The battle between Stone Temple Pilots, their former singer Scott Weiland and his replacement, Linkin Park‘s Chester Bennington, just got even messier, with Weiland countersuing the band and claiming that, without him, there is no Stone Temple Pilots.
The 45-year-old vocalist is responding to the legal action brought against him by his former band, who are asking a judge to block Weiland from performing STP songs, using the STP name or even calling himself an ex-member. Harsh! The Sour Girl hitmakers released a statement last week saying that they weren’t trying to be meanies – rather, they were forced into action when Weiland tried to turn a planned band tour into his own solo jaunt.
But now Weiland is hitting back, claiming the other members conspired to give him the arse so they could seize the Stone Temple Pilots name for themselves. The singer is seeking $5 million for breach of contract and $2 million for a violation of the Lanham Act, which covers trademark infringement and false advertising. He also wants the band to be stripped of the ability to call themselves Stone Temple Pilots while he’s not their lead singer.
Interestingly, Weiland’s lawyers continue to claim that the frontman is still in the band – the lawsuit states: “Weiland is still a member of the band, notwithstanding the other member’s statement or actions to the contrary.” Last time we checked, it was pretty clear that Chester Bennington had taken over that role and no amount of sticking one’s fingers in one’s ears and humming Plush has made it otherwise. But hey, sometimes we all need a little denial to get through the day.
We think this whole fiasco could probably be solved if everyone sat down for a nice cup of tea and agreed that no-one can use the STP name, but that’s probably way too easy. Go get some popcorn – this thing ain’t gonna be settled anytime soon.
(via MTV)
