Realistic

[skunkyfunk]

Realistically...

Robert & Dean are greedy fucks who are delusional to think that STP is just as good, regardless of who's singing for them.  Don't get me wrong, they're amazing musicians... but after SLDD their music feels like it has all but plateaued. Prior to that, their music would evolve & grow with each album. Now, it's just still "good" old classic DeLeos. There's no more growth or any new direction from their sound. They only want a "singer" (puppet) to perform their greatest hits 3-5x per week for steady income. That's the priority.  Not the band's legacy, new music, or any sort of growth.  It's all about milking the brand to death.

With that said...

• Their last chance of a Top 40 song was with Chester.
• After Scott, their fan base went down... Now after Chester, it will sink even lower.
• Without a reality show or anything to get people into the "singer search", people won't be as invested in this new band.
• Obviously they'll continue their never-ending "greatest hits tour" as "STP" (lol), but in much smaller venues, with a fraction of the sales that they even had with Chester.  Expect to see "STP" tickets going on sale, and on Groupon.
• Like most 80's & 90's acts... they'll eventually have to double up on concerts with another band from their era.  This way concert goers have TWO bands to see for $40; and they'll attract the nostalgia crowd who just wants to go out for the night, get away from their kids, and have a few drinks.  It's no longer about "STP" or the music... but a nostalgia based gimmick for people in their 30's & 40's.
• IF they manage to keep this singer... they can probably ride the nostalgia tour circuit away into obscurity.

Ya know, rejuvenation is the key to all that. Realistically-speaking, your beef against Bennington is the fact that he could have taken STP to a totally-different musical direction, but again, the core fans (no pun intended) beseech the catalog material, and doing them live is not easy.  Heck, even Scott himself matured well enough that his take on the old material sounded much different during his post-Velvet Revolver days.  Not bad, only different. 

And now since the singer position is vacant, that position will determine their future LARGELY. Like what Dr. Emmett Brown said to Marty in "Back to the Future", "Make it a good one!"

A hit song will vindicate us all.

[Hr308]

I am chiming in on this and saying that I would love to write 5 songs with the guys because # 1 I am 50 and mature enough to write a solid song enough with them and sing it with the pizazz and Umf they need to still sound relevant. I notice that a good bit of people who sing Scott's material are lacking the bottom end. Most seem to like to dabble in the whining area. You can't come across as a contender if you don't punch someone in the face. They need a bold attitude contender, someone who walks in commands the mic and isn't afraid to tell them , you know what I am hearing this right here and give it some direction. I seriously doubt they are going to take direction from someone who is 25 and timid. Grow some balls, step up to the mic and get your writing pants on.

[CoconutBackwards]

Realistically...

Robert & Dean are greedy fucks who are delusional to think that STP is just as good, regardless of who's singing for them.  Don't get me wrong, they're amazing musicians... but after SLDD their music feels like it has all but plateaued. Prior to that, their music would evolve & grow with each album. Now, it's just still "good" old classic DeLeos. There's no more growth or any new direction from their sound. They only want a "singer" (puppet) to perform their greatest hits 3-5x per week for steady income. That's the priority.  Not the band's legacy, new music, or any sort of growth.  It's all about milking the brand to death.

With that said...

• Their last chance of a Top 40 song was with Chester.
• After Scott, their fan base went down... Now after Chester, it will sink even lower.
• Without a reality show or anything to get people into the "singer search", people won't be as invested in this new band.
• Obviously they'll continue their never-ending "greatest hits tour" as "STP" (lol), but in much smaller venues, with a fraction of the sales that they even had with Chester.  Expect to see "STP" tickets going on sale, and on Groupon.
• Like most 80's & 90's acts... they'll eventually have to double up on concerts with another band from their era.  This way concert goers have TWO bands to see for $40; and they'll attract the nostalgia crowd who just wants to go out for the night, get away from their kids, and have a few drinks.  It's no longer about "STP" or the music... but a nostalgia based gimmick for people in their 30's & 40's.
• IF they manage to keep this singer... they can probably ride the nostalgia tour circuit away into obscurity.

Ya know, rejuvenation is the key to all that. Realistically-speaking, your beef against Bennington is the fact that he could have taken STP to a totally-different musical direction, but again, the core fans (no pun intended) beseech the catalog material, and doing them live is not easy.  Heck, even Scott himself matured well enough that his take on the old material sounded much different during his post-Velvet Revolver days.  Not bad, only different. 

