After the tragic and untimely ing of former STP singer Scott Weiland in late 2015, the band are slowly piecing themselves back together, beginning with the live debut of a new singer in Jeff Gutt at a private show in Los Angeles last month.
Also showcased at the gig was the debut of new single “Meadow”, available now via digital and streaming services. The song will appear on the band’s as-yet-untitled forthcoming record, expected in Spring 2018 via Atlantic/Rhino. Check out the new single below.
Having waded through some 15,000 submissions, the DeLeo brothers and drummer Eric Kretz narrowed down 30 singers who came to LA to audition in person. Among them was Jeff Gutt who sang on the last day of auditions despite never submitting any music online to the band. Rather, he was invited as a result of Robert DeLeo hearing about Gutt after playing a show in Detroit with the Hollywood Vampires.
On Gutt’s induction to the group, Dean Deleo said:
We wanted someone who would not only do our earlier songs justice, but would also write new songs and carve out a different path forward with us. It took some time, but we found our guy.
Brother Robert DeLeo added:
Talk about a happy accident! It was clear right away that Jeff had the range to sing vocally challenging songs like “Piece of Pie” and “Interstate Love Song”. But we soon discovered that he also has a great ear for melody and knew how to write a song.
September 2016 saw the band rekindle and begin work on new music that snowballed over several months. On the writing sessions, drummer Eric Kretz says:
The chemistry was there from the start, and Jeff kept coming up with one great melody after another. We ended up finishing 14 songs, which is the most that Stone Temple Pilots has ever recorded for an album.
Naturally, there was a degree of backlash from the “No SW, no STP” camp. Adressing this, Gutt states:
No one will ever fill Scott’s shoes and I’m not trying to. He’s a legend. But these songs deserve to be performed and people want to hear them. I’m just honoured that the guys chose me to help them continue to build this band’s legacy.
As the band re-gel and re-energise, the mixing process is well underway for the as-yet-untitled seventh studio record from the grunge/hard rock titans. The album is expected to be upon us in early 2018 via Atlantic/Rhino.
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