STONE TEMPLE PILOTS TO CONTINUE BEING A NOSTALGIA GREATEST HITS BAND, ACCORDING TO DEAN DELEO
Stone Temple Pilots guitarist Dean DeLeo just did an interview with 93.7 KCLB Rocks. The interview is very troubling when it comes to the state of Stone Temple Pilots, as it appears the band is content continuing to rely on old material and don’t have plans to record a new album to followup the underrated Stone Temple Pilots album from 2010. When DeLeo was asked about what the band’s plans are for next year, he said probably a big Core 20th Anniversary Tour, playing the album front to back. They said they would do that THIS summer earlier this year. That doesn’t really make sense since the 20th Anniversary of Core is this year, and it is very troubling for the future of the band. They already basically play all of Core outside of Naked Sunday and Where The River Goes. They seemed resigned to become a nostalgia oldies act, rather than continuing their legacy and making a new album. Especially with their contemporaries like Alice In Chains, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and Smashing Pumpkins either working on new albums or having them coming out.
DeLeo also said the band don’t change the setlist much because the fans want to hear the hits, he actually said Scott Weiland comes in at the beginning of tours with deep cut ideas, but after they play them a few times and the fans in the first 20 rows aren’t interested they find it “rewardless.” Very sad to hear that such a talented and legendary band no longer want to take any risks or add to their legacy. This article isn’t meant to be overly negative, anybody who knows me knows that Stone Temple Pilots are one of my favorite bands of all time and that I was a big fan of their latest effort, it’s just highly disappointing that the band seem to be on the path to becoming a fair/casino jukebox band when they still have so much creative talent. Let’s hope they change their mind and get to work on a new album at the end of this tour!
i’ve always thought they were sad, but damn…
We need Billy Corgan to call them out to give them a swift kick in the ass.
See? Billy Corgan knows what he’s talking about.
Perhaps the reason they are playing to half empty clubs is the fact that they are playing mostly Core songs to the mostly radio fan douche crowd.
Give me Tiny Music front to back any day of the week.
Also, this band has never been in the league of those other bands you mentioned simply because they are always chasing the radio hit crowds rather than hardcore fans.
Corgan was ripping the wrong band when he ripped Soundgarden. Of course, he’s sensitive and he probably lays awake at night stewing about whatever Cornell’s comments were that ticked him off.
i love stp so much. i hope they release a new album
Joe, I think that is what has hurt their legacy. Their material is just as strong as their contemporaries, but they’ve never gone the extra mile to create a hardcore fan base, which leads to fickle casual fans which means lower attendance at tours. Their greatest hits mentality is actually making them less money, even though they think it’s making them more.
Also new material is a great promotional tool for a tour, STP are always guaranteed to have a top 5 rock radio single on every album they do, even at this stage in their careers.
Pearl Jam has the opposite issue – people go to see them TO hear the deep cuts.
You guys are right, Stone Temple Pilots were never a band to play deep cuts live except when that record came out. People see them not to see a band go in depth with their career, but to play the songs we all know
Because of that and a lack of a fan club, more fan related releases, less fan interaction, etc. they dug their own grave with this one
Unfortunately this band could have been so much more than they are now. Hell even in 2008 they sold out the Hollywood Bowl but I bet they can’t do that in 2012
Robert DeLeo has always given off the perception that he’s the one who truly cares. Scott is such a mess on and off that I’m inclined to say he doesn’t really care. This interview by Dean makes me think he’s closer to Scott’s mentality. Plus Dean seems so nonchalant almost bordering lackadaisical when he’s playing shows (personality-wise). Robert gets so into it and he’s always thanking the fans in between songs, etc.
STP can’t be JUST one bad seed in Scott, and a bunch of guys who really care. Based on this interview I also think Dean may be a bad seed!
It sounds like STP are really going downhill. 2 hours late or cancelling shows, and now blatantly admitting that they plan to play only the hits and have no aspirations to make new material, just sad.