And now since the singer position is vacant, that position will determine their future LARGELY. Like what Dr. Emmett Brown said to Marty in "Back to the Future", "Make it a good one!"

A hit song will vindicate us all.

They aren't AC/DC / Van Halen.


The comment about STP nostalgia shows on Groupon sounds like it will be pretty close to the truth imo.


How many kids born after 2000 even know who STP are? 

[Hr308]

Honestly I really don't think anyone on here should be bashing Robert and Dean to the point of calling them greedy fucks. That really isn't cool

[STEAK]

@STEAK I don't think the DeLeos are delusional at all; I think they're fully aware of everything you've said. But that doesn't make them greedy fucks. This is their band that they've spent their whole adult lives working on. It's their livelihood. They want to keep going because it's the best option to allow them not only the most financial stability but also the most happiness.

Can you honestly say you would do things differently if you were them because you were worried about the band's legacy? These guys have kids now. More STP success means better futures for their kids. A "cleaner" legacy won't do much for their kids.

Obviously this is my own interpretation, but IMO the DeLeos are pretty delusional. 

1. They trashed Scott and downplayed everything he did after they fired him... Then when he died, they pretended like none of that ever happened.  Meanwhile, Scott never spoke ill of them, and only wished them luck (even after he was fired, and they trashed him publicly for months.).

2. All their interviews with Chester, and AFTER Chester focused on "continuing" STP's legacy and "new music"... Meanwhile we all knew they didn't care about either of those things.  It was solely about touring their greatest hits show.

3. While "promoting" their singer search, the DeLeos acted like THEY were STP.  Robert, Dean, and Eric each played their individual role/instrument and collaborated with Scott who did more than the rest of them (which was why he was the "glue" that brought their songs together). While each of those three had one role, Scott had two-three roles.... Singer/Voice, Song writer, and Melody. That's like the LA Laker's starting lineup pretending they're just as good without Kobe.  Delusional. (Same reason their music outside of STP was stale and generic DeLeos style. Meanwhile Scott was able to create multiple sounds & styles with whomever he played with)

Ya know, rejuvenation is the key to all that. Realistically-speaking, your beef against Bennington is the fact that he could have taken STP to a totally-different musical direction, but again, the core fans (no pun intended) beseech the catalog material, and doing them live is not easy.  Heck, even Scott himself matured well enough that his take on the old material sounded much different during his post-Velvet Revolver days.  Not bad, only different. 

And now since the singer position is vacant, that position will determine their future LARGELY. Like what Dr. Emmett Brown said to Marty in "Back to the Future", "Make it a good one!"

A hit song will vindicate us all.

Where did I imply I had any sort of beef with Chester?   (I have none)

IMO Chester was the DeLeo's last chance. He's an amazing artist/singer, and if the greedy DeLeos didn't pigeonhole themselves into doing their tired old "greatest hits" setlist for years.... They could have had an AMAZING NEW BAND with Chester.

STP was (IS) dead. With Chester, they could have EASILY and successfully gone the supergroup route.  Instead, they relied on their old material for the sake of the nostalgia crowd, and Chester walked. Like you said, rejuvenation is the key. Chester gave them that rejuvenation, and the DeLeos fucked it up (again). They had this great artist and all they wanted him to do is play the role of Scott in THEIR version of STP.  As an artist, who would want to do that? (The Answer: A no-name/unknown singer with no other options that sounds good singing karaoke)

Honestly I really don't think anyone on here should be bashing Robert and Dean to the point of calling them greedy fucks. That really isn't cool

Don't care.

[seattlesound]

Where did I imply I had any sort of beef with Chester?   (I have none)

IMO Chester was the DeLeo's last chance. He's an amazing artist/singer, and if the greedy DeLeos didn't pigeonhole themselves into doing their tired old "greatest hits" setlist for years.... They could have had an AMAZING NEW BAND with Chester.

STP was (IS) dead. With Chester, they could have EASILY and successfully gone the supergroup route.  Instead, they relied on their old material for the sake of the nostalgia crowd, and Chester walked. Like you said, rejuvenation is the key. Chester gave them that rejuvenation, and the DeLeos fucked it up (again). They had this great artist and all they wanted him to do is play the role of Scott in THEIR version of STP.  As an artist, who would want to do that? (The Answer: A no-name/unknown singer with no other options that sounds good singing karaoke)

This. This. This.

[EyesOfDisarray]

@Steak I mostly agree with #1.

