Jeff Gutt of Stone Temple Pilots on the Secret 2016 Year, STP’s Future & We Are Not Machines

This is Rock with J Man and today I’m interviewing Jeff Goot from Stone Temple Pilots. How you doing today, man?

Good, brother. Good, good, good. It’s great to be here with you.

It’s great to hear to be with you today, too. People sometimes talk about you like Stone Temple Pilots discovered some

unknown singer, but before um Stone STP, you had already been through Dry Cell and had major label experience and

on the X Factor. Does it ever bother you when people act like uh Stone Temple Pilots just plucked you out of nowhere?

Uh not really. No, I mean I guess everyone has their viewpoint on, you know, when uh when people enter their

brain, you know, so you know, is that it that the dry cell stuff was kind of underground. Not a lot of people know about that because it was never released like through through the major labels.

So, uh that was uh it was that was kind of my gift is that I had to get all this experience and do all these things and

um be part of the music industry before I was a part of it basically, you know.

Now most musicians gradually um go from clubs to theaters to arenas. You paid your dues but once you became the singer

suddenly you had this enormous established audience waiting for you. Do you remember the first massive crowd and where you looked out and thought holy this is my life now?

Yeah it was uh it was a festival in Jacksonville.

It was one of the first huge festivals that we did. I can’t remember what it was called. Um it was Dan, one of Danny Whmer’s things

cuz he, you know, he runs the entire world of live music, but uh [laughter] it’s got all those huge festivals. Love that. Love Danny Whmer. But um uh

yeah, it was I remember just looking out and just couldn’t see where the people ended and I was like, "Wow, this is um this is really happening and I’m really

up here with these guys and that’s crazy, you know." Um, was there anything that could actually prepare you for suddenly

performing songs that tens of thousands of people already knew every word to?

Um, that just made it a lot easier because if everyone else is singing along, you know, it’s like it’s more of a communal experience than then you’re

just dictating stuff to them and you’re hoping they like it, you know, or whatever the case might be. Um, it’s, you know, these songs are just ingrained

as me as they are as all those people out there who love the band and grew up with the band because that’s how I mean, how old are you? Uh, 15.

I was about your age when their first record came out. And then, you know, I remember just sometimes still when I hear songs, especially if I’m in a

vehicle, for some reason that makes it more um I’ll remember exactly where where I was in my hometown when I’m, you

know, when that song came on at a certain point. Like it’ll just click in my head be like, "Oh, I remember being on this street in this small little town

in my, you know, where I grew up." Just because, you know, it’s so ingrained into me, you know. Um, but I feel so I have a I have a kinship with the fans

and so uh in that in that sense and I don’t I don’t think a lot of them realize that. But

now in November 2016, a report came out saying you were the singer of Stone Temple Pilots and then the band publicly said no final decision had been made.

You’ve since said that you already knew that you had the job long before the official announcement. What was actually going on behind closed doors that year?

Um, that’s a good question because there was uh a lot of noise in the press about

what was going on and um I had like this this that was a very specific time in my life

where it was like a gift because I I knew that one I knew I had the gig and b I couldn’t tell anyone for like a year.

o, I was like in this place where I like I felt like I had a superpower, but I couldn’t reveal it to anyone. You know what I mean? So,

that was kind of uh kind of the vibe and I and I really liked that. So, when all that stuff started happening, it was it was um uh tense to say the least, you know.

Now, when that story leaked and then got publicly denied, did you have friends calling you thinking that the whole thing had fallen apart while you knew something didn’t?

No, not really. Um, well, here’s the thing. I was in the

studio in Las Vegas when I had my very first audition. And the guy that I was working in the studio with, actually, I was in the studio with Will Hunt from

Evan Essence 10 years ago, you know, working on this record that I’m about to finish with him finally. But, um, that’s

another that’s another story. But um so I was in that studio and and that producer was doing a lot like because I paid a lot of money up front and then he

was going to do a lot of he was doing a lot of songs for free for me basically at that at that point in time. So I didn’t want anyone to know what I was

leaving for. You know, hey, thanks for all the free help. I’m going to leave and go try out for Stone Temple Pilots now. You know, it’s kind of a slap in the face to who you’re working with. So,

[snorts] I just told them I was going to go to the strip, which meant I was going to a go out and drink a lot and b I was going to be hung over the next day. So,

that bought me two days. So, I uh I just went and hopped on a plane, flew to LA, did my first audition and went straight

back, you know, and um so so it was basically, you know, I didn’t at that point in time it was like, am I going to

get it? Am I not going to get it? So, I don’t know. It was uh it was all up in the air and you know there was no friends calling me

worried about anything or anything cuz no one really knew what was going on and so everyone was just confused I think including me some point somewhat.