I realize that Scott’s caused a bunch of problems about some of his performances and the such, but at least he seems to want to play the deeper cuts. The fact that he was playin’ “Black Again” with his solo band before STP started playing it proves it. I wish he could actually have some more authority in the band. Love ya Scott.
maybe the first 20 rows wasnt into it because youve only played them like 5 times in the past make the fans remember these tunes by playing them more than once a tour, fuck these guys are dumb
This is disheartening to hear indeed. STP are my favourite band and have been since the early 90′s and I was hoping they would expand on their legacy. Having said that I was extremely disappointed with their comeback album in 2010, perhaps because I had such great expectations for it though, it felt like I’d been waiting forever for a new album from them. It’s not that it’s a bad record because it isn’t but I do find it to be very average and for me, prior to that, STP hadn’t done average. All the albums they put out before that are classics to me, they had their own unique sound and had some truly timeless songs on them (Songs like ‘Atlanta’, ‘Hello it’s Late, ‘Adhesive’ etc) but ive barely listened to the self titled since it was released, it just doesn’t do it for me
I listened to this and you are being way too harsh on these guys. Scott has been the most prolific artist of any of the artists you mentioned over the past decade. They’re not doing this for the fans anymore, they’re doing this for themselves. You keep saying your a fan but it sounds like it has to be on your terms or your going to be a big baby about. Totally lame article.
Dare If You Dare is a really great STP song, so that record is not as bad as everyone makes it seem.
Wait till Corgan hears this one
‘Dare if You Dare’ is definitely one of the highlights, I also quite like ‘Take A Load Off’ and ‘First Kiss on Mars’ but find myself skipping over a lot of the album like ‘Cinnamon’, ‘Hazy Daze’, ‘Peacoat’ and ‘Fast As I Can’. those songs just don’t do anything for me.
I hope if STP decide to just tour the old material that those guys could maybe get together and do an album again.
The other day I listened to the Army of Anyone album for the first time in ages, that albums great… ‘All Killer, no filler’ as they say
Chris, they can keep playing hits, it doesn’t have to be my terms I’m just a fan. What I can’t accept is their plan to to a Core tour next summer instead of a new album.
They ll probably “break up” again..the boys will get a new singer. Scott will do his thing and then in 2017 they ll do another “reunion” tour and everyone will be thrilled to hear the hits. BTW how was the Army of anyone album, never checked it out, was it good/bad/decent??
The weird thing is that from the interview, it appears that Scott may not be the problem when it comes to recording a new album/diversifying the setlist. Obviously we don’t know definitively, but we now know that Dean obviously doesn’t care about the band moving forward.
It’s time for STP to call it a day. So sad.
@Capt. Poon
The Army of Anyone album is excellent… 5 star album right there and those who haven’t checked it out yet you’re in for a treat!
-Caged Tiger, thanks man, ill check it out…
My prediction is that Scott will tour with STP for a while longer but inevitably it will burn out due to them just playing the same show over and over, at which point Slash and co will be ready to welcome Scott back into the VR fold and they’ll call that a reunion tour since it will have been a few years, it’ll make them a shut load of cash and they’ll probably put out a new album to support it. Scott will also release another solo album.
^^ this isn’t necessarily what I want but it’s what I see eventually happening. Wasn’t Scott saying a few months ago he was back in VR and then Slash shot it down?? Whatever came of that? How could Scott get his wires crossed so badly?
Why are some of you people complaining?? If Stone Temple Pilots dont wanan make new music but stick to their original grunge rock formula, then so be it ok?? Accept the pilots as the way they wanna be rocking ok?? I personally dont like the way the current grunge rock bands are taking forever to release new music , case in point : soundgarden. that mother fucking poor excuse of a rock band is taking way too long to let us hear some new music , and the music they have previewed kinda sucks anyways. IF YOU CANT MAKE NEW GRUNGE ROCK ENERGY FILLED PUNKY ROCK N ROLL MUSIC THEN DONT BOTHER MAKING ANYTHING NEW AT ALL, THATS WHAT I SAY
@Capt. Poon
Cool man, I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. If you’re a fan of STP and/or Filter i’m sure you will! I’m a big fan of both so the mix of the Deleo’s with Richard Patrick on vocals blew me away.
lol I see Mayan’s formula now. Basically any time fans are happy about something, he shits on it. And whenever any of these bands on here do something stupid that fans aren’t happy with, he praises it.
@Mayan
Yes but you also say a lot of other shit, most of which doesn’t make any sense and is in CAPS… Your opinion doesn’t hold much weight around here unfortunately buddy.
