{"id":10758,"date":"2018-03-15T10:00:45","date_gmt":"2018-03-15T14:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.altwire.net\/?p=10758"},"modified":"2023-12-06T06:39:45","modified_gmt":"2023-12-06T11:39:45","slug":"robert-deleo-stone-temple-pilots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/altwire.net\/de\/robert-deleo-stone-temple-pilots\/","title":{"rendered":"Stone Temple Pilots: Ein ehrliches Gespr\u00e4ch mit Robert DeLeo"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019ll never forget the first time I heard a Stone Temple Pilots<\/strong><\/a> record. Being a seven-year-old kid in 1993, I remember walking out to the garage and finding my father rocking out, completely uninhibited, to the grungy, grimy, and exuberant sounds of the band\u2019s Core <\/em>record.<\/h4>\n

The energy of Eric Kretz<\/strong>, Robert DeLeo<\/a><\/strong>, Dean DeLeo<\/strong> and the raw intensity of Scott Weiland<\/strong>\u2019s vocals was nothing like my young ears had ever heard before, and it\u2019s safe to say that Stone Temple Pilots<\/a><\/strong> were responsible for my love of rock music and introduction to the grunge world. While bands like Linkin Park<\/a><\/strong> would go on to fine-tune that love of rock further, Stone Temple Pilots<\/strong> were the \u2018milk in my musical bottle\u2019 (to borrow a phrase Robert DeLeo himself uses to describe his love of Aerosmith<\/strong>).<\/p>\n

My father and I would continue to share that love of Stone Temple Pilots<\/strong> over the years, going on to watch the late Chester Bennington<\/a><\/strong> of Linkin Park<\/strong> take the stage as the band\u2019s new front man in 2013. It proved to be a watershed moment that would be directly responsible for the creation of AltWire, and the content you\u2019re reading today.<\/p>\n

Stone Temple Pilots’ influence on me and this website is undeniable, and after the untimely passing of my father in 2016, their music would take on a new meaning, providing a link to the memories shared with my father, bonding together over their music for almost 30 years.<\/p>\n

Of course, Stone Temple Pilots<\/strong> are no strangers to sudden loss themselves. After the tragic passing of original vocalist Scott Weiland<\/strong> in December 2015, and the suicide of second vocalist Chester Bennington<\/strong> in July 2017, the boys have gone through more tragedy and heartbreak than most bands will experience in their lifetimes. Heartbroken but resilient, the original three remaining members have forged a new path together with third vocalist Jeff Gutt<\/strong>, and are about to release one of their strongest albums to date. Check out our review of their latest record here<\/a>, and read our interview with Robert DeLeo<\/strong> below:<\/p>\n

AW: First off, thanks for taking the time out to speak with me today. I know the last year has been really difficult for you at times, and I know I speak for all of us at AltWire when I say we\u2019ve been thinking of you guys. With that I just wanted to start off by asking you how you\u2019ve been feeling and how you\u2019re doing? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Robert DeLeo \/ Stone Temple Pilots:<\/strong> Thank you, that\u2019s very nice of you! I was just talking about this to someone, and there\u2019s definitely a difference in life between the past, present and future. The past has definitely proven that. As well as the present and the future. I feel like a pinball in a pinball machine, and it\u2019s been an interesting ride. I definitely cherish my past. When I sit down and think about it it\u2019s kind of mind boggling, you know?<\/p>\n

But I look at the present and things are really busy right now, and I\u2019m thankful for that. I\u2019m thankful that we\u2019re going to get a chance to – in the near future – go out and perform songs that we wrote 30 years ago. It\u2019s a fun time right now and we\u2019re all really excited about going out and performing these songs. Things kind of take on a new different meaning as time goes by. Performing songs off of Core<\/em> and even through Scott\u2019s life, they definitely take on a new meaning now.<\/p>\n

AW: I’m really excited for the future of the band. Jeff sounds great! You guys have said in previous interviews that Jeff came in on the last day of auditions.  Were you guys mulling over several candidates before Jeff came in, or was Jeff the only vocalist that truly hit all the targets you were aiming for?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Robert DeLeo \/ Stone Temple Pilots:<\/strong> There definitely were some people who came in and who were great singers, but this person, whoever it was that we were to hire, they had a very big task in front of them. Not only being able to perform songs that were performed by one of the best, Scott, but it was also about looking ahead and making this new record and whatever records we were to make afterwards, and forging their own path.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an interesting situation, not only talent-wise but also psychologically, and there\u2019s a lot that goes along with that. So it was the person who was best prepared for that. That\u2019s where we all thought Jeff was the man for the job, so to speak.<\/p>\n

AW: What would you say really sold the band with Jeff\u2019s audition? Was there something that really stood out right from the start?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Robert DeLeo \/ Stone Temple Pilots:<\/strong> He came in and it was his personality and who he was as a person. That\u2019s the first thing. You\u2019ve got to think: you\u2019re going to be on a bus and traveling with this person like family. It\u2019s got to be someone who has had some experience with that and who has been on stage and who has been in these scenarios and situations.<\/p>\n