[laughter]

Um [snorts] at what point did it stop feeling like you were auditioning and start feeling like four guys actually making a Stone Temple Pilots record together?

Uh it was actually during the audition process which was you know quite a process. It lasted a long time. But um

there was a there was a there was a cuz we all, you know, we all go to Eric’s house and he has a studio there

where we [clears throat] recorded and did all that. And um [snorts] they had like they had a bunch they had some songs that they had, you know,

recorded and had finished and all they needed was someone to sing on it. And then there was some stuff that they had that they were playing. And um there was

one thing that the that the brothers, the Dio brothers were they had both had acoustic guitars in their hands and they started playing this thing and I’m like what’s that? And they’re like this this

new thing that we got and I’m like and then I kind of like took charge cuz I heard something you know and I and I I wanted it to be a certain way because I

I had a melody for it and and and they they kind I kind of sensed them letting go of the reins and seeing where I went with it to see if I could write,

you know. And um and by the end of we it was uh the art of letting go was that song which was uh on the record that we did together the first one the butterfly

nameless record and whatever you know.

Now uh 14th 2017 you’re backstage at the Trador about to publicly walk out as the new singer for the first time. What do

before you went on stage?

Um, oh yeah, God. Because the Triador’s got this backstage. It’s really tiny and

uh no one could see me and know who I was when I came in to go to the backstage and all that, you know. So, it’s like, you know, have it have like,

hey, I’m in the band. Doesn’t really work, you know. So, I [snorts] had to get there at a certain time and I had like a mask on like, you know, something

covering my face just so that, you know, I didn’t get any paparazzis. And uh and uh yeah, I just remember being back

there and I and I took a name tag and I slapped it on and I said, "Hello, my name is Jeff." And I remember the manager was like, "That’s hilarious."

[laughter]

You know, it was it was trial by fire, you know, cuz it was live on XM radio and it was it was um you know, our first

public performance together and it was uh basically you know, hey, here you go.

We’re going to we’re going to do this in front of you know, a live audience now.

So, I was like, "All right, let’s go." You know, it’s trial by fire pretty much, but it worked out.

Now, you open that show with Down, which uh coincidentally starts with, "Please to meet you." Looking back, that was almost kind of like a perfect

introduction for a new singer. Was that intentional or just a coincidence? I don’t remember. That was so long ago. That was like almost 10 years ago now.

Um I wouldn’t even remember about which song we opened with except you just told me. But, uh, I’m sure it probably maybe

had something to do with that just because I was the new guy, you know, and, um, yeah, I don’t know. I I I think probably it probably had something to do with

that, but um, yeah, I wouldn’t remember that if you didn’t tell me. [laughter]

[sighs and gasps]

Now, did joining STG ever feel like a little like the Mark Wahlberg movie Rockstar? you already had, [laughter]

but you’re suddenly just standing in the middle of this legendary man performing songs you already knew.

It it it happens. Yeah, I think about that every now and then because my life is basically that movie. That’s basically what my life is. It’s which is

strange cuz I love that movie. But like, you know, especially when he when he they start taking pictures and he can’t

stop smiling and they’re like, "Stop smiling, you know, you got to look cool, you But uh yeah, uh I definitely there’s

definitely a lot of parallels between my life and that movie, which is a strange thing to say out loud.

Now, you’ve been asked a million times about sounding like Scott. So, let me ask it differently. When you first joined, did you make it clear that if

this was going to work long term, you needed your own freedom to eventually make these songs your own?

Well, that’s that’s the trick is like you’re coming into a situation where this is, you know, someone else’s thing.

