A brief chat with the Stone Temple Pilots

Yellow Scene: Let’s get the obvious question out of the way first – once you guys decided to carry on, how did you decide on Chester?

Robert DeLeo: Well you know, we’ve known Chester for quite a while now. There were a lot of people I think that could really carry and add to what we wanted to do to move forward. There were people who wanted to try to do what Scott [Weiland, former singer] did, but as far as moving forward and taking the music and the whole brand of Stone Temple Pilots forward, I think Chester was a good choice.

YS: After all those years of turmoil, is it weird and/or a relief to be able to get back on tour with a new singer?

RD: It is a relief. The four of us had a vision at one point for quite a while. I think that vision was lost by Scott, and I think we worked way too hard and long to have that vision disrupted. Let’s face, it’s been going down for years. I think as you get older, you hope to get wiser. Some of us do. You realize what’s really important in life. Like anything, it turns into a life lesson. It’s a dream and an absolute pleasure to make music for a living. At my age now, I never take it for granted, how important it is to be able to make music still in my life. When that becomes a burden and a chore, and something that you can’t really find a way to get out of the complications of it, changes must be made.

YS: Do you like playing Colorado?

RD: Absolutely, man. You know, Colorado is one of those places that, when we’re there, I love fresh water fishing so I had a day off and did some trout fishing. I had a great time. If you like the outdoors, then you definitely get to appreciate Colorado. I’m looking forward to seeing a long-lost cousin of mine who now lives there. I have another purpose so hopefully I’ll find time to see her, and play a great show.

YS: What can we expect from the set?

RD: We go on Facebook and other things, and we listen to what people have to say. I think if people want to hear some stuff, then it’s kinda cool to pull out some songs that we haven’t played ever, or haven’t played in a long time. We’re able to do that now, and I think people can expect some different songs in the set. We have a long history of songs, and I think those songs can be performed now and performed in a great way.

YS: Is the new lineup going to record?

RD: We’re actually about six songs deep into a record right now. We have been recording this past month. Everyone’s just trying to find the time to get together. Chester broke his ankle, so he’s got a plate in there with pins. He’s having quite an interesting time getting around and getting over here. No one likes to break their ankle.