Stone Temple Pilots Talk Scott Weiland’s Departure: “It Was A Quality Of Life Decision”

After a very public fallout with their long-term frontman Scott Weiland, Stone Temple Pilots’ Robert and Dean DeLeo have opened up about the drama in an interview which highlights just how dire the situation was surrounding Weiland’s ejection.

The band now seems fairly settled and motivated with their new frontman, Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington, but prior to Bennington’s involvement, Stone Temple Pilots found themselves in a toxic environment with Weiland still in the picture and something needed to be done about it. As the brothers explain in the interview, it was more than just a musical or business decision, “it was a quality of life decision”. Robert elaborates:

“I think you get to a point in your life where your BS meter starts running down to a certain kind of tolerance. It wasn’t just a musical decision or a business decision it was a quality of life decision and that really what it’s about. That’s where we wanted to be. Chester is a person that’s really surrounded by good fortune and that’s something you want to be around. It’s no longer three guys in a room, trying to make a record or trying to get a tour together – it’s four guys in a room.”

His brother Dean adds more, explaining that their professional life soon started to impact on their private lives, and the toxic air began to spread:

I don’t know if the fans want to hear this kind of stuff, they probably want to hear more about music, but our band means a lot to us. It never wavered or diminished in any way. Robert and Eric and I are really filled with gratitude. There’s a lot that comes along with being in a successful band and it’s all luxurious. Really. It really is. With that said, it means so much to us and it’s such a big part of our life… I’m gonna say it doesn’t define us, but it’s a big part of our life. It comes into our homes! It really lives and resides in our homes — in our bedrooms, around our children and when a toxic orbit or environment steps into my house…would you wanna do that?”

Now with Weiland out of the picture, it’s full steam ahead for the Pilots who have announced plans to release a brand new EP in the near future. Describing Bennington as an “efficient human being”, he is able to handle both his Linkin Park and Stone Temple Pilots duties hopefully meaning the EP isn’t too far off:

“Some time this Fall. We’re gonna rush right home from here and, literally, get back into it. So we’re right in the throes of it now as we speak,” Robert explains. In the meantime, it’s some hardcore gigging for the band who are off on an adventure throughout North America

(via Banana 1015)

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