Like they they they clearly own it, you know, like they own STP and and Scott was a huge part of that, you know,

obviously. Um, so to come in and and that’s a good choice of words, take ownership, which is like I’m not I’m not

taking obviously I’m not taking ownership with the company or the you know anything like but you have to walk on stage you have to own the song you know you have to be able to go out there

and present it a certain way [snorts] and that took a lot of time you know there was a lot of uh respect you know obviously in in the

very beginning and and and there always respect but um but you know it was it was I was almost a little more standoffish in the very beginning. So,

it took a good year or two to um and we played a lot. We played we played all around the world multiple times over and

um and I think it took that you know and just you know spending time with the guys and you know it’s it’s hard to open

up to new people that you you haven’t met and to share something as intimate as making music together you know and

and you and then in that process you get to know each other more and you get [clears throat] you get closer and and

uh and eventually become you become like family and others and all that and um that’s a huge part of it. Yeah, it’s a huge part of it.

Now, in those first rehearsals, were you worried about almost getting every little infliction exactly like the records? Because millions of fans had

those performances kind of burned into their heads.

Not really, cuz see I like there was a very formative time in my life when Kora came out. I was 16 and

then um and every two years they put a record out for a while there. And so those songs were so ingrained into me that I didn’t really have to think about

them that much, you know, especially like Tripping on a Hole where someone would be like that’s a really hard song cuz of all the, you know, there’s a lot of there’s a lot of lyrics in that song,

but I I like I knew it like the back of my hand because I’ve been playing in cover band since I was, you [snorts] know, a teenager. So, um, a lot of it

was just muscle memory, you know, and so, so and and core is kind of like my wheelhouse of like how I started singing

and how I started, you know, started my the first sound I had was very much like

that, you know, and um, so that’s kind of why I gravitated towards and gravitated towards it in the

record and and everything that Elsa

influenced me like took us down different avenues but that’s always been at which is weird to say at the core of of what my singing abilities were was

based around um the sound on core that that Scott had like that was the the aggression the uh the enunciation there

just certain things about it um that were um you very close to what I was doing at the

time. So, that kind of helped things a lot.

Now, you’ve been in STP for almost 9 years. When did you stop thinking of yourself as the new singer and start thinking this is my band now?

Um, I probably always think of myself as the new singer in some aspects. Um, but at the same time, you know, we get along

great and they’re great dudes and and you know, I do anything for them. So, you know, I I guess, you know,

I don’t really think of it as mine or or whose is it, you know? I just kind of I just I want I want what’s best for them and I want what’s best for for my family

and everything like that. So, I think I think it’s just, you know, something that works.

Now, here’s something I’ve been thinking about for a pretty long time. In movies, a remake means you’re redoing the

original, while a reboot takes an established franchise and starts a new chapter.

Now, [clears throat] doesn’t have a really great word for that. When a legendary band continues with a new singer, makes new records, and builds an

entirely new era, what do you call it now? Is this an STP continuation, a new chapter, a reboot, or after 9 years, is it just simply Stone Temple Pilots?

All of the above. It’s all of those things, you know what I mean? Because because, you know, it’s it’s it’s just,

you know, four guys, three guys trying trying to move forward and with a fourth guy who’s you who’s fighting his way

through life and and we all had something to offer each other and and it all came together great, you know. So, um it’s a win-win situation for everyone

involved. So, um, yeah, I feel like I feel like, uh, I think, so I think it’s kind of, you know, not to take the easy

answer out, but I think that’s kind of I think it’s kind of a lot of a lot of the a little bit of everything that you said. You know,

what’s harder, getting the audience to accept you or finally allowing yourself to stop feeling like you have to have something to prove every night?

part of that just because I’m I think I’m harder on myself

than than other people are, you know, just I mean in the be especially [clears throat] in the beginning I would watch things back and be like, "Oh, I hated that I did that there. I hated

that I did that there. It was something I said or way I moved or something. I was just always like overanalyzing everything, you know." And then the

moment I stopped caring about all that is when it it got fun again, you know, cuz uh you know the buildup was fun and

then and then it was serious work and then it was um you know and then when I stopped you know obsessing over it as

much it became fun again. So um and then we just stay we just stay in the fun now. As long as we’re having fun I think it’s you know it it it shows on the

stage. You can’t hide it if you’re if you’re in a shitty mood or if you don’t feel good or whatever, you know, and or you know, you’re depressed or whatever

the case might be. People can tell, you know, so you you you know, people people can see through uh facades if you’re trying to hide something. So, um I feel

like, you know, the best thing to do is just go out there and sing these songs that I love and and and

uh and just everyone’s so happy. So, you know, you can’t go wrong.

