throwback aggression on leadoff single
“Down.” ‘Yet, the brooding ballad
“Sour Girl” wound up one of the band’s
biggest hits, appearing in the Billboard
Hot 100 (an unprecedented crossover
accomplishment) and featuring a
memorable video with film star Sarah
Michelle Gellar. Unpredictability
continued to reign on 2001’s ‘Shangri-La
Dee Da,’ a fertile batch of psychedelic
pop and hard rock, and—following a
six-year hiatus—STP’s critically lauded
self-titled comeback album in 2010,
which peaked at #2 on Billboard.
After Weiland’s departure in 2013, the
band enlisted Linkin Park’s Chester
Bennington as frontman. The lifelong
STP fan promptly injected an adrenaline
rush into his favourite band, »
INTERVIEWS_DEAN DELEO