Get Stoned: The History and Future of Stone Temple Pilots
By Nick Gorra

According to various sources, like The Miami Herald and MTV, former grunge rockers Stone Temple Pilots are bound to have a reunion very soon. Can a band whose dominance was mostly in the '˜90s revive its former success?
The origins of the Stone Temple Pilots can be traced back to the late '˜80s when Scott Weiland met Robert DeLeo; they both discovered that they were dating the same girl. They eventually became good friends and decided to form a band together, originally called Mighty Joe Young. With DeLeo on bass guitar and Weiland on vocals, the duo then recruited Eric Kretz to play drums and Robert DeLeo's broth- er, Dean, to play guitar, completing the band. During early recording sessions, the band's lawyer discovered that another musical act had already claimed the name Mighty Joe Young, prompting the band to change the name to Stone Temple Pilots in 1990.

After building a fan base in the San-Diego area, the band was signed to Atlantic Records in 1992. They would release their first album, Core, in the fall of the same year. Initially, Core was savaged by critics, many labeling STP as a 'grunge rip-off,' copying bands of the Seattle grunge era such as Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Nirvana and Alice in Chains. Despite its negative critical reception, the album became one of the most commer- cially successful albums of the decade, going platinum eight times in the United States alone. The album also produced the hit single 'Plush,' which won the Grammy for 'Best Hard Rock Performance' in 1994. In recent years, critics have viewed the album in a more positive light, with many viewing STP as one of the few grunge bands outside of the Seattle area.

The bands success continued with their follow-up album, Purple. Critical reception was mixed, although more positive compared to the band's previous album. The album, like its former, was a huge commercial success, debuting #1 on the Billboard album chart and going platinum six times. Despite the band's success, internal issues began to affect the band. Scott Weiland had begun using various drugs such as crack cocaine and heroin, in addition to encountering numerous run-ins with the law. Many attribute the band's fading success to Scott Weiland's excessive drug use, which had caused tour cancellations, recording delays and issues among his band mates. Weiland was also incarcerated for a period of time following probation violation and other drug-related charges. The final straw came when Scott Weiland got into a fist fight with Dean DeLeo during the final concert of the STP 2002 fall tour, ending the band effectively.

Following STP's breakup, its former members have moved on to different projects. Scott Weiland found much success becoming the lead vocalist of the hard rock supergroup Velvet Revolver, made up of Guns n' Roses alums, Slash, Duff McKagen, and Matt Sorum, as well as Dave Kushner. Eric Kretz went to form an independent music studio in Los Angeles called 'Bomb Shelter Studios.' The DeLeo brothers went to form a band called 'Army of Anyone' with Richard Patrick, the front-man of the band Filter, as the lead vocalist; however, Army of Anyone disbanded after the release of their first album in 2006.

Rumors of the Stone Temple Pilots reuniting began last summer (2007) when Scott Weiland was quoted in an interview with The Washington Post.

'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,' he said.

Then, in a recent interview with The Miami Herald, Weiland stated a Stone Temple Pilots reunion should be expected 'in the coming months.' More fuel was added to the fire when Velvet Revolver guitarist Slash confirmed the STP reunion in an interview with Billboard.com on January 25, 2008. A rumor was also posted on belowempty.com, an STP fan site, on January 30, reporting that new STP material was in the pre-production stage at Eric Kretz's Bomb Shelter Studios. This all comes in the light of MTV.com reporting that a STP reunion summer tour is already being scheduled. Multiple other sources seem to indicate that an STP reunion is inevitable.

So are the Stone Temple Pilots reuniting? It seems at this point that it is very likely. But will all former members of STP be involved? So far there is no mention of the DeLeo brothers' involvement. The reunited STP could only include Scott Weiland and Eric Kretz, similar to that of the reunited Smashing Pumpkins, which contains only two original members. However, at the time this is all speculation and there has not been an official confirmation.

If the Stone Temple Pilots do reunite, will they be able to recapture their former success? It is possible to some extent, as many bands that were established in the '˜90s have continued to remain successful, such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Green Day. Stone Temple Pilots was one of the most successful bands of the '˜90s, with over 30 million albums sold worldwide; who's to say they can't resurrect their former glory? Keep your ears open for an official confirmation in the coming weeks. Their Wikipedia entry was recently edited from 'was a band' to 'is a band,' so there is always hope.