Gods of post-
grunge. Members are:
Scott Weiland,
Robert DeLeo,
Eric Kretz and
Dean DeLeo. Originally called
Mighty Joe Young, the four played their first gig in August of 1990 at the Whisky, in
L.A. They then moved to San Diego and continued performing. Two years later the band got their first big break at a show in
L.A. Booking Agent Don Muller of Traid Artists saw them perform at an
underground dive called the Club With No Name and tipped Atlantic A & R man Tom Carolan.
After a brief period the band signed with the label, and changed their name to Stone Temple Pilots. Core, their first album, was released in September of 1992, and included the hit singles "Sex Type Thing" and "Plush."
Although critics compared them to Pearl Jam mercilessly, the album climbed the charts, and has since sold over six million copies. STP eventually shed that label only to be blitzed by bigger problems involving their frontman, Scott Weiland, who's spent most of his adult life in and out of drug rehab clinics. In 1994, the band released its second record, Purple, which landed on the charts at No. 1, and held off all challengers for three weeks. There was still plenty of Eddie Vedder-wannabe criticism leveled at Weiland, but the number of detractors had decreased.
Tiny Music . . . Songs From the Vatican Giftshop, was released in April of 1996. While it has not sold as well as its predecessors, Tiny Music earned the band its finest reviews ever. Things were looking up, to be sure, but it turned out Weiland hadn't kicked his habit, and on the eve of the band's summer tour, a judge ordered him into rehab for a period of four to six months.
Rumors abounded about the band's breakup, and Scott and the rest of the band worked on separate projects until the fall of 1999, during which they reformed to create their fourth album, titled "No. 4" in homage to Led Zeppelin, one of Weiland's primary influences. The album blends STP's hard rocking roots with 60's influenced psychedelia and just might be their best yet.