Stone Temple Pilots’ Dean DeLeo Talks Singer Search, Missing Scott Weiland
The members of Stone Temple Pilots are ready for the next chapter in their career. Months after frontman Chester Bennington parted ways with the group to focus on Linkin Park, the hard rockers have launched an open audition on their website where literally anyone can prove whether or not they’ve got what it takes to front a multi-platinum rock band. The group announced its intention earlier today with a statement that paid respect to founding frontman Scott Weiland and tipped a hat to Bennington, and now they’ve begun the search.
Beginning today, men and women can download instrumental versions of “Interstate Love Song,” “Trippin’ on a Hole in a Paper Heart” and “Vasoline” so they can wow the group with their vocal abilities and dynamism. Prospective frontpersons will upload up to two audio recordings — that anyone can hear on the website — and could also send their own songs and videos that would only be viewable by the band members. The group is also asking would-be singers to submit photos and bios to give the musicians a better sense of who they are.
Once Stone Temple Pilots have found that perfect frontperson, guitarist Dean DeLeo says they’ll be ready to move. “Robert [DeLeo, bass], Eric [Kretz, drums] and I have a lot of material kicking around,” he tells Rolling Stone from Los Angeles. “A lot, man. We really want to be able to make new music and forge on, move forward, evolve.”
Here, he explains what Stone Temple Pilots expect from the open audition.
How and when did you come up with the idea to do an open audition?
It has been some time. We kind of came to the realization a while back that the situation with Chester was not really allowing us to do all that we would have liked to have been doing. His involvement with Linkin Park and, of course, his family limited the time that we had with him. I will tell you this: Mr. Bennington gave it absolutely all that he had. I love him dearly. I love what he brought to the band on every level. He approached the stage each night like it was his last day alive, man. But it was very evident that time was just not allowing us to do what we wanted to do.
We’ve played with a lot of singers over the last several months, and we felt that we’d be doing ourselves — meaning Robert, Eric and I — a disservice if we didn’t allow all the talent that is out there to become a part of this. So, good or bad, we opened the floodgates.
What are you looking for in a frontperson?
We’ll know when it’s the right person before they’ll even open their mouth, just when they walk into the room. We’re looking to be moved by somebody. You know Glen Campbell said to me a long time ago, “Dean, you got to live it to write it” — and you kind of know when that person walks into a room. I want to be hit in that place in my soul where music buries itself. That feeling, man. That’s what we want.