I was underwhelmed by Army of Anyone. They had some good songs but the chemistry just wasn’t right. I liked Talk Show better.
CagedTiger, that’s probably the way Weiland would like things to go, but Slash does not want to play with the guy. A Velvet Revolver reunion would be total shit, who the fuck cares? Weiland and STP are just mind boggling sometimes, you’ve got this great band who only reach their greatest artistic heights together, yet they don’t want to make new music? Take a band like Bush, they have a fraction of the legacy and respect that STP have and their latest album sold less than 1/3 of what STP’s self-titled one did opening week, yet Gavin Rossdale is already talking about Bush’s next album. It’s smart business because it excites fans and also getting a single on the radio (with Bush, The Sound of Winter) is a great promotional tool for a tour.
Smashing Pumpkins’ Oceania also sold less than STP’s latest album did opening week and their sales are pretty similar in the U.S., but it’s all about perception and Corgan has gotten behind the album and while the Pumpkins aren’t ever going to be huge again, he’s got a much more enthused fanbase than he did 2 years ago.
“No one is interested in the songs”, interesting, seems like the band isn’t interested in showing up.
Assclowns.
What a defeatist attitude. Do music for the sake of music. If it’s your passion in life and you made it your career, it’s better playing to 500 loyal fans while being yourself than selling out to 10,000 ppl who only care about your hits. What is his problem? For a band compared so heavily to PJ back in the day, they have become the opposite in strategy and direction of the band. Corgan really does need to open his mouth and shit on Dean.
GRUNGE WILL ONLY CONTINUE IF ROCK BANDS WANNA MAKE THAT TYPE OF MUSIC OK?? IF YOUR LIKE SOUNDGARDEN AND PEARL JAM , JUST WANNA MAKE ROCK N ROLL WITH NO MESSAGE, NO ANGER, NO ENERGY LIKE WITH THEIR LAST FEW ALBUMS THEN WHY BOTHER ? WHY GO ON?? JUST QUIT DAMM IT
THIS IS WHY THE BEATLES BROKE UP , BECAUSE THEY DIDNT WANNA SOUND MEDIOCRE AND MAKE POINTLESS ROCK MUSIC ANYMORE . I SEE THE SAMETHING WITH SOUNGARDEN NOW. THEY HAVE BECOME THE WINGS OF THE GRUNGE MUSIC SCENE, BUT LESS BEATLES YOU KNOW??
It’s prob a lot of their own perception..sure people won’t be as visably excited to hear something like MC5, singing along and whatnot. Doesn’t mean the crowd doesn’t dig it.
dude brett army of anyone is amazing. its not a few songs for them, its the whole album! dont look at it as individual tunes.
Dean used to be the main driving force back when they first reunited in the late 00′s/ early 10′s. He contributed more on the self titled than any other album both with song writing and guitar solos. I remember an interview they did where he said he wanted them to make ten more albums. i thought he was going to push them forward. this is disturbing. i hope he was just having a bad day or something…
and for once i agree with mayan haha
Spoonman, I was on the Army of Anyone boards when the album came out back in 2006. Heard the album a lot, there are some good songs (Stop Look and Listen is one of my favorites) but I think the chemistry just wasn’t totally there. I can get why a lot of the people love the album more than me and am happy they do, the DeLeos playing is fantastic and while I’m a big fan of Filter’s old albums (met Richard Patrick and got him to sign my Title of Record) I don’t think he really brought it on the album in some songs.
Yeah, Slash is going to ditch Myles and the rest of his new band that are about as cohesive a rock and roll unit as you’ll find these days, in order to invite more drama back with Scott and VR? Hell, the only two people I see going for that are Kirchner and Sorum…
King Cornell, you hit the nail on the head! Irony is if they did a whole tour of club shows playing a ton of new songs and deep cuts for like 100 dollar a pop, those shows would be packed with die hard fans and they’d probably make good money.
Everybody send this article to Billy on Twitter, he’s probably the only person who could light a fire under their ass! While I didn’t agree with everything he said about Soundgarden, a lot of it was because he didn’t know they were making a new album, but he had the right idea!
i gotcha, at least you know stop look and listen kicks ass, old favorite for sure. i love richard patrick. he can do no wrong in my eyes, similar to scott weiland
PJfan, that’s why I don’t see VR happening. Slash is doing fine commercially on his own and he doesn’t have to put up with Axl or Scott.
