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April 9th, 2008
02:38 PM ET
Magic at the Stone Temple Pilots reunionA swarthy man in black pants and a ruffled shirt walked into the room. 
Scott Weiland and Dean DeLeo perform at the Stone Temple Pilots show Monday night.
 "Are you the fire eater?" asked the bass player of Stone Temple Pilots. "Yes. Are you Robert DeLeo?" replied Ted the Fire Eater. And that pretty much summed up the carnival atmosphere Monday night at Los Angeles’ Houdini Mansion, once the home of the famed magician, where a Fellini-esque assortment of contortionists, sword swallowers and waiters serving up hot dogs and churros set the stage for the return of the Stone Temple Pilots. But then everything surrounding the band has been a three-ring circus. Monday night's private event in Laurel Canyon officially announced STP's first national tour in eight years. They'd been broken up for five, after several years of alternately pumping out hits and trying to hold it together during Scott Weiland's well-publicized battle with drugs. In 2008, the mood backstage is quite different than it was during the Grammy-winning quartet's tumultuous heyday. Guitarist Dean DeLeo - who's struggled with his own demons - will notch his fourth year of sobriety in a few days. Their happy-go-lucky drummer, Eric Kretz, is even happier these days, with a wife and young child. In the meantime, Robert DeLeo's angelic two-year-old son, Duke, walked in, sporting a miniature peace-sign shirt. He serenaded the room with "It's a small world after all," perfectly on-pitch. His father groaned and mumbled something about how he'd better not grow up and become a singer. Weiland glanced over, unfazed. Outside, 300 radio contest winners and VIPs gathered in front of a platform draped with bunting. It looked like a life-sized marionette stage - a giant toy strangely nestled among the trees in the middle of a residential community. The band was scheduled to perform at 8:15 p.m. Just before 9, STP casually strolled onto the stage. Weiland spoke into the mic. "Sorry to keep you waiting - for five years," he said. They also apologized for Ted the Fire Eater, saying the fire marshal wouldn't allow him to do his thing. A sea of cell phone cameras immediately popped up as the reunited Stone Temple Pilots launched into the slow, psychedlic groove of 1994's "Big Empty." For the next 30 minutes, they presented faithful renditions of some of their biggest hits, including "Plush," "Lady Picture Show" and "Interstate Love Song." Weiland leaned into Dean's back during a guitar solo on one song; he draped an arm around Robert's shoulders during another. The set abruptly ended at 9:30 - a victim of the local noise ordinance. Amid chants of "S-T-P! S-T-P!," the four bandmates returned to the stage for a bow, their arms linked. Fans will just have to wait for their 65-date tour for a real encore. Like Ted the Fire Eater, Stone Temple Pilots are waiting for their chance to truly ignite once again. - Denise Quan, CNN Entertainment Reporter Check out Denise Quan's one-on-one interview with the Stone Temple Pilots on CNN Headine News and CNN.com this weekend. |
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I do like the way you have framed this specific issue and it does indeed offer me personally a lot of fodder for thought. Nevertheless, because of everything that I have seen, I really trust when the reviews stack on that folks remain on point and not start upon a tirade of the news of the day. Still, thank you for this superb point and though I do not agree with the idea in totality, I respect your perspective. sewa mobil murah surabaya
Don't waste your time or money on these worthless drug addicts. The y are liars and treat their fans like crap. They say that the Tampa concert was cancelled due to bad weather in Ft Lauderdale...I don't believe it. The weather was not that bad and the airport didnt have major delays. They tell us this crap after sitting and waiting for 4 hours for the show. (the show started at 7 and they made an announcement at abou 10:30)The opening act ( sounded like a dying cat) played for a grueling 2 hours and then everyone sat and waited until an anouncement was made. Of course it was made after they sold all the merchandise and drinks they could. STP lost a fan and probably about 5,000 more. I think Scott is a taking a page out of Axel Rose's book of how not to treat your fans. Keep it up and you will end up with none.
This is going to end badly. Weiland is a great talent, but as Velvet Revolver proved: some things never change.
I'm very happy to see them back and talk about the nicest guys. The De Leo brothers are the coolest and it was a pleasure working with them even though the fire marshal didn't let me do my fire manipulation.
