Scott Weiland Talks New Solo Album, Possible Stone Temple Pilots LPPlus, singer addresses Velvet Revolver split: 'It just mistakenly kind of eroded.'
By Chris Harris mtv.com
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They reunited for a successful run of summer gigs and they've even been writing new material — but, according to frontman Scott Weiland, Stone Temple Pilots' future plans are still very much up in the air, given that two of the band's members have been sued by their old record label, Atlantic Records.
"It's pretty f---ed up, actually," Weiland told MTV News last week. "I don't know who we would record for. I'm not into recording for Atlantic Records, and there are some legal issues there. Originally, I was told — and I was told for years — that we were free from Atlantic. I don't know how it is that [bassist] Dean [DeLeo] and [guitarist] Robert [DeLeo] are free from [Atlantic], and [drummer] Eric [Kretz] and I are not. I have no interest in making a record for a major label. If we were going to make a record, I would want to do it in a way that was much more original and in a more creative fashion."
Atlantic Records filed a lawsuit in Manhattan District Court this spring against Weiland and Kretz, claiming the two tried to get out of their recording contract with the Warner Music Group label prematurely. The filing contends Weiland and Kretz have threatened to stop performing under their current contract, and that they've indicated that they'd like to end the agreement unless Atlantic makes some significant changes. In the suit, the label claims that, though STP have written and recorded six LPs, it wants them to record a seventh — and deliver up to two more, should the label decide it wants them.
However, the suit hasn't deterred the band from working on new material, Weiland said. "I know those guys have been writing, and there's been some really cool stuff that's come about from that," he explained. "I'm proud of everything we've written. But to make another record would mean another couple of years of my life dedicated to that, and I just don't know if that's where I see myself going."
Weiland will issue his second solo offering, Happy in Galoshes, on November 25, an album he's been working on for more than a year, even before he was fired from Velvet Revolver back in the spring. He said that, while he's receptive to recording with STP once more, he likes the freedom that being a solo artist affords him.
"When I look at people like Beck and even, unfortunately, Elliott Smith, who was one of my favorite singer/songwriters, the ability to do what you want to do at your own pace is appealing to me," Weiland said. "You don't really have any fiduciary responsibility to anyone but yourself. But being in a band, you do. It's like, you can't just say, 'You know what? I don't want to tour.' You just can't."
As for Velvet Revolver's collapse, Weiland said that, looking back on it now, he knows just what caused the band's turmoil.
"Velvet Revolver fell apart because there were too many big egos in the band — and I'm including myself," he said. "It wasn't necessarily about bad egos, just big egos, and unfortunately, it just mistakenly kind of eroded."
well, weiland don't seem to enthused about a new STP record and about dedicating a few more years to STP. Cheers, heres to weilands solo work not doing very well so he can come back to STP HA HA juuuust kidding.
