Even as I write this, I’m pausing to bang my head and toss my hair to and fro to their beat. I’m listening to No Way Out from their album No. 4. Once again, I can’t avoid writing about a great band, but this one is a little greater than most. The third time I heard Stone Temple Pilots was quite magical. These guys are very talented musicians and really nailed the concert at Harrah’s in Valley Center on July 4, 2009. Here’s my story.
I was introduced to STP by my friends in high school. Graduating in 1992, I remember when the Core album was released that summer and how we listened to it all over the place. We had been born out of the Nirvana, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains and Pearl Jam vein, so this was right up our alley. Seeing how two of these five epic groups ended before most people thought they would and how the other disbanded, Stone Temple Pilots is, in a way, carrying on the Seattle sound/grunge legacy. Their longevity is admirable and I wonder if they’ll be around as long as the Stones have been.
When I listen to STP, I’m reminded of Led Zeppelin. It’s hard to put my finger on why, but it has to do with their bridges, solos, the number of different hooks in a song and the diversity of sounds and songs. While a lot of their early music used crunchy, distorted effects and Drop D tunings, they also have cleaner sounding hits like Creep and Sour Girl.
The reason why Led Zeppelin was so great is because they had a very talented quartet and all of them went off. Robert Plant didn’t ask John Paul Jones or John Bonham to quiet down and play something simple so his voice could be featured. No, not even close. He told them to play as great as they could and he’d join them. I’m reminded of this when I think of Stone Temple Pilots because the bass is so instrumental (no pun intended) it’s hard to imagine the band without the great bass guitar licks, not to mention the other half of the rhythm section.
Ok, mid-paper I had to take a quick break and play Art School Girlfriend on the electric guitar. Man, that song is funny and addicting. I really like the sound of the sliding power chord notes in the main lick. I’ll probably record it and stick it on YouTube. Back to this paper.
Drummer Eric Kretz brings it. The drums in Lounge Fly compliment the song in a powerful way. Writing a hit like Trippin’ On a Hole in a Paper Heart and co-authoring Plush was no small task. Not to mention the wicked drum accompaniment intro in Wicked Garden, where he really gets a chance to show off those cool rolls.
Scott Weiland has an amazing voice that can hit the highs, flow the vibrato and deliver the powerful notes up and down the scale. Looking at his thin frame, it’s hard to know where this amazing voice comes from. I think a cigarette after the first couple of songs may have sobered him up a bit, but it couldn’t have been good for his throat. Lyrically, although I can hear most of his words clearly, I only hold onto certain phrases of many different songs. I suppose this isn’t a band where I can say I can totally relate to the entire lyrical message (partly because some of it seems cryptic). However, I can and do do that with different phrases and choruses (and I’m sure I change a few ever so slightly to fit my mood and situation), unless I’m focusing on instruments, then I don’t really hear the words at all.
Scott has that Eddie Vedder quality where he knows how to mix vocal sounds into songs. Whether it’s humming in Pretty Penny (wait, do I hear congas? ok, I’m finally starting my iTunes Playlist called Congas), crooning in Down or “Yeahhhhhhh” in Unglued, he hits all the right notes. Using a megaphone for a cool voice effect is a unique idea that he employs on a couple of songs. He also has a way of making nearly every song sound anthemic. He’s helped form the kind of band that gets crowds excited, shaking their fist and singing different phrases and then wondering what in the hell they just said. “Time to take her home her dizzy head is conscious laden” comes to mind.
Whoa, have you ever heard Silvergun Superman? This has to be one of their best songs and they played it at Harrah’s on the 4th. What a powerful sounding song with those ripping Drop D power chords and the bass guitar joining, then playing all over the place on the chorus and bridge. Great rock song and I’m going to have to find the notes this week.
In my humble opinion, the core of the band (pun intended) could be the two brothers: Robert DeLeo on bass and Dean DeLeo on guitar. Robert can really thump that bass and in concert he made it look easy. He leaves me thinking they could have easily had a lot less from another bassist. Robert must really like to write detailed parts and play them all over the neck of his bass. You can hear him in every song, but he steals the show in Sour Girl. He wrote a fine hook there, one that isn’t easily tabbed and played. Thank you.