When people eventually tell the complete history of Stone Temple Pilots, what do you want them to say about you and how and what you actually added to the band?

You know, I don’t know. It’s It’s up to them, you know. It’s not really That’s if I if I uh engage in that process,

it’s like I’m tainting it in a way. So, I’ I’d rather just leave that to uh to the people who write things and and have

opinions and do all of that. They can, you know, they’ll have their we’ll have their say at the end no matter what. So,

now you didn’t just join three musicians. You joined two brothers who’ve been making music almost their entire lives. What is it like stepping

into that relationship that Dean and Robert have?

God, you know what? It’s it’s like heaven almost. This is uh this seriously I like before I like um and still when I

work on like I have that other project that band that I’m doing with Will Hunt and um I like I I micro and I want to

you know I micromanage every aspect you know like I I think about every detail of everything that’s going on and with STP it’s the complete opposite. I just

get to walk in a room or they they’ll send me a file and they’ll be like, "Hey, listen to this." And I’m the first person that gets to hear it and it’s

definitely an STP song and I get to write whatever’s come whatever is going to be on there, you know? It’s such a gift, you know, and it’s it’s the

opposite of of how my life is usually because I’m usually looking at every aspect of everything. Whereas with them,

I just get to walk in and do some singing and and it’s so it’s just so uh stressless. You’d think it would be stressful, but it’s the opposite. It’s

stressless because I’m not thinking about the guitar or the, you know, the drums as if they playing the right beat

or, you know, whatever it might be. It’s like it’s it’s all just perfect right when I walk in. So, you can’t you can’t mess with that, you know.

What’s something you’ve learned about songwriting from working with them that you’ve never learned in a previous band?

You know, I think the a lot of their note choices and a lot of their their chords and like I

cuz you know, I played in a lot of cover I played a lot of cover gigs in my life, you know, to play to pay the bills. But uh and I always played plush and I

remember coming in and I was like, "Dude, I" and I had a guitar on and I was playing it and they’re like, "Oh, you’re playing that wrong." So it’s like

even though I you know I was a I was literally like I have a trophy from being winning a guitar competition at 16 like the in the nation you know and then

uh to turn around and and and realize that I was playing it wrong [laughter] and

there cuz they’re just so sophisticated and in the way they put things together you know and I feel like that’s uh that’s something you can always learn

from the 2018 self-titled album had a huge job proved that this lineup could

actually create new Stone Temple Pilots music. Which song on that record made you feel like people were finally hearing you as part of the band rather than you just singing with the band?

I think Art of Letting Go is definitely one of those songs cuz like like I said, that’s one that where they trusted me to see where I was going with it and then it we got to the end and there was and

it was a complete idea, you know? I think they were like, "Yeah, he can do that." And uh I feel like um Thought

Should Be Mine was definitely representative of it just came together.

So what like when you’re working really hard on something and it’s tedious and difficult, you know, it it kind of makes

you feel a certain way, but when you um when it comes together like like the it feels like the stars align and it feels

like you almost didn’t do it. It was done through you somehow. I mean, those are the best ones and those are the most magical ones. And that all shitty mind was definitely one of those two.

Then you made uh parad where which went somewhere completely different that did that record proved to you that the band could go anywhere musically instead of trying to recreate the past?

Yes. Um for da and it was um it’s it was we were basically how it was going to be

an EP. We had like six songs and we [clears throat] were going to um it was just hey let’s make it you know all on vintage.