Also, they have to be able to sing [laughs] and be a genuinely great singer, which is who Scott was. He was a genuinely great singer and these songs that we have written, and these songs that we are writing; it demands someone who can sing<\/em>.<\/p>\n

AW: You worked on and recorded several songs with Chester in 2015. Were any of those songs re-purposed for the new album with Jeff? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Robert DeLeo \/ Stone Temple Pilots:<\/strong> There were, but they were kind of ideas and they didn\u2019t really get too far. Working on a new record with Chester was kind of a notion and it didn\u2019t really go too far before he said he could no longer do STP. We got together and played some ideas and that was about it. So these ideas were sitting there for a couple of years.<\/p>\n

AW: Branching off of that, over the years there have been a few projects, performances, or releases that never came to fruition. What was the one you were most disappointed not to see released?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Robert DeLeo \/ Stone Temple Pilots:<\/strong> Hmm, I don\u2019t know. I think everything was released, and whether it did well or not in people\u2019s eyes is really out of your control, you know? I\u2019m very proud of the Army of Anyone<\/strong> record that we made and I\u2019m very proud of the Talk Show <\/strong>record, and all the STP stuff. I think we\u2019ve released the best of what we have, and to see a song come from a little idea in your head to an actual song, it\u2019s like building a house.<\/p>\n

You build it and you hope that someone eventually likes the house and decides to live in it. That\u2019s the way music is for me. People live in music and that\u2019s the beauty of it. I live in music and it\u2019s a huge part of my life, both as a fan and as a listener too, and not only just as a writer and a performer of it. <\/strong><\/p>\n

AW: In listening to the record, I felt \u2018Finest Hour\u2019 in many ways lyrically seemed like it could be about Chester or Scott. Am I correct in my interpretation of the lyrics and did the loss of your former bandmates factor lyrically into the album? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Robert DeLeo \/ Stone Temple Pilots:<\/strong> Yes, it is. It\u2019s a serious nod and prayer to the people who are partly responsible for us being here. There are a lot of emotions put into this record and I think that Jeff did a great job coming up with things lyrically. We\u2019re really pleased with where he brought the song together as a whole, and there\u2019s definitely a sentiment there for Scott and Chester in \u2018Finest Hour\u2019.<\/p>\n

\"Robert
Photo Credit: Michelle Shiers<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

AW: Stone Temple Pilots as a band has had quite a storied history filled with colossal ups and tragic downs. Have you guys discussed making a proper full length documentary on the band’s history, with home footage and interviews? How likely will we see one in the near or distant future?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Robert DeLeo \/ Stone Temple Pilots:<\/strong> Yeah I think so! I think there have been talks about something like that, and I think we all need to get on the same page with that. There\u2019s definitely an aspect there where you have to pull your pants down to your ankles [laughs] to show everything and I think there\u2019s going to be a time and place for that and it\u2019s going to be an interesting story.<\/p>\n

It kind of goes back to what we originally were talking about when you and I first started talking here, which is looking back at life. It\u2019s been a very interesting journey and I wouldn\u2019t have expected the outcome with some of the things, and with others I would\u2019ve thought they were going to happen, and when it does you put that one away in your pocket and you just go, \u2018Wow!\u2019<\/p>\n

When somebody\u2019s not walking the earth anymore it\u2019s pretty plain and simply put that the person is gone. There\u2019s two people gone that had a lot of interest in this band, and it\u2019s sometimes hard to comprehend that.<\/p>\n

AW: That last thing you said makes me wonder. Given that you were fortunate enough not to only have one but TWO \u2018once in a lifetime\u2019 vocalists in your band, perhaps on a more positive note, what would you say were your fondest memories of both Chester and Scott?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Robert DeLeo \/ Stone Temple Pilots:<\/strong> Scott and I, we had a lot of the same interests. One of the greatest things I remember doing with Scott was not even musical. We shared a love for fishing and we both brought our fishing poles out on the road, and we spent a lot of time fishing together. That time right there was a really therapeutic time for both of us, and it was nice to be able to share that. I always look back at that time really fondly.<\/p>\n

As a vocalist, I don\u2019t think there\u2019s anything more pleasing than to write songs with someone and share in those emotions, because you don\u2019t really share that with a lot of people in your life. But those songs really connected with people, and even if they didn\u2019t it still would\u2019ve been gratifying, but the fact that they connected with people was pretty amazing.<\/p>\n

With Chester, he lived in the same community as me and I\u2019d see him at school and baseball games and everything, and it was more of a social thing outside of the band. Just the fact that he\u2019s not really here in this community anymore, it\u2019s a little surreal. He was always positive and smiling and in the \u2018solution of life\u2019 and not the \u2018battle of life\u2019. That\u2019s what I really remember about him and I\u2019ll always have those memories with me with both of those gentlemen.<\/p>\n

