Stone Temple Pilots is an American rock band that originally ran in the 1990s and early 2000s, with a reunion tour slated for the summer of 2008, consisting of Scott Weiland , brothers Robert and Dean DeLeo, and Eric Kretz. The reunion tour has been confirmed to kick off at the Rock on the Range festival in May. The band's five albums have sold over 17.5 million copies in the United States alone and over 30 million albums worldwide. The band had fifteen top ten singles on the Billboard rock charts, including six #1's, and one #1 album on the pop charts . In 1994, the band won a Grammy for "Best Hard Rock Performance" for their song "Plush". Stone Temple Pilots were also ranked at #40 by VH1 on the 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock list.In 2003, the band released the greatest hits compilation Thank You. Around this time, band members began going their separate ways. Since the band's demise, Weiland has moved on to become the frontman of Velvet Revolver with former members of Guns N' Roses. The DeLeo brothers formed the band Army of Anyone with Richard Patrick, of the band Filter. Army of Anyone released its self-titled debut album in 2006. Kretz founded Bomb Shelter Studios in Los Angeles.
In January 2008, Weiland has recently stated that a Stone Temple Pilots reunion should be expected "in the coming months."[4] Velvet Revolver guitarist Slash confirmed the reunion by telling Billboard.com on January 25, 2008 that STP will be playing shows this summer.
Stone Temple Pilots can trace its beginnings to a Black Flag concert in Long Beach, where Scott Weiland met Robert DeLeo. "It was one of those weird things. You get into a heavy discussion with a total stranger, and you discover that both of you are seeing the same girl." When the girl left town, Weiland and DeLeo moved into her vacated apartment. Immediately, Weiland and DeLeo formed a band, calling it Mighty Joe Young. The Mighty Joe Young Demo displays Weiland's punk rock inclinations and DeLeo's hard rock aspirations. Seeing the band's potential, drummer Eric Kretz joined the band.
Soon after, Robert DeLeo's brother, Dean DeLeo, decided to play guitar in the band, completing the quartet. During the recording, they received a call from their lawyer who informed them that there was a blues man who had already claimed the name Mighty Joe Young. They changed the band's name to Shirley Temple's Pussy and performed under this name in San Diego, but then changed the name again due to record label pressure. They liked the initials STP and eventually settled on the name Stereo Temple Pirates, but just prior to their first record it was suggested to change Stereo to Stone, and Pirates to Pilots, and they became officially Stone Temple Pilots in 1992 towards the end of the "Core" sessions.
Stone Temple Pilots released their third album, Tiny Music... Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop, in April 1996. Fans again showed their support of the band when the album debuted at number four on the U.S. charts. Critical reception, however, was mostly negative. David Browne of Entertainment Weekly wrote: "None of it ... has a distinct personality." Rolling Stone was surprised at "the clattering, upbeat character of the music" given Weiland's much-publicized run-ins with drugs and the law.
However, Weiland's drug addiction again became a serious obstacle to the band's success. The band was unsuccessful in being able to fully tour in support of Tiny Music.... A short tour in the fall of 1996 ensued in the U.S. but final dates at the end of December in Hawaii had to be cancelled. The band issued a statement saying that: "[Weiland] has become unable to rehearse or appear for these shows due to his dependency on drugs. He is currently under a doctor's care in a medical facility." Continue to read...