The brothers got together decided they wanted to make it all in vintage gear, vintage instruments. Um so it ended up

being more of an acoustic thing and then we kept writing and kept writing and next thing you know we had a whole record and we’re like dude we need to stop or we’re going to have like a

triple record here. So, um, yeah, that was just an amazingly, um, fun time to be in a band be with

especially with these guys because it was it was so creative, you know, and it was just it was definitely a magical experience,

you know, cuz everything is everything that they do is organic. Like when people ask like working on music and stuff like that, it’s like when these

guys do things, they they they do them, you know, the real way. They don’t be they don’t okay at 4:00 we’re going to get together and we’re you know it’s like doesn’t work that way you

[laughter] know it just doesn’t work that way. So um yeah it’s it’s just very organic the way they do things

now. Do you feel like um it never got the life it deserved because the pandemic stopped you from really taking that album on the road?

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Because we that that tour was set up to be completely different with extra musicians like a piano player and some horns and some

other things. It was it was going to be a really cool thing. And um yeah, the pandemic shut that down. And then we never knew if we were going to be able

to do play live music again cuz no one knew. And then um when we finally got started up again, we were just like,

let’s just go for it. Let’s just play, you know, as much as possible just because we we that was scary, you know, not knowing if we were ever going to be able to do it again, you know.

Core turns 34 years old this year. Does it mess with your head that bands that the bands everyone called alternative or

grunge in the early 90s are now basically just becoming classic rock?

That’s crazy. Well, [snorts] you see, I’m 50, so if you like when I think when I was younger and I would think back to

the 70s, that was classic rock for me, even though I was born in the 70s. Um,

so I guess people in the 90s are looking back and that’s classic rock now, you know? So it’s it’s it’s it’s the same it

these cy these cycles keep happening and through humanity we just we just get to play our part in it I guess

you now get to perform songs that has survived multiple generations. What is it like looking out and seeing someone who probably bought core in 1992

standing beside their kid or even their grandkid?

Yeah, that’s been happening a lot. um to the point where I I point it out, you know, there’s a lot of lot of young young kids there and they know the

lyrics, too, which is crazy, you know, cuz that that means that they, you know, that their parents most likely played it

and and they loved it enough to learn it and remember it, you know, and um I remember growing up and listening to

music and and having that feeling, you know, and so so to be on the on the other end of that and be the one they’re looking up at as you’re doing that, that’s Uh that’s a gift, you know.

Now for someone uh now for some of those younger fans, you’re actually the first singer that they’ll ever see you perform these songs. Does that change the way

you think about your responsibility in this band?

Um, in a sense, just because I feel like I have to hold true to the to the way the songs were written, you

know, I don’t like to go too far off script with uh the melodies and, you know, just things like that. I mean, it’s cool when other singers come up and

do that as part of the if they come up to sing with STP and they put their own spin on the song and do it that way. But

I I feel like holding true to what the so how the songs were written is um the

best way for me to uh carry on for Scott in that sense, you know.

Now, are you reaching the point where younger fans don’t even think of you as a replacement or the new singer? To them, you’re just simply the singer of Stone Temple Pilots.

Uh I don’t I guess you’d have to ask them that, you know. Um I I I don’t know. I try to stay out of other people’s brains. It’s a dangerous place.

[laughter]

[sighs and snorts]

Um, is that how you know a song has truly become generational? When a 15year-old hears something recorded more

than 30 years ago and doesn’t care when it came out because it still sounds great.

Yeah, I think that’s that’s pretty much the definition of it. We should put that in the we should contact the uh the dictionary people.

Got it.

Now, that generational success creates a crazy set list problem. You’ve made two STP records, but there’s been shows

where the set is essentially entirely material from before you joined. What’s it like being on stage as a stinger of Stone Temple Pilots, but not being able

to perform anything you actually created with them?

Um, you know what? Half the time that’s my idea just because like like the uh

that song Meadow like like it goes. It’s it’s it’s really hard to sing that live. You know what I mean?

Because there’s nowhere to breathe and and it’s hitting this register which is like at a point where if if you hit that

too many times, you’re going to blow your throat out, you know? So, [gasps] I I’ve actually I mean I’ve I’ve done it, you know, hundreds if not more

times. But, uh so, you know, sometimes when they get to those and they’re like, "Hey, you want to do this?" So, I’m like, you know what? I’d rather do, you

know, Cracker Man or something [laughter] cuz it’s just not as taxing.

