http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/ct-ott-0812-stone-temple-pilots-20110812,0,660008.story Stone Temple Pilots: Future is on the road Frontman talks about book, band's outlook
 Stone Temple Pilots (August 12, 2011) |
By Allison Stewart, Special to the Tribune August 12, 2011 This spring, Stone Temple Pilots frontman
Scott Weiland released a ridiculously readable, warts-and-all memoir, "Not Dead & Not for Sale," which detailed his years of alcohol and drug addiction, his rape at 12 years old by a high school senior, his detour in the supergroup Velvet Revolver and his fraught relationship with his STP bandmates, with whom he reconciled in 2008 after years of very public discord.
The STP reunion, once unthinkable, has gone well enough that the band is contemplating recording a follow-up to its self-titled 2010 reunion disc, though Weiland will first release both an album of contemporary covers and a jazz album of Christmas standards (the latter will likely come out this fall).
In a rare interview, he talked about his book, his bandmates and the future of Stone Temple Pilots.
Q: How has the book gone over with your bandmates and family? What has the reaction been like?A: It's been, for the most part, very positive. My family has been very (positive). I don't know about the guys in the band. But, yeah, it's gone over really well with people that I know personally.
Q: Was there a time when you were in the middle of writing it when you thought, "I can't do this. I just can't be this revealing"?A: No. There wasn't anything I left out. There's little things I wish I'd (put in), little stories. But I think I told my vision, both internally and externally, of what I've experienced from growing up as a child and going through adolescence and becoming involved in music. And then eventually through a lot of perseverance and having talented people in my band, making it and having a very long career, which is a rare thing.
Q: How are things in the band these days? What's the mood like?A: It's, of course, different than it was when we were in our 20s. We don't go out nightclubbing. We go straight from the venue into the bus and move on. But when it comes to doing the shows, we put everything we have into it.
Q: Have you found that a little bit of separation from the guys in the band makes things easier? You recorded a lot of the "Stone Temple Pilots" album by yourself.A: That's something that's worked for me for quite some time. ... I've been working with my solo partner and studio partner, Doug Grean, for so long that we have a real ability to work together quickly, and I trust his ideas are coming from a good place. ... A lot of people want to throw out an idea, like, "Why don't you try this?" so they're able to (say that they had) more of a contribution. It's not like that with Doug and I. He gets the fact that I'm not a schooled musician. However, I can come up with musical parts, vocal parts. Harmonies for me are not a problem, because I've sung in choirs my whole life. ... There's a lot of trust there.
Q: How important is it to you that Stone Temple Pilots is a band that continues to make albums, and isn't just a band that tours?A: It's very important to me. The only problem is that there's really not much money to be made in making albums anymore. We're almost out of our deal with Atlantic, so we have a lot of options on what we can do. But unless you're some kind of manufactured pop sensation, it's really (hard to sell records). Myself, between STP and Velvet Revolver and the solo stuff, I've sold over 20 million records, and those days are gone.
Lady Gaga, she sold a million records the first week, but her record went on sale for 99 cents, $1.99. You're not going to make a lot of money that way, either. For rock 'n' roll, touring is the way to make money. ... Rock 'n' roll to me has always been about the recording and the producing and the writing. That's what I really get turned on by.
Q: Has there been discussion about another STP album?A: Yeah. Actually I had a conversation with (guitarist Dean DeLeo) about it just before we left on tour. And I also have a jazz album of Christmas standards coming out this fall.
Q: Do you feel that you can get a fair shake from your bandmates and your friends these days, or do you feel they're always looking at you to see if you're going to relapse?A: Well, my friends don't. I don't know about my band. But it's been years and years since I've had issues with any of that stuff.
onthetown@tribune.comTwitter @ChiTribEntWhen: 8 p.m. Friday
Where: The Venue at Horseshoe Casino, 777 Casino Center Drive, Hammond
