Rick Beato sit-down interview with bassist Robert DeLeo (Stone Temple Pilots)

I'm amazed at the influences that shape the way these bands sound. I always liked STP and never understood the flack they got because people thought they were Pearl Jam ripoffs. They are much better than Pearl Jam in my opinion. Anyway great interview.

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never understood the PJ comparison back in the day. They sounded nothing alike imo…not remotely similar vocal styles/timbre, guitar tone, song writing/structure, drum sound/style, etc.

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First song I heard from them was Sex Type Thing and it was a chunky, almost metal tune. I guess back then the change over from the falsetto-happy late 80s pop rock to the Seattle/Grunge scene got branded by Eddie Vedder's voice. I never thought Weiland sounded like him, but many back then thought they were doing the same kind of thing.

Yeah, looking back, STP was a clearly superior band to Pearl Jam, who basically peaked on their first album. If it weren't for Scott's drug issues, there's no telling what they could have been.

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They are much better than Pearl Jam in my opinion

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PJ are a group of insufferable twats, and I think this influences your opinion. While I can't stand the people who make up PJ, they are a few classes above STP. I agree the comparison of the two is odd; they are not similar.


My issue with STP was their change of style. I saw them open up for Ministry as a last minute replacement of Helmut after their tour bus crashed. They were a complete unknown at the time, and they were a last minute addition. Al Jourgensen came on stage to introduce them and give a brief explanation of why the last minute lineup change, and then a shaved head tatted up shirtless metalhead comes out singing into a microphone using a megaphone saying "I am smelling like a rose..." The song kicks in and they absolutely won the crowd over. When they finished their set the applause was massive. Sepultura came out next and then Ministry finished as the headliner.


A few months later STP got on MTV and blew up. We had the same metal looking rocker vaulting to stardom, and then several weeks later their second video comes out with a completely different dude walking around with pink hair and fashionista clothes. It was such a weird transition, but it displayed the way fame changed them. Their second record showed these changes as well as it lost that edge their first record had.

While they always put out good music and were certainly a good band, their style evolution lost me. I wanted that edge the first record brought, but that went away unfortunately.

STP was a much better band than Pearl Jam. Scott Weiland wasted the latter part of his life.

Love STP and the brothers DeLeo.

So you like No.4? It seems like a return to form.