AW: I think it\u2019s appropriate here to say that both you, Chester and Stone Temple Pilots were responsible for one of my happiest memories with my dad as well. I was actually with him at the first ever full show of the STP with Chester tour in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. And it was so cool because my dad\u2019s favorite rock band was Stone Temple Pilots, and I\u2019ve always been a big fan of Linkin Park so when you two joined forces? My dad and I were on cloud nine that night.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Robert DeLeo \/ Stone Temple Pilots:<\/strong> Yeah man! That was a great show and a great way to start off the whole thing. I remember that show being a very good show, and everyone there having a really good time. That was a really great night!<\/p>\n

AW: Speaking of great nights, you recently performed alongside Dean at Joe Perry\u2019s record release show. How was it for you? Joe has been quoted as saying he felt the energy was overwhelming that night.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Robert DeLeo \/ Stone Temple Pilots:<\/strong> Well, that\u2019s what we\u2019re there for! I have many different ways of looking at performing with someone like Joe Perry<\/strong>, because Aerosmith<\/strong> was really the milk in my musical bottle. I not only listened to that music, but it was also a lifestyle for me.<\/p>\n

That music was greasy, it was dirty, it was loud and rockin\u2019 and that stuff came at a time in my life where I was hitting puberty and a lot of the records around that time were like sex ed. Steven Tyler<\/a><\/strong> really knew how to push it with his vocals and push it lyrically and push the limits a little bit.<\/p>\n

One of the songs that Joe discussed with me that he wanted me to play that Aerosmith<\/strong> never really did is a song called \u2018Pandora\u2019s Box\u2019. Joe kind of gave me the rundown of how that song was written and, you know, I\u2019m sure it\u2019s very equivalent to how you feel about Linkin Park<\/strong> and what they did for you.<\/p>\n

There were bands for me like Led Zeppelin<\/strong> and Aerosmith<\/strong> and all that stuff from that era – which a great era, you know. Aerosmith<\/strong> was up there teaching me a lot of things. To be able to play with the person who influenced and inspired me so much is my way of trying to give back the best I can to that individual.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an honor to be up there playing those songs that raised me. It makes me teary, it makes me sentimental, to think about how these guys are literally responsible for what I do today. To be able to perform with one of those people is a high honor.<\/p>\n

AW: I definitely can relate. I\u2019ve been inspired by the artists that I love to do some (albeit unsuccessful) attempts at creating music and it just makes me appreciate the amount of effort that goes into making these songs even more. Which STP song (either on this album or on previous records) would you say you feel was the hardest to get just right in the studio?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Robert DeLeo \/ Stone Temple Pilots:<\/strong> I think the hardest to kind of get together was our [first] self-titled record, the last record we made with Scott. We self-produced that, and Scott was recording vocals at another studio and sending them over. I don\u2019t think I ever want to play, perform or record a record like that ever again.<\/p>\n

That was probably the toughest because in just choosing the right key for the singer to sing in \u2013 well, Dean, Eric and I were simply guessing. So that was probably the most difficult record to put together, but it\u2019s still a pretty damn good record for four guys who weren\u2019t even in the same room together.<\/p>\n

AW: What will the set lists be like for the upcoming tour? Any chance of songs from the self-titled and High Rise EP<\/em> being played live in the future?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Robert DeLeo \/ Stone Temple Pilots:<\/strong> There\u2019s a lot<\/em> to choose from, and we start rehearsals in a couple of weeks. I think it\u2019s just going to be a matter of what is going to be strong points for us and really what\u2019s going to keep our interest in performing stuff. I definitely want to get in to some songs that we haven\u2019t performed.<\/p>\n

I think that would a great thing to go out and do some stuff that people really haven\u2019t heard. So yeah, all of the above! We\u2019re going to have album by album on the wall and we\u2019re just going to go through and it\u2019s pretty amazing the amount of songs we have now. It\u2019s kind of overwhelming!<\/p>\n

AW: Your fans have followed you guys on quite a crazy journey since you first began in the late 80\u2019s \/ early 90\u2019s. Before we finish, I\u2019d like to take the opportunity to ask if there\u2019s anything else you\u2019d like to say to your fans?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Robert DeLeo \/ Stone Temple Pilots:<\/strong> I just want to really thank everyone for giving us a listen. I hate the word \u2018fans\u2019 because I think the word is kind of condescending, but for \u2018people who really dig music\u2019, I wanted to thank them for following us along on this journey.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been a long and interesting journey and I\u2019ve said this before, but the thing about this record is that it has a lot of resilience to it. It\u2019s like here we are, after all we\u2019ve been through, and I think we have something to say still or else we wouldn\u2019t be doing it. So I wanted to thank people for following us along on that journey, because it means the world to us.<\/p>\n

LISTEN TO NEW STONE TEMPLE PILOTS BELOW:<\/strong><\/p>\n