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Stone Temple Pilots (abbreviated STP) was an American rock band in the 1990s and early 2000s, consisting of Scott Weiland (vocals), brothers Robert (bass guitar, vocals) and Dean DeLeo (guitar), and Eric Kretz (drums, percussion).

STP's five albums have sold over 17 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 (1994's Purple). STP won the 1994 Grammy for "Best Hard Rock Performance" for their song "Plush". STP was also ranked at #40 by VH1 on the 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock list. In addition to their original material, they have also covered songs by Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, Pink Floyd, The Doors, and The Beatles. These bands were some of the groups cited by the band as its influences.

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.

History

Formation

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 (abbreviated STP) and performed under this name in San Diego, but then changed the name again due to record label pressure. They liked the initials STP (from the STP Motor Oil Company logo) 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 (which sounded imposing) to Pilots, and they became officially Stone Temple Pilots in 1990.

Core

Stone Temple Pilots built a fan base in San Diego strip clubs in order to steer clear of the Los Angeles corporate music scene and build up their technique and following in the clubs. In 1992, Stone Temple Pilots signed with Atlantic Records. Their first album, Core, was released in September 1992, producing several big hits including "Sex Type Thing", "Plush", and "Creep".

In spite of often hostile reviews from critics, Stone Temple Pilots continued to gain fans. Bringing their music to the people, they toured for four weeks opening for Rage Against the Machine, then played a forty-date tour supporting heavy metal band Megadeth. 1993 brought continued success on the road, with the band headlining a two-and-a-half-month U.S. tour. Two sold-out shows in New York's Roseland Ballroom featured Stone Temple Pilots in full KISS make-up (causing some critic to dismiss the band as glam-rockers), in honor of their childhood heroes. Around this time, Stone Temple Pilots also performed at benefits for pro-choice organizations.

The loyalty of the band's fans and the animosity of its critics came to a head in January 1994, when the band was simultaneously voted Best New Band by Rolling Stone's readers and Worst New Band by the magazine's music critics. The tie was broken the next month, when Stone Temple Pilots won Favorite Pop/Rock New Artist and Heavy Metal/Hard Rock New Artist at the American Music Awards. On March 1, 1994, at the Grammy Award ceremonies, "Plush" won the band its first Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance with Vocal.

Purple

In the spring of 1994, Stone Temple Pilots returned to the studio to work on their second album, Purple. Completed in less than a month, Purple debuted at number one in the United States upon its release in June 1994. The radio-friendly "Interstate Love Song" quickly became a big hit, spending a record-setting fifteen weeks atop the album rock tracks chart. Other hits from the album included "Vasoline" and "Big Empty" (the latter also being featured on the soundtrack to The Crow movie). By October, just four months after its release, Purple had sold three million copies. Stone Temple Pilots had achieved across-the-board popularity.

Although the band's success continued into 1995, it would not be a good year for the band. Two weeks of recording session work had to be scrapped in February, and in May, Weiland was arrested for possession of heroin and cocaine in Pasadena, California, when police found the illegal drugs in his wallet. Facing up to three years in prison, Weiland pled not guilty, and a trial date was set the next year.

Following Weiland's arrest, the Pilots separated. Weiland formed a temporary side unit called the Magnificent Bastards, which contributed a song to the movie soundtrack of Tank Girl and a cover song to a John Lennon tribute album. By October 1995, however, the band regrouped with Weiland to begin recording its third album.

Tiny Music... Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop

STP 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 unable to launch a tour to promote the album and even had to cancel previously announced dates. Following the release of Tiny Music, the band issued a statement saying that: " 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."

Weiland's entry into a drug rehabilitation program was not voluntary. In April 1996, he was ordered by a Pasadena judge to spend up to six months under 24/7 medical supervision. After Weiland completed five months in a drug treatment program, the charges of cocaine and heroin possession were dropped in October 1996. Weiland's 1996 stay in a rehabilitation center proved unsuccessful and in January 1997 he checked himself into another drug treatment center. This resulted in another canceled tour.

Despite their fans' loyalty, the band's patience with Weiland seemed to be coming to an end. Guitar Player Magazine reported in May 1997 that the Stone Temple Pilots would honor their five-album recording contract, but they expected the next album to be recorded without Weiland, with a new sound and a new name.

No.4 and Shangri-La Dee Da

In September 1997, while Stone Temple Pilots were on hiatus, Weiland released a solo album, 12 Bar Blues, while the remaining members of STP formed the one-time band Talk Show, with former Ten Inch Men singer Dave Coutts. Neither release did well commercially.

Stone Temple Pilots soon reunited, releasing No.4 in 1999. Singles released from the album included "Down" and "No Way Out", but they scored one of their biggest hits since the success of Core and Purple with the single "Sour Girl". "Sour Girl" was inspired by Weiland's failing relationship with his then wife, and peaked at number 78 on the Billboard Hot 100. The popular music video for "Sour Girl" featured actress Sarah Michelle Gellar. Shortly after No.4's completion, Weiland was sentenced to a year in a Los Angeles county jail for violating probation.