To see these guys at that location on a perfect summer evening with a hand full of their nicest fans and industry guests and not to forget the incredible circus performers, L.A. party works, double dog dare events, Pinks Hot dogs, Red Bull, and KROQ topped off this big top show...
Can't wait till June at the Hollywood Bowl.
S-T-P Rocks!
What nobody is talking about is that grunge didn't start with bands like STP, it started with bands like The Minutemen, Black Flag and the Meat Puppets. Seattle was OK but it all started in the South Bay region of Los Angeles. With the SST bands. Soundgarden was an SST band back in the day. Better recognize...
Seth is young I guess. To never ever notice that the Beatles changed music..is nearsightedness at its worse. STP is a great band and will always have the "sawagger" factor, but to ignore what the Beatles or Oasis have done for music is simply ignorant.
ROCK ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Why would anyone want to listen to these dinosaurs? For the same reason people still listen to The Beatles... or Mozart.
What an inane comment.
You are All WRONG..Oasis was and still is the biggest band from that decade and a lot of these wanna be's owe Noel Gallagher their souls.
Thank God they're back. They are one of the greats. And with all the generic rock stinking up the radio these days, they are a definitely welcome back. If I could, I'd pay every DJ on the planet to play an STP song in place of bands like Nickel Back and Hinder, I'd do it. STP's songs are amazing. They sound great and they're written really well. Keep rockin' guys.
for those who really understand music, they'll know STP is not pearl jam's, AIC's, nor nirvana's copycat.. any person who says so is an idiot, and they'll be better of sticking with britney, 50 cent, or boyzone
they're a band with an identity, and they were making music like nobody else did in the world
all bands sound like those before them ... to say that pearl jam or mother love bone or even soundgarden were new and original when they came out never heard anything by the clash or how about a little know band like the doors and dont forget Jimi Hendrix or Black Sabbath. And those guys were influenced by people like john coltrane billy holiday and so many others. the first person on earth to pick up a stick and beat it against a tree with the intention of creating something new ... well now that person was original. Everyone else just followed behind in his footsteps...
Hey guys! A few of you have wondered about the fate of Velvet Revolver. Wellllll...it's turned into a real catfight between Weiland and VR! I spoke with Scott for CNN, and you can hear what he had to say in my "Soundcheck" piece this week:
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/showbiz/2008/04/11/quan.stone.temple.cnn?iref=videosearch
Enjoy!
– Denise
P.S. Here's a little tidbit for you that didn't make the piece...
On April 1st, (good one!) Velvet Revolver issued a statement in which Slash said Scott's "increasingly erratic on-stage behavior and personal problems have forced us to move on."
Scott released his own statement the following day, saying "the band hadn't gotten along on multiple levels for some time." He also cited the "multiple trips to rehab every member of the band had (with the exception of one member)" and said he was looking forward to his reunion with STP because they are "friends I have known my entire life, people who have always had my back." He finished out the statement with this post-script about VR's quest to find a new lead singer: "Good hunting lads, I think Sebastian Bach would be a fantastic choice."
Stay tuned, folks...I don't know about you, but I can hardly wait for the next chapter of this rock and roll saga to unfold! ; )
Stone Temple Pilots, Candlebox, Third Eye Blind, Bush, Gin Blossoms, Everclear....
those are STP's piers: bands that released their 1st record post 1992 and latched on to a sound created by others.
"Grundge" is a term made up by the media. please don't show your ignorance and use the term. STP fans say Grundge, Alice In Chains fans call it Rock n Roll.
Attention Pearl Jam Fans: Get off your high horse, You band us overrated as well. Not like STP; but Vedder lucked into that situation big time. they were already formed when he joined them, they would've been been regradless.
Temple Of The Dof & Mad Season arr far better records then anything Pearl Jam ever did.
Fact: before Pearl Jam release 1 record *(or anyone heard or Nirvana) Soundgarden had already released 4 (and a 5th 2 weeks later), and Alice In Chains had gone Gold.
STP was a pretty decent rock band, but it says more about the sorry state of music today, that people get so excited about their reunion. The popularity of a band like Nickelback is proof positive how bad things are. The last truly amazing band to come along was Nirvana.