Spoonman, Title of Record is the best album of 1999 to me and one of the greatest alternative rock records of all time. The Amalgamut is awesome too. The Missing is one of my favorite Filter songs.
Me and Richard Patrick got in a Twitter spat though a couple of years ago because I said The Inevitable Relapse single sucked. We ended up making up though. He didn’t know who I was when I met him though, lol. I actually liked a few songs on the record though when it came out.
title of record is amazing front to back. i love the amalgamut’s so i quit. I really enjoyed their most recent album quite a bit including the inevitable relapse. thats hilarious you got his attention like that though! when i saw them last year in la i was right up front with my elbows on the stage, got one of their setlists, a guitar pick, and probably the most fun i have ever had at a show especially with so i quit.
Love Fades Like A Photograph. Shocked that wasn’t a radio hit.
As sad as it may be, a lot of these issues are all related to economics. If you play to the hardcore fan base too much, you lose the general audience’s interest, and then when the live shows don’t bring in money, your value as an artist goes down, and even if STP could afford to record an album on their own, finding a distributor would prove no small feat as playing shows is how you promote your product, ergo, you would become a financial liability. As STP is too big of a name to deal with independent distributors but not quite commercially viable or reliable enough to warrant a a big contract either, it becomes a catch 22. There is one upside, however, if they do continue to play their greatest hits and play them well, they might actually get to the point where they will be able to release new records as their popularity and success as a live band would offset any costs related to releasing a new album, even if they don’t sell as well as previous efforts have – of course, this is provided they actually want to record new material. And there is always the digital option, which requires virtually no physical distribution other than for promotional purposes. There are bands who still operate on such a level. The hardcore fans buy the albums, but when they go see them live, it’s purely a greatest hits set that everyone will enjoy. And hey, who knows, maybe STP still have their biggest hit to come? If they do, they could become huge again. It has happened to other bands. If only Scott would stop fucking around with whatever it is that is impairing his performance, STP has the talent to once again become kings of the airwaves.
Then again, I’m just a fucking dude on the internet, what do I know?
Does anyone have the band’s contract details with Atlantic? Aren’t they still obligated to make one more album? Is there a time frame set on that if that’s the case?
Billy, STP can do what Smashing Pumpkins did (and Bush and Pearl Jam), release it on their own label. They don’t need to deal with an independent or major label.
Playing only the hits isn’t working. Fans are tired of seeing the same show over and over, they had to move tons of recent shows to smaller venues (including in Chicago from the Riviera to the Vic).
bmeade, I’m not sure. They were kind of vague about it when the last album came out.
I wasn’t talking about labels, I was talking about distribution, which is quite a different matter. I took labels out of the equation completely.
It wasn’t playing the hits that made people tired of the show, it was never knowing when/if Scott was going to show up and whether he was going to be fucked up or not. It’s too risky to spend that kind of money when you have all those variables to consider. Sad, but true.
And, if anything, with all due respect, I think I’d rather take Dean’s word for it than yours when it comes to what works and doesn’t work for STP live.
Smashing Pumpkins and Bush were able to find distribution.
If STP want to play the hits, I can accept that like I said even though I’d prefer deep cuts. My big issue is regarding new material. I’d be totally fine with a set of all hits and 4-5 new songs.
That’s not too hard to find. Well, maybe now that the inquiry’s posted publicly it is.
I’ll apply hypothetical logic to figure this out: if a party is contractually obligated (begrudgingly) to produce a product for a company they don’t get along with then they’re probably not excited about earning that company more money. I’m tired, but I’m sure there’s a link somewhere there. Sounds reasonable.
at the end of the day im just really happy stp is together and doing anything. i remember when stp wasn’t even playing shows of greatest hits. a sad sad time. so ill take what i can get from my favorite band of all time!
The douche who conducts the interview is the most annoying fucker i’ve ever tried to sit through. i couldn’t even make it through the whole thing. but dean sounds like a pretty authentic chill dude
Bands should play want they want. Granted, hits should be in the setlists, but do wht you want, play deep cuts. True fans of a band, allow bands to branch out, and embrace it, so it’s dissapointing that they are caving into this.