Dean is quite the guitarist. He has used a grip of cool special effects. Check out the intro, bridge and coda in Army Ants. Nice, eh? Sounds like something you’d try to create at home on your effects pedal with a mixture of flanger, reverb and probably something else. Lots of STP’s songs have different kinds of distortion and effects that range from screeching to whining to clean sounds. The slide creates an almost country music sound on the hits Big Empty and Interstate Love Song. You country fans don’t get too excited. I said almost.
I probably can’t say enough about Dean’s hooks and guitar solos. This guy knows how to play. In the concert, he improvised on a couple of solos and I remember hearing all good notes and it put a huge smile on my face. Beautiful and awesome. Not only am I looking forward to putting together a bass guitar lesson for my bass students, but I’m probably even more excited about finding several electric guitar hooks and licks for my electric guitar students. I can hardly wait and I already started today, tabbing and teaching one of my beginning students the main lick in Wicked Garden and the intro to Plush.
I first saw Stone Temple Pilots at San Diego State University in 1994. I was in my sophomore year at SDSU and they rocked. I remember two giant lava lamps, one on each side of the stage. I don’t remember the other details that well, but I know they played all of their hits and my friends and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
On July 27, 2008, I caught STP at Qualcomm on the Grass and they were excellent. I’m very partial to the general admission venues because I really like to walk around, move and dance. If I get bored with one section, I like having the freedom to leave and visit another one. Not only did they have a great show that night, but I ran into an old friend of mine who I hadn’t seen in years! We used to play guitar together all the time. He’s a great lead guitarist named Wally High. He also surfs daily. What a guy.
The Independence Day show (see my pics here) on July 4, 2009 was really cool. I was blasting STP on the 1 hour drive from Pacific Beach to Valley Center. I even recorded a few YouTube chuckles and uploaded them. It worked pretty much like clockwork. I parked, walked to the venue, waited in the bathroom and beer lines, then found a good spot in front of the stage. 5 minutes later the band came on. Absolutely perfect timing.
I was so happy to hear so many great STP songs! They played Dead and Bloated, Wicked Garden, Plush, Creep, Sour Girl, Down, Sex Type Thing, Interstate Love Song, Big Empty, Vasoline, Trippin’ On a Hole in a Paper Heart, Seven Caged Tigers, Silvergun Superman, Piece of Pie, Unglued and No Way Out. I like every one of those songs! I was hoping they’d play A Song For Sleeping, but oh well. They had one encore and it was an energy-packed show from beginning to end! So much so that I took my electric guitar and battery powered amplifier to the Ocean Beach seawall and played guitar until 4am, then came home and watched the sunrise before falling asleep.
I think it’s notable that Scott and most of the band likes to play in the dark for most of the show. This was the case in the 2008 and 2009 shows (but I can’t remember the 1994 one, although I think they did the same). I often wear sunglasses out because I don’t like bright lights in my eyes - especially when my eyes are resting at night and it’s dark, the last thing I want is a quick, blinding light. It hurts my eyes and makes me cringe!
Stone Temple Pilots are an amazing band and I’m looking forward to their upcoming album in December, 2009. I’ll get over the fact that I had tickets to the San Diego Velvet Revolver concert that never was, I guess. Scott checked into rehab the day of the show (which was the day after the Los Angeles show). It’s much easier to get over since STP reunited! Still, it would have been sweet to hear Slash and the guys from Guns N Roses with Scott singing. Slash is a helluva guitarist.
Not only can STP play a wide variety of rock/alternative/grunge music, but they also have the ability to incorporate dissonant sounds into their songs. Many of their songs ended on a pleasantly sour note. Several of their songs “broke the rules” and used notes in more than one key in the same song. Think Dazed and Confused.
It’s gonna be hard to listen to these guys less and become consumed by Duran Duran, but I’m seeing the 80’s mega-band for the first time on July 11, 2009 at the OC Fair. I’m sure I’ll ride this wave until the show and afterwards, though. STP is a force to be reckoned with - a throwback whose sound is slowly evolving, always inspiring and giving us an awesome catalog of music along the way. Play on, boys. Play on.