I I I should have thought about that before I recorded them in the studio.

But, um I mean, it’s fine. Like, you know, especially, you know, like we used to do that 68 song and um and uh Roll Me

Under and stuff like that. It’s just if I had the choice not to do that, half the time I’d rather not do that.

SCP songs are STP songs. You know what I mean? Is there a danger that newer songs can never become classics if audience

aren’t giving enough opportunities to hear them live?

Well, you know, I think it’s it’s a different bag than it used to be. You know, people used to go and buy they used to save their money and then they’d

go to the store and they’d buy music and they’d have it in their hand and they’d take it home and whether [snorts] it’s a

vinyl or a CD or a cassette or whatever it was, you know, take it and open it up, look at the artwork, look what the

band’s vibe is and and and read along the lyrics to the songs and do all that.

Like people don’t do that anymore, you know? So it’s just it’s a completely different thing now, you know, like back in the day it was, you know, people took

more ownership of things because they had they had to work for it. They had, you know, they they bought it with their money. They spent the time going through

it and and really looking at every aspect of what what the band was trying to do or the artist was trying to do or say through the artwork, through lyrics,

on Spotify and that’s about it, you know. [laughter]

So it’s it’s [snorts] a different it’s a different world than it was back then.

Would you be personally uh be satisfied if Stone Temple Pilots spent the rest of their career touring the cast uh classic

catalog but never made another studio album?

I would be fine with that. Yeah. I mean I I I always have to make music. Like I write pretty much every day. Um, and I

have other other things that I put energy into. Um, I I do a lot of writing with um or just

working with younger bands that, you know, that are working with producers that are friends of mine and I’ll go in and work with them and do that. And um

so to me it’s not about you know my glory or my [snorts] you know

my you know fame or whatever it is. You know it’s to me it’s just it’s it’s just about the music and and the songs that

connect and the songs that people love and and you know if someone’s going to yell a song at you every time you play a gig eventually you’re just going to play

that song. You know, [laughter] now it’s been 6 years since the last album come uh came out. Now, I don’t

want you to get away with the normal we’re always writing answer.

Members of STP actively working towards another album as of now.

You know what? I believe so. Um I’m going to give you the honest answer. I believe so. Uh I I it’s like I said, when these things happen and then they

say, "Hey, let’s make a record that it happens organically." So it’s not like, hey, in, you know, in March, we’re going to make a record, you know, it’s just,

you know, they don’t really work like that, you know. So like Robert had has put out a solo record and and Dean’s put out a

couple records um on their own and and they so they’re they have their musical outlets and the things that that they do

to to express their creativity. Um and and we talk about it and and you know things happen and um we work on things

at certain times but um as of right now there’s no you know we’re not hey we’re making this record you know so as of now

there’s not but that could change tomorrow literally.

Now how much of unreleased Jeff Goo era STP music actually exists? Are we talking about just a few ideas, finished

demos, leftover songs, or even a much bigger uh vault? STP, me and STP stuff?

Yes.

I don’t know. I would I wouldn’t even know actually cuz we recorded so much um for that whole year and a half that I

had the gig and no one else knew. That’s all we were doing was recording. So, I couldn’t I don’t remember. You know, my memory is terrible. So, it’s for me

to remember like songs that we did and then scrapped. I don’t know. Like I I have no clue.

[laughter]

If you find out that answer, let me know.

You’ve always been a songwriter. Are you still actively um creating music that has nothing to do with the band?

Yeah. Yeah. Like I said, I have a my band that I that I started that I never finished because I had to drop it cuz I

and I couldn’t tell them why I was basically MIA at a certain point and then just, you know, because they’re like, "This dude’s

lost his mind, you know, and then they found out, oh, he’s an STP, but he couldn’t tell anyone, you know." So, to go back and finish that record um is hu

cuz I I have OCD really bad and I hate leaving things unfinished, you It gives me this crazy

creepy feeling inside. So I have to like literally finish things. And so um yeah, that band’s going to be called We Are

Not Machines and it’s with Will Hunt and um yeah, we’re going I’m going with Bob Marlet to go finish the rest of that

record soon. So yeah, looking forward to that. So yeah, there’s I I write a lot of stuff [laughter] and I’m always

writing. That’s a true statement. My guitar’s right there. [laughter] Oh, who else um is in that band can also be in the music?