I remember 4 years ago when SP did the 20th Anniversary Tour in front of decent crowds and many fans complained that they were playing too many new & obscure songs instead of hits. To paraphrase, Billy said he’d never do the “greatest hits tour,” and if it meant playing in front of only 300 people a night who “get it,” so be it. You have to have a purpose as a band, and to just live in the past is so fucking sad. Nostalgia is for the birds as far as I’m concerned. It bugs me that even a band as big as Pearl Jam has to rely on their first few albums to fill half their live sets. It’s a joke.
I know STP does it for the money, but I’d rather they just play smaller venues in front of crowds who are true fans that appreciate what the band is, not what the band was.
Since this whole comment discussion headed towards Filter… can you cover them Brett? I’m not sure if there is anything active going on with them but just making a request.
Self titled was underrated? I thought it was a steaming pile of shit.
I don’t know how much anyone can fault Dean here, honestly. I think the point of view expressed by him has a subtext of being sort of fed-up with Scott’s antics/ lack of professionalism/ unreliability and he’s resigned himself to certain facts. But he’s not going to openly/ publicly slam Scott either. I’m sure he’s disappointed with the course of how things have gone. Who wouldn’t want to continue making new music as a band? But that requires a serious commitment from Scott. And correct me if I’m wrong, but he wasn’t even in the same room with them, ever, during the writing/ recording of the last record.
Whatever. Whenever they eventually decide to do a new album, if ever, then I’ll be interested in them again.
Riley, we cover Filter. Just not much news on them, they’ve been doing shows but not many setlists come out. They’re supposed to have a new album coming out though later this year, when that happens we’ll report on it.
Wtf Dean? What happened to putting out four more albums? I agree with someone above, i just hope he was having a bad day and talking nonsense. Idk that Scott wanted to change the sets either. Fuck the radio fans, i want to hear MC5,Army Ants,I Got You,Fast As I Can,and Coma. There is so much this band can do yet they only go for what’s “alright”. Would’nt it be awesome if they ended the Core setlist with “Only Dying”? I really hope Scott kicks the alcohol and ditches the Axl Rose attendance style. I also hope they put out a kick ass album, and change thier setlists to at the very least have 3 different songs each performance but i honestly don’t know anymore.
I’ll bet STP will eventually get so lazy that they’ll eventually start doing hologram tours…while they’re still alive………….and Scott will still show up late.
STP screwed them self by not having Brenden o Brien producing. This is why self titled felt like it was missing something. Scott has released more music in the past couple of years than anyone. From HIG double album, Xmas album, Covers album, self titled STP. This article sucked because it spins what Dean says into something untrue. This article deserves a bitch slap. Core20 could be a cool idea that never got off the ground because they were offered Epicenter and some festivals. If I see you at epicenter I’m going to kick your ass and post it here.
It sounds to me like the band is worn out, and that’s mainly due to Scott. His on again off again troubles have always jeopardized the band. They probably feel like they have to get it while they can until the next time he breaks down. It’s a band that really doesn’t communicate well to each other. Really sad. It’s amazing he’s still alive, but he seems lost to his demons. And the last album tanked commercially. They probably feel why bother if no one will listen? Bummer.
Unfortunately I don’t think we have any chance at all of hearing rare stuff like ‘Only Dying’ played live, infact a decent quality studio version of that has yet to surface which leads me to… The 20th anniversary deluxe version of Core, remastered with rarities etc, where is it?! It was mentioned briefly a couple years back (Seem to remember Kretz mentioned it). If they’re planning on releasing it they’d better hurry up, 2012 is almost over!
It really does seem like they’re just phoning it in these days, I wish they’d take a leaf out of PJ’s book and open up the vaults if they really don’t intend on making any new music.
On a side note it’s great to see the love for Filter on here. As Brett mentioned they are indeed working on a new album entitled ‘Gurney and the burning books’. I hope it harks back to the style and sound of the first 3 albums, I love those, in particilar ‘Title of Record’ which is probably in my top 5 albums of all time. I did enjoy some of the songs on ‘The Trouble with Angels’ but I felt it was a bit inconsistent.