By far my favorite band is back together. When people ask what band I feel is the greates of all time, I say without any hesitation...STP. I hope they decide to make a stop in Myrtle Beach, SC where I live. I've been waiting for this since the day the band broke up and I hope they can put out at least 5 new albums without all the drama from years in the past!
Saw them in '96 – remains one of the top 3 concerts I've ever attended (of which there are several hundreds). Hope they still have the magic.
Snap! I LOVE STP!!! I'm so excited that they're back together. More excited about them getting back together than I was about NKOTB!
Never was a big STP fan but they did some good music, I hope Wieland can keep clean. And now that Chris Cornell and Audioslave have parted ways, I'd love to see a Soundgarden reunion. Ditto with what's left of Alice. And the same for the Screaming Trees and Mudhoney. I can do without the heroin and flannels though...
Hey Bonk Bonk, why so bitter? I heard the New Kids on the Block are getting back together! I'm sure you've already got seats for that! The only thing they'll be handing out there is Clearasil- should be perfect for you...
They were horrible and cheesy. I saw them as an opening act once at the Trocadero in Philly, like 1993 maybe. The guitarist was strutting around, walking backwards, got tangled in the cord and fell backwards into his amps. After the song, the crowd was cheering 'don't trip!'.
This is the greatest music news in a long time. I have chills thinking about seeing them for the first time since 1999.
God, I wish we could bring back Layne!
Isn't STP an oil treatment?
STP and Candlebox are back!!!!
Way to rehash 90's overhyped and overplayed crap.
Where's Third Eye Blind when you need them?
Wow...I never thought they'd get back together. They're not the Beatles, but they're music reminds me of my carefree and extremely fun high school and early college years. I'm 30 now, and STP's songs really take me back to a much more innocent time in my life. A new album would be really intriguing. Kudos, STP, and welcome back!
Word, STP is one of my all time favs. I grew up to them! So is Velvet Revolver done?
Good god, I give em props for taking the time to do so, but now the people pretty much want the music to be up to date, instead of going back and listening to the old-school stuff. Well, I guess since they are of celebrity status, they can do whatever the f*** they want. So f*** it Im done.
Hell YEAH!!!!
Saw the 1st tour and the last tour – can't wait for this one!
They sounded great...but Weiland was drinking a beer during the interview. No bueno.
Hope it lasts.
there is an audience for them in addition to their original fans. An audience who's hungry for emotionally charged rock by real artists playing real musical instruments! They are authentic , souful, raw and imperfect. They are true to themselves, I hope they don't care what anyone says and just have a rockin good time. People will appreciate they are not polished and not a product produced for the masses by corporate labels. VIVA STP!
Why do the crappy bands always reunite? Now if only we could get Hole back together too and tour with STP, then the world could finally be a peace with itself. I can see it now – Monsters of Crack '08!
Sounds good to me! Stoked to see STP back in the saddle again..........
Pffffft!
Who cares. Another druggie, sobriety, re-invention story. There is much more better music and life positive artists out there than STP/ Scott Weiland- in spite of their artistic greatness. Been there done that. Yawn.
grundge bands are the new Metro Glam, , , its hip, looky i wear a suit and have a circus glam, flannel wont be back cause thats sooo not Metro Glam!!
Hey bonk bonk, I am huge AIC fan and saw them open for Velvet Revolver last summer and the new lead singer sounds exactly the same as Layne Stayley...I closed my eyes for parts and had goose bumps thinking it was Layne on stage...it was truly amazing!
Awesome to see STP back together...maybe a reunion festival of STP, Soundgarden, and RATM for the kids today who listen to all this over produced crap!
did someone actually say grunge is back? how stupid are you?
stp were never grunge...pure california rock & roll.
I still remember hearing "Core" the first time, on a road trip out to visit a potential college. A friend of mine knew I was into Pearl Jam and said "You gotta hear this." A magical night.
Bonk Bonk, that is some funny stuff! LMAO
OVERRATED!!!!
Scott Weiland isn't ready for another big tour. We are most likely seeing the beginning of the end for Weiland. He will overdose on a heroin/cocaine speedball at some point in the tour.
I wish the best for Weiland and the band, but Scott has never gotten the help that he truly needs.
