Stone Temple Pilots Regroup After Long Hiatus

The STP are back together again, for a reunion of epic proportions.

Photos courtesy of Mtv.com

(Salem, Ore.) - Fans are excited and anxiously await their opportunity to see one of the most notorious and sorely missed hard rock bands in American History, Stone Temple Pilots. The newly reunited band is promoting the kickoff of their new tour, headlining the Rock on the Range Festival, May 17th at the Columbus Crew Stadium in Ohio.

It has been six years since STP have played together, their last release being 2003's greatest hits compilation 'Thank You'. Although they've not held the stage together in recent times, the band have kept themselves busy.

In September 1997, while Stone Temple Pilots were on their first hiatus, front-man Scott Weiland began recording a solo album, '12 Bar Blues', which was released in March 1998. While Scott worked on and promoted his solo album, the remaining members of Stone Temple Pilots formed the one-time band 'Talk Show', with former Ten Inch Men singer Dave Coutts. Neither release did well commercially, but both received some critical acclaim.

The Wondergirls were a short-lived rock supergroup and side project formed in 1999 by Weiland, Ian Astbury of The Cult, Mark McGrath of Sugar Ray and Jay Gordon of Orgy. The Wondergirls recorded two songs, "Drop That Baby" and "Let's Go All The Way." There's not much else to say about The Wondergirls. STP reunited in 1999, releasing 'No. 4', which included singles "Down" and "No Way Out". Shortly after No.4's completion, Weiland was sentenced to a year in a Los Angeles county jail for a probation violation.

During the summer of 2001, the band released their fifth album, 'Shangri-La Dee Da', which produced two modest rock radio hits, "Days of the Week" and "Hollywood Bitch".

The band began work on a 6th studio album in 2002, to be released in January 2003, when Dean DeLeo and Scott Weiland nearly got into a fist fight during the last show of the fall 2002 tour. This marked a breaking point for Stone Temple Pilots.

Although the band has not had a platinum record since No.4, their music is still played regularly on radio stations.

In 2003, Weiland joined up with former Wasted Youth guitarist Dave Kushner, and Guns N' Roses members Slash, Duff McKagan, and Matt Sorum to form the supergroup 'Velvet Revolver'. When the band stood in for an inebriated Van Halen at the induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Sammy Hagar described Velvet Revolver as, "The best rock and roll band left on the planet."

In March 2006, Scott Weiland became the newest core line-up member of 'Camp Freddy'. Named after a character in The Italian Job, Camp Freddy is a group of established musicians who play rock covers at various shows around America. Guitarist Billy Morrison describes them as, "...not a band, but it is also way more than a jam session. Camp Freddy is an ‘Occasional Happening’, a freak of (Hollywood) nature."

With several hits and an array of live covers, Weiland's Velvet Revolver project has gained a significant following in their two albums and five years of existence. Tensions have arisen though, 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, "I don't think the world's f***ing biding their time, waiting for Stone Temple Pilots to reform." That was said early last year when tensions were budding, and Sorum reportedly feared that Scott Weiland would leave Velvet Revolver to reform Stone Temple Pilots due to his reconciliation with the DeLeo brothers.

Robert and Dean DeLeo, bass/vocals and guitar for STP, have most recently formed the band 'Army of Anyone', debuting their first album on November 14, 2006. It features Ray Luzier, a session drummer, and Richard Patrick of the industrial rock band Filter. Army of Anyone went on indefinite hiatus in May of '07 though, after Richard Patrick announced he was working on a new Filter album, meaning AoA could possibly be defunct.

All of this coincides with a quote from Weiland last summer where he stated, "The only thing that's left unfinished is the completion of the story. I feel that there could be a better final chapter, a better bookend. If all the planets line up, you never know what might happen one day."

Also, on the December 29, 2007 edition of Camp Freddy Radio, Billy Morrison stated that STP have venues on hold for shows, implicating a reunion tour. "It's no secret, half of LA knows it."

The Rock on the Range festival in Columbus, Ohio will also feature performances by Serj Tankian and the FCC, Disturbed, Staind, Flyleaf, and many more.

Here is a video clip from the Download Festival 2007, Velvet Revolver covering the STP classic Vasoline (Unreliable video source - youtube failure)

Sources:
http://www.rockontherange.com/index_home.html
http://www.nme.com/news/stone-temple-pilots/34350
http://www.mcb.com.hk/pic/217/News/StoneTemplePilots.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/