Gurney and the Burning Books… that does sound intimidating. Doesn’t really sound like Filter though. I hope it does have that raw feel that Title of Record has but I do enjoy the emphasis of the industrial/electronic sounds they did a bit on the last album. It started to sound just a bit maintream-y (almost like Linkin Park) on Trouble with Angels
thats funny….ive seen stone temple pilots over ten times over the years, and the fact that they’re turning into a state fair grounds nostalgia act is the reason i wont see them anymore. i dont want to keep hearing the same set every night. thats lazy and weak. and i thought both of scott weilands solo albums smoked the last two STP records…especially the last one which was unlistenable.
Chris, this article spins nothing. Dean said next summer they want to do a Core tour.
STP IS STILL BETTER THAN SOUNDGARDEN OK?? TRUE ANGRY DUMB GRUNGE ROCK YOU KNOW?? SOUNDGARDEN IS HAPPY TO PUT OUT NEW ALBUM OF CORPRATE RADIO BUT STP KEEPING IT REAL WITH THE SONGS WE KNOW MEAN SOMETHING ABOUT ANGER AND PUNK AND SEX TYPE THINGS. WOOHOO!!! STP WILL YALWAYS BE BETTER THAN SOUNDGARDEN FROM NOW ON BECAUSE THEY KNOW WHAT TRUE GRUNGE FANS WANT TO HEAR AND THAT’S SIN AND DEAD AND BLOATED TO THE CORE…I DON’T WANT TO HEAR WEAKNESS OF NEW MUSIC IF IT CAN’T BE TRUE GRUNGE. AND FOR ALL YOU PEOPLE USING MY NAME ON HERE WELL YOU CAN SUCK CHRIS CORNELLS COCK WHILE I LICK WEILANDS BELLEND AND POUR WHIP CREAM ON HIS ASS BEFORE I PUT A CHERRY ON TOP! STP IN MY ASS FOREVER!!!!
glad mayan supports stp. he’s got some sense in him after all.
First of all ,this is one member opinion, not the whole deal. Secondly, I think they’re going through a period of “let’s give people what they want” something most of the bands are always reluctant to do cause that creates deep conflict when a band wants to evolve with some new music. They definitely took the easy way out. A pity, cause STP are, or were a great rock and roll band. The problem is Scott Weiland can’t sing live, besides their concerts are unappealing for the hardcore fans. They need to recover their hardcore fans! fuck little posers!
Mayan supports a Band that was/is (vice versa) great, BUT NOT BETTER THAN SOUNDGARDEN MAYAN!!! DUH??? There is a reason Soundgarden headlines HardRock Calling and Download Festival 2O12 + Lollapalooza 2010.
Dont get me wrong, STP is a flawless band…its just got a flawed guy singing. Its not his singing thats flawed, Its his habits.
Yeah that’s what your title says. STP to tour Core 20 next year! I hope you bring yor stupid ass sign to Epicenter so I can spot you out and bitch slap you. Nostalgia act my ass.
Well, Take A Load Off is a great song of their last album. I’m sur they’ve got more great (new) songs in them too.
Brett, I believe you meant to say “the overrated ‘Stone Temple Pilots’ from 2010.”
Always glad to help.
Besides Take a Load Off, and parts of Fast as I Can, their last album was a major disappointment, both in production and in songwriting. The bonus track Samba Mova is also an exception.
I know you disagree, Brett, but you also like Bush.
Samba Nova*
where is the core 20 deluxe edition? it would be so easy to put out, these guys are f’in lazy!!! put out the core 20 reissue, remaster core, put a live dvd in there of core era material, and put as a bonus cd the mighty joe young demo’s that we are all dying for!!! then start touring core front to back in late winter all the way through summer next year since core came out i think in september of 92, i believe september 25th actually but i might be off im just going by memory, and then next year after the core 20 tour start working on new material through out 2013, get scott in shape and totally clean and in 2014 in the spring put out the new album with a kickass lead single and start touring for that and include about 5 new album songs, 7 greatest hit songs and about 5 deep cut/rarities, then we are good to go, maybe i should be their manager, agree guys? stp has the power to make this happen!!!
They probably feel like they have to get it while they can until the next time he breaks down. It’s a band that really doesn’t communicate well to each other. Really sad. It’s amazing he’s still alive, but he seems lost to his demons.Writing blog
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