Bonk . . . give it a break. STP rules and so does music. I don't have to agree with someone about everything about someone to enjoy one part of them. If it were otherwise, I'd have to hate MLK just because he cheated on his wife a couple times. I like STP's music, and I don't care about anything else about them, nor do i know if it.
the planets are alined and i couldnt be happier. STP is so much better together than Velvet Revolver or Talk Show. SCOTT~ welcome back love!
How about giving these guys a little credit. STP is one of the best bands to ever roll out from the whole grundge/Seattle scene and now they've confronted their demons and reformed to make magic again . The roads they've all been down are not easy roads by any means. Seeing them back on stage and ready to tour again makes me appreciate and respect them more now than ever before. It's hell on earth to deal with some of the issues they have confronted and overcame; and until some of you naysayers have the chance or the guts to what they have done I don't think any of yo uhave the right to try and rain in their parade. I say Welcome Back STP.....keep rocking!!
I still remember the DeLeo brothers from my high school! Glad to see they are surviving.
So whats the fate of Velvet Revolver? Saw Scott with them and they were great! Guess we'll just have to wait and see.
Britt: Weilland has been clean for a long time. don't you read.
Who cares? The important thing is now we are set for a GnR reunion. Now that would rock!
I remember when Core came out. I actually bought the tape and listened to it a few hundred times before it died and I bought a CD player.
Hopefully Scott Wieland won't screw this up.
Bonk Bonk – I'm all for resurrecting Mr. Staley from the dead as well... A zombie fronted Alive In Chains would most assuredly ROCK. But we would need the power of Greyskull... or maybe Jeebus.
After Staley you better believe we're bringing Ol' Dirty back. ODB-4-ETERNITY...
Stay clean Scott! Do you have a death wish? Saw you at Red Rocks years ago. Hope you're around long enough to pump out much more great music...
Excellent. Now we can look forward to the Soundgarden reunion, and maybe they'll dig up Layne Staley and get AIC back on the road, too. Grunge is back, let's all get some heroin and buy some flannel.
Like others who have commented I grew up with STP and Core is still my favorite album. This is great news and I hope to see them live in Atlanta!!
Don't you have to be gone for like twenty years to really justify a come back tour? I mean some bands wait five years between albums just to get the creative juices flowing and it's not a big deal.
Okay so what happens with Velvet Revolver now?
I liked STP when they were going strong but I hate to see VR go away too.
Stone Temple Pilots were the bottom of the post-Nirvana barrel when they were new, ripping off their contemporaries like Pearl Jam ("Plush") and Alice in Chains ("Sex Type Thing"). Maybe they sound better to you guys now given the sorry state of "rock" music (Nickelback, Three Doors Down, etc.), but c'mon—this is the least-needed reunion since the Spice Girls.
Oh leave the man alone. Everybody deserves a second chance. You deserve a second chance, Britt. I deserve a second chance. Scott is no different from either of us.
While this is great news... I'm counting the days until speedball post-mortem.
I can,t wait to see them again. The best show that you will ever see. I am jacked.
This is a band that should stay dead. Scott Weiland is a singer without his own style. It was evident with Core that he originally wanted to be Eddie Vedder. Then he developed more of a nasal tone with Purple, which was nothing more than his attempt to mimic Kurt Cobain in the same way that Puddle of Mudd does today. Musically, they are fantastic. But their music is dated and cliched now.
They are the least relevant of all of the early 90's big-name grunge/alternative bands, and the only reason they are still held up in high regard today is because they are just about the big act from this era that has a singer that didn't die-and I am surprised that hasn't happened to Weiland. He is a complete disaster-a complete mess.
This band sucks, has always sucked, and will always suck. i wonder how many Pearl Jam songs they will rip off for their new album. It's been 5 years they have lots to choose from. One more thing if this band influenced you to get into music, you seriously need to stop shopping at FYE and start digging into some old school punk, rockabilly, psychobilly, and rock and roll for that matter because your musical taste is about as flavorful as tree bark. Maybe the idiot lead singer will kill himself this go around and spare us all of the screaming into the bullhorn because he cant sing nonsense. dude is in a band with one of the greatest guitarists in the world and leaves because he's scared the drummer is going to beat him up? Weiland is a joke always has been and always will be. the Kids of Whitney High (research it of Ipecac records) are better than this band, and all of those kids are retarded. i hope this STP (suck the penis) thing is over quickly!