What’s that?

Who else is in the band and when can we hear the music?

Um I there’s a there’s just a lot of guest people kind of on it. So, so, uh, there’s not I’m not really going to get

into who else is in the band, per se right now, but, um, uh, should be able to hear something

probably early next year cuz, uh, and a lot of it’s half of it’s finished. I mean, I’m going to retouch some of that stuff in Las Vegas next month. And then

um and then yeah, finishing the record here in LA with Bob and um

and Will Hunts in it from Evan Essence and he’s in about 700 other bands, but this one’s really good and he’s really, you know, for 10 years we’ve been

working on this and he’s like, "We have to do this. We have to do this." You know, I’m like, "Yeah, we do." So, we’re getting we’re getting it finished. We

are We are not machines. That’s what it’s going to be called. So, go follow go follow the social media apps on that.

Um, Dean and Robert have, well, you’ve said it even before, have had both creative outlets outside of the band.

Does seeing other guys make music elsewhere ever make you think it’s time for you to have a project of your own?

Um, not really because I’ve just I’ve always had my other thing that I’ve, you know, been working on. Um, so I never

really thought of it that way. Um, and I’m always excited when they put out something because it’s something they want to express and and so it’s giving

me information every time they they write something and put it out, you know, so which I which I love, you know.

So, um, yeah, I mean, uh, it’s it’s not that them putting out music makes me want to, you know, put it out myself.

Uh, everything everything happens on its own time. And um and and yeah, but the stuff that I the

other stuff that I have is just complet so completely different than anything with with SCP or Dry Cell or anyone, you

know. It’s just weird to even sing Dry Cell because that hasn’t come up in a long time. But but you brought it up. So

[laughter]

do you have songs sitting around as of now that you love but know probably aren’t Stone Temple Pilot songs?

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Yeah, there’s plenty of those. Yeah.

Would you ever bring Rival City back or would you rather start something completely new?

Well, Rival City is kind of is the the um we are not machines, but it’s just Will and I moving it forward. So, you

know, the rest of the parts will be, you know, explained in due time. But, uh basically, it’s from the rival city. it it comes from the rival city sessions

and then it that that kind of turned into something else and then that and then you know I joined STP and so now we’re reverse engineering it to put it

to put it back together but we we’re not sure about who the other players will be at this time.

Now if you could make an album tomorrow and nobody could tell you what genre it needed to be um what would surprise STP

fans most about what kind of record you would actually make?

Um, you know, I feel like songs and in and and in in general and records as a whole kind of come from human emotion,

you know, as opposed to like specific details. And there’s just a lot of heavy heavy heavy heavy things that I need to

get out, you know. So whether that be emotionally or musically, there’s definitely some heaviness to it. So, um,

I feel like that’s kind of the thing that I’m gravitating towards at the moment.

Unlimited studio time tomorrow, but you can only choose one. Another Stone Temples pilot album or a completely

unrestricted your own album. Which one are you going to make first?

I would make the Stone Temple Pilots record first cuz I would put those guys before myself every time.

Now, you spent years trying to reach this level. What’s something about being in a legendary rock band that you completely misunderstood until you actually lived it?

Um, I think it less for me but more for other people. I think it would be um that you know the

80s aren’t that’s not the like what we’re doing anymore in the on our tour buses like like we’re all dads and we’re

all you know it’s like everyone thinks the road is so glamorous but it’s really it’s like glorified camping after a couple weeks you know um every every

city’s a new city and you’re there you’re there for a few hours you know it’s like you don’t have time really to do things that you want [snorts] if you want if you don’t have you know if you

don’t have a day off you don’t really have time to do, you know, to go see the things in the cities. Half the time you don’t even know where you are. I literally have to have it written down

on my on my speaker like what city I’m in so I don’t screw it up.

[snorts]

without telling him exactly what was going to happen, what would you tell him so he would not give up?

Well, he wouldn’t have gave up. He I mean even though I you know the version of me that was in Dry Cell became very

jaded at a certain point because of the music industry and the way the way you know the band was treated and the the just the people involved and the way all that went down.

