For those of you disheartened by Robert and Dean's interviews, here's a good one with Kretz where he says STP will make a new album either before or after the holidays:
http://blogs.phillyburbs.com/blog_index ... 9633&cat=8Since Stone Temple Pilots disbanded five years ago, Scott Weiland (fronting Velvet Revolver), and the DeLeo brothers Robert and Dean (Army of Anyone, among other projects) have made plenty of noise on their own.
As for drummer Eric Kretz, he’s been helping others make noise. First with Bomb Shelter, the Los Angeles recording studio he opened in 2004, then with a gig as Musical Supervisor for the Henry Rollins Show on IFC, where he’s recorded performances by everyone from Radiohead to Slayer.
The two gigs keep Kretz busy. So busy, in fact, that when STP needed a rehearsal spot for their in-progress reunion tour, the drummer couldn’t even accommodate his own band: Bomb Shelter was booked solid.
So save the drummer jokes (What’s the first thing a drummer says when the band breaks up? “Would you like fries with that sir?”); Kretz has clearly been doing just fine. And read on as Kretz dishes on the STP reunion tour, which kicks-off Saturday and pulls into Camden’s Susquehanna Bank Center Sunday, as part of WMMR’s 40th anniversary celebration.
Hey - if you’re going to see STP Sunday, pick up this STP iMix we assembled through iTunes. It’s the perfect soundtrack for the trip to the gig.
STP just kind of quietly went away, was there ever an official split?
It pretty much just fizzled out. Some people said a few things… but it never came down to fist-fighting backstage, like a real, genuine breakup. Everyone was always pretty civil and just needed some time away. All those years together – since 1989, everyone needed a break and wanted to try other things.
So what got the ball rolling on a reunion?
I was talking to Dean and Robert about it. And Dean was talking to Scott. And I thought, “It’s been enough time, I could jump back into that.” And people I would talk to in the industry, that would come by the studio, they were all like, ‘Man, you should really get back together.’ We all felt it was the right thing to do right now, just totally natural. If you would’ve asked us that 2 years ago – I just wasn’t excited about it then.
You’re treading on dangerous ground by soliciting fan input on set lists through your Web site. Are there some songs you just don’t want to play under any circumstance?
Honestly, no. As we’re going back through the catalog to figure out what to play, there’s been a lot of, ‘Man, I wouldn’t play it like that anymore, but no ‘I don’t want to play that song.’
Does running a recording studio and serving as musical director on the Rollins show leave much time to play drums?
A couple years ago I was still playing in a few projects, but then I got caught up in doing more work with my studio. Then my wife and I had a baby, and everything changed. I spent a little too much time at home being domestic. So now it’s good to get back into it and get into shape. I really missed playing drums every single day.
Was there a learning curve getting back behind the kit?
Part of it was really just gaining weight from the baby – I hadn’t been exercising as much. So playing has helped me get back into shape. I’ve gone back to what I used to do in high school. I really got back into Rush and King Crimson and Yes – all the prog stuff to get the brain fired up again. I did that for about a month and then we jumped into rehearsals.
What does the future hold for STP beyond this tour?
We’re going to be doing this tour for about five months, then Scott’s going to put out his solo record around October. Then either right before or right after the holidays, we’re going to start on a new record.
Given the band’s history, are you confident you’ll be able to see that plan through?
Yeah. Even if there’s turmoil going on personally, we always fit so well musically, so there’s always been that to count on. We all look forward to jumping in the studio. And I imagine we’ll be looking forward to it especially after being on the road for five months. I’m sure we’ll have all these new ideas we’ll want to try out.