Cool, but now what's gonna happen to the other band? Or did I miss something?
The big question is whats to come of Velvet Revolver. Even though Weiland was an excellent replacement , the gel wasn't there like when he fronted S.T.P. (lol- Slash) The same goes for Army of Anyone(S.T.P.) with Patrick from Filter as the frontman. So maybe it's time for the original bands to reunite........Which means "Yes" Axl returning to Guns n' Roses for a tour before he wastes all away.
i think its cooler news that PRINCE will be headlining Coachella!
I am so psyched that STP is back! I have been loving them since the Core album. I've seen just about every tour that they've done and plan to see this one as well. Thank you STP for your wonderful and inspirational music. You will forever be in my heart!!!
this band is waaaaaaaaay over-rated. they got famous on the backs of Alice In Chains, Nirvana, Peall Jam, and a bunch of other bands who paved the way. these guys have no originality (especially CORE). Sex Type Thing: AIC rip off. Plush: Pearl Jam ripoff. Creep: Nirvana ripoff. Weiland even used to try to look like Layne Stayley (and make Vedder faces).
get Soundgarden back together, then we'll get excited. But STP is the Limp Bizkit or Poison or their generation; bands that copied others styles too make a $ and break big with no regard for originality or intergrity.
I think they're more excited by the public; if Velvet Revolver has trouble selling 10,000 tickets to a show, how many can STP sell? maybe half that. sure Radio Festivals will be excited, but how many would shell out $50 just them?
what a bunch of has beens - i can't believe anyone would actually still go see these guys much less pay for a ticket - they were pearl jam rip offs then, and they haven't done anything to change my mind in that regard - they are just uninspired hacks who are coming back to make money off the masses of people still gullible enough to find their "music" interesting -
I really like STP too, but I just have a gut feeling that Scott Weiland will f*#k this up like he has everything else in his life.
S T P ! S T P ! S T P ! S T P ! S T P ! S T P !
I Love this Band. Fave of the 90s and maybe any other decade.
Some music I listen to now and again but if I put STP in I know
Im going to love the whole CD. Great to see them back
Is Velvet Revolver Caput?
When will popular music again be as interesting as it was in the 90s? Who would seriously pick Nickelback or Britney over STP or Pearl Jam? I can't wait to see these guys at Red Rocks this summer!!!
Glad they are back, I just hope that the don't self-destruct again. Scott Weiland looks sooo different, like walking dead from years of heroin abuse. I am sure it will be great if they can keep it together.
Don't get too excited. This too will implode like everything Scott has ever touched.
Scott Weiland is a great singer, but his life is still ruled by his addictions. I love STP, but this is doomed to fail and unless
Mr. Weiland can face his issues, he wil continue to self destruct.
He needs to be in a live in rehab, not touring or this may not end well.
STP should stay retired. A Nirvana/Pearl Jam tribute band was useless back in the day; now that there are many such tributes, it's even more worthless.
I still remember when i bought Core, it was and still remains one of my favorite albums. I grew up with STP and i am glad that they are once again back and making music again, neither Scott Weiland or the rest of the band ( when they formed Talk Show) ever had as much success as they had with each other. Some musicians thrive together and i think that this is the case with ST.
Hell yes! Kansas city June 7th! Trippin on a Hole in a Paper Heart baby.
Sounds like a snooze of a concert to me. Why would anyone still want to listen to these dinosaurs of rock when there's soooo many more interesting CURRENT bands playing live shows these days?
STP is BACK!!!! you know, these guys changed my life, I think they did for alot of other people too...actually we know they did. They've inspired a slew of musicians including myself...hell I got into music because of 'Core' their debut album.
Despite all the problems they had, as a band and personally, they have always made some really great music, never going back and always moving forward with their sound bringing into whatever era or time they were in and being contempories time and time again.
I hope they tour and and I hope they play some newer songs too as they for some reasons stick with Core and Purple all the time...I think it's safe to say they have enough fans to really know all the songs...c'mon let's hear some 'And So I Know' guys!!! 😉
Matt Romero
long time STP fan and singer for Us Versus Them (UVT)
WOOOHOOO! They're back and I'm PUMPED