That’s something that, you know, I caught on to right away even though I was jaded and moved back to Michigan and, you know, was going back to playing

cover songs in uh in in clubs and bars and and um doing all that, which was very humbling, you know, after you have

a major record label deal, you know, to go back and do all that. But it was through showing my son music and showing him, you know, the things that I just

felt the responsibility to show him the things that I loved when I was young, you know. So I would started showing him like the Simon and Gar funkle and the

and you know all the things that I listen to when I was really young and um that kind of just made me realize that

music belongs to all of us and it doesn’t just belong to the people that sell it, you know. And so I uh it just it just helped me drop everything in an

instant and and just go on forward making music. So I think I would tell that person in dry cell that I was

probably, you know, 24 to 26 years old at the time. I’d just be like, "You’re doing good, man. Stick stick

with what you’re doing and everything will be fine." You know, because it was it was music that brought me back. It wasn’t it wasn’t money for music. It

wasn’t, you know, it wasn’t, you know, any of that. It was fame for music. It was just it was the music, you know, and

the love for doing that and for what it meant to me and how how how much it meant to me and and how much I knew it

could mean to other people, which makes me want to be a part of that process.

Now, Scott will always be a part of the band’s history, but I don’t want to ask you another replacement question. If

Scott could somehow watch another STP performance with you fronting the band today, what song would you want him to see?

Oh man.

You know what? Probably dead and bloated just because I feel like that was a very innovative thing when he sang

sang through the guitar like that. But then he used the he used the megaphone live. But I don’t use the megaphone. I let I let the the guy behind the board

just push his little button and turn me into distortion, you know. So, uh, so I think he would get a kick out of that seeing that the sound guy gets to gets

to do half the fun that that he got to have, you know.

And what would you hope he understood about what you try to do with the music and the band over these nine years?

um you know that we’ve been respectful to the music that he’s made.

You know, I I don’t go out there and sing things like completely different, you know, and and try to make it something else completely, you know. I I

try to stay true to what it what it what it was and what it meant, you know, and and and you know, it’s easier for me because that’s how I remember it. You

know, if I wanted to go in and change change it up completely, it would be um hard hard to remember that.

Now, STP has been a band for over 30 years, and you’ve only been a part of that for nine. Are you worried that the band will want to call quits before you are ready?

Um well, they’re older than me anyways, you know, by a lot. I’ll just say that. [laughter] By a lot.

No, but um I mean they’re you know they’re not spring chickens anymore and they you know they have a lot of things going on in their lives. So um you know

it wouldn’t surprise me at any point in time if they were like hey I don’t I’m not into this aspect anymore especially the traveling and you know and [snorts]

all that stuff. So um you know I it’s it is what it is and it’ll last as long as it lasts and I’m just here for to make the most of it in the meantime.

Can you carry STP without them?

I would never want to do that. No, that would It’s their band and it’ll always be their band.

Now, if you were on death row and it was time for your final meal, what would Hey, why why why would I be on death row? [laughter]

You can think of any crime you committed that you would want to commit. That’s why you’re on death row. All right. What would be your final meal?

My final meal? Oh man, it would definitely involve some bison meatloaf

and uh and some chicken wings and uh just a lot of really spicy

cuz you know, let him deal with it later. [laughter]

Um when your chapter with Stone Temple Pilots is eventually written, what do you hope it says?

Um, you know, again, that’s like, you know, that’s that’s not up to me. It’s up that’s for that’s for other people to decide. And all I’m here to do is to

really just um make the most of the situation and and and be disrespectful and and help carry this thing forward as

best I can. So, at the end of the day, you know, I try try to control the things that I can control, but but you know, how people how people reflect on

me and what they say about me is is completely up to them. So, that’s what freedom means. What’s next for you?

Um, I’m going to finish that other record with We Are Not Machines with Will and um continue on with the STP guys and uh yeah, see where it takes me.

All right. Um, thank you so much for taking the time and speaking with me today. I felt like we had a great conversation and it’s been a pleasure speaking with you today.

Thank you, brother. Thank you, sir. Carry carry on my wayward, son.

All right. [laughter] All right. Have a good one, man. You, too, brother.