During the summer of 2001, the band released their fifth album, Shangri-La Dee Da, which produced two modest rock radio hits, including "Days of the Week". It would be their last, as it ended their contractual obligations, and the group disbanded after their fall 2002 tour. On November 11, 2003, Atlantic released a greatest hits album, Thank You, with a bonus DVD. The album included a previously unreleased single called "All in the Suit That You Wear". Although the band has not had a platinum record since No.4, their music is still played regularly on radio stations.

Future

The DeLeo brothers' most recent band, Army of Anyone, released its debut album on November 14, 2006. It features Ray Luzier, a session drummer, and Richard Patrick of the industrial rock band Filter. Weiland formed Velvet Revolver along with former Wasted Youth guitarist Dave Kushner, and former Guns N' Roses members Slash, Matt Sorum, and Duff McKagan. The band has released two albums, Contraband (2004) and Libertad (2007).

In October 2004, "Plush" appeared in the popular video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Additionally, Guitar Hero II, released in November 2006, features the band's song "Trippin' On a Hole in a Paper Heart" as a playable track. The song "Vasoline" is featured in both the game Rock Band and in the PlayStation 2 karaoke game SingStar Amped.

In 2006, VH1 posted a Decades Rock Episode dedicated to Scott Weiland, and the guests included Velvet Revolver and Stone Temple Pilots. This seemed to be a reunion of the Stone Temple Pilots. It later turned out that this was all a hoax. Robert DeLeo said he didn't even know about this in an interview.

When asked in a late 2006 interview whether he foresaw Stone Temple Pilots ever getting back together, Scott Weiland cryptically commented: "Every shelf needs two bookends." Robert DeLeo also commented regarding an STP reunion around the same time saying: "I never say never. I don't think there was ever a specific end to Stone Temple Pilots."

Army of Anyone went on indefinite hiatus in May after Richard Patrick announced he was working on a new Filter album, meaning that the band could possibly be defunct. Tensions have also been arising in Velvet Revolver, with drummer Matt Sorum discussing in Rolling Stone how although he and Scott happen to wear similar wristbands it is simply coincidence since he is not "homosexual". He also stated that: "I don't think the world's fucking biding their time, waiting for Stone Temple Pilots to reform." Sorum said that earlier this year when tensions were arising between the band he feared that Scott Weiland would leave Velvet Revolver to reform Stone Temple Pilots due to his reconciliation with the DeLeo brothers, but so far that appears to be unfounded.

Scott spoke fondly of the DeLeos and their Army of Anyone album in a recent issue of Metal Edge, saying: "I think anything they do is great. I love hearing their chord progressions, Dean's textures and Robert's bass lines. It's refreshing to hear those sounds again after not hearing them for a while. I think they're awesome guys. We've definitely worked out our issues with each other."

Discography

Albums

Charting Songs

Music Videos

• "Sex Type Thing" (1992)
• "Creep"(1993)
• "Plush" (1993)
• "Wicked Garden" (1993)
• "Vasoline" (1994)
• "Interstate Love Song" (1994)
• "Big Bang Baby" (1996)
• "Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart" (1996)
• "Lady Picture Show" (1996)
• "Down" (1999)
• "Sour Girl" (2000)
• "No Way Out" (2000)
• "Days of the Week" (2001)
• "Hello, It's Late" (2001)
• "Revolution" (2001)

Awards / Nominations

• Won:1993 | MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist (Plush)
• Nominated:1993 | MTV Video Music Award for Best Alternative Video (Plush)
• Won:1994 | American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock New Artist
• Won:1994 | Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance (Plush)
• Nominated:1994 | MTV Video Music Award for Best Editing (Vasoline)
• Nominated:1995 | American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Band/Duo/Group
• Nominated:1995 | American Music Award for Favorite Heavy Metal/Hard Rock Artist
• Nominated:1995 | MTV Video Music Award for Best Group Video
• Nominated:1995 | MTV Video Music Award for Best Hard Rock Video (Interstate Love Song)
• Nominated:1995 | MTV Video Music Award for Best Alternative Video (Interstate Love Song)
• Nominated:1995 | MTV Video Music Award for Best Cinematography (Interstate Love Song)
• Nominated:1997 | American Music Award for Favorite Alternative Artist
• Nominated:1997 | American Music Award for Favorite Heavy Metal/Hard Rock Artist
• Nominated:1997 | Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance (Trippin' On A Hole In A Paper Heart)
• Nominated:2000 | MTV Video Music Award for Best Cinematography (music video for Sour Girl)
• Nominated:2000 | Billboard Music Video Award for Best Modern Rock Clip of the Year (music video for Sour Girl)
• Nominated:2001 | Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance (Down)

See also

• Velvet Revolver
• Army of Anyone
• List of best-selling music artists
• List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Mainstream Rock chart

References

1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Stone Temple Pilots". All Music Guide. Retrieved 2005-06-13.
2. http://www.bombshelterstudios.com/

External links

• Official Website
• Stone Temple Pilots MySpace Site
• Unofficial site STP

• Articles lacking sources from April 2007
• American rock music groups
• Grammy Award winners
• Grunge groups
• Hard rock groups
• 1990s music groups
• California musical groups
• San Diego musical groups
• Musical groups disestablished in 2002
• Musical groups established in 1990
• Musical groups with siblings
• Quartets
• American alternative rock music groups