I disagree with #2. After High Rise, they played 2/5 tracks from it live plus they played songs they had never played live before, like Pruno and Adhesive, along with other deep cuts like Church on Tuesday and Pop's Love Suicide. They were clearly trying to showcase their whole catalog, not just the greatest hits, meanwhile showcasing the new music and Chester's versatility.

#3 is subjective. I understand your perspective, but don't totally agree. Some could argue that each DeLeo brother contributed more to the band than Scott, as they wrote all the songs. I'm personally not making that argument, but it is a valid example of how subjective the concept is of who is most important to the band's success.


Edit: My point is that to simply point the fingers at the DeLeos (or Scott, for that matter) is missing the whole point. The DeLeos aren't perfect. They've done some stupid shit that I don't approve of. But so has Scott. I don't think the DeLeos' intentions were ever worse than Scott's. This is a band that got derailed and lost many opportunities due mostly to Scott's addiction issues. After 20+ years of getting [de]railed, it's hard to blame the DeLeos for some of their bitterness, especially as Scott seemed to become more ego-centric towards the end. None of them had perfect intentions always, but on the flipside of that, I bet if you asked each of them separately if they could go back in time and do it all over and have drugs not be an issue, they would all jump at the chance. You're getting too caught up on personalities, but the true tragedy of STP was Scott's addiction issues.


Because I have struggled with addiction myself, I don't really blame him for that. It's already incredibly hard to break free from addiction and maintain sobriety as a normal person; being a successful rockstar only makes it 1000x worse. He basically had the power to ignore all the consequences his addiction had caused in his life (including his children from his broken marriage) and just trudge on as a "functioning" addict for the rest of his life, by sheer force of his fame and talent.


It's not fair to just call the DeLeos greedy. You're doing them a huge disservice by ignoring a ton of complicated history this band has been through. It would be just as unfair to say, "Scott fucked up everything in STP because he could never kick drugs."


That's the problem with how addiction is treated in our society, and STP is a perfect example. Everyone's so preoccupied with "DeLeos this" and "Scott this," but no one's asking the right questions, like, "Why wasn't Scott able to keep his addiction under control? Why couldn't someone so successful and so admired get the help he needed?" You can also replace Scott with Kurt, Layne, Bradley Nowell, Shannon Hoon, and a huge list of other tragic talents, and then millions of regular people. I have three friends who committed suicide after their addictions ruined each of their lives.


Every decision that Scott or the DeLeos made regarding STP after Gibby Haynes put that needle in Scott's arm in 1993 has to be seen through the lens of addiction. Otherwise, you're not understanding it correctly.

[Blue]

The DeLeos' issue isn't greed, it's pride. They want to be in control. Thus the independently released EP they had no chance to make them money, and thus the singer search consisting mostly of amateurs.


I disagree that setlists that included half the original catalog over less than 80 shows over 3 years, about half of which intentionally excluding the band's biggest hit, qualifies as a 'greatest hits setlist'. And even if it did, it's silly to think that would in anyway influence the band's ability to make money. They made the same amount of money on shows they didn't play Plush as shows they did.


I DO agree that Chester was their last chance at relevance. They're not going to find another guy with his talent, stage presence, work ethic, 85% of Scott's peak vocal range, and an encyclopedic knowledge of STP's catalog. However, it wasn't greed that ruined the opportunity, it was impatiently releasing and EP instead of an LP, stubbornness to release independently, Chester's prior commitments that ruined it.


On thing is certain. Whomever they hire after this, I think people who didn't appreciate Chester in the band will realize exactly how good we all had it when someone else is up there.

[lovemachine97]

If that EP had never come out, we might not have ever had more than a single.

That said, I completely agree that it is an uphill battle with the departure of Bennington.

One has to wonder, if you can't find anyone in an open audition . . . then what? Because Velvet Revolver had an open audition, basically, and, uh, Weiland won. It would be pretty embarrassing to come away from this with no one. And if you're "someone," do you take the gig when offered after you were initially put off for an amateur audition process?

[Pingfah]

It's a shame people are so horribly ungrateful and self-righteous about the band, anybody would think the Deleos have been going around kicking people's dogs.  They've given me nothing but years of musical enjoyment and I wish them nothing but the best.

I might not be into what they are doing, but I hope they are successful anyway.

[EyesOfDisarray]

It's a shame people are so horribly ungrateful and self-righteous about the band, anybody would think the Deleos have been going around kicking people's dogs.  They've given me nothing but years of musical enjoyment and I wish them nothing but the best.

I might not be into what they are doing, but I hope they are successful anyway.

Well said.