The end of Stone Temple Pilots with Chester

[hahninator]

It was May 2013 and Linkin Park had finished up their tour of Australia and New Zealand for Living Things over two months prior. They were cruising along in the studio, working on what we thought at the time was a new album but what we now know as most likely the Mall soundtrack. Out of nowhere on May 18th, Chester joined Stone Temple Pilots as the "surprise guest" act at KROQ's Weenie Roast. The news went viral immediately and as soon as the set ended, their first single entitled Out Of Time was released by KROQ. Bam, just like that.

 

 

When Chester was first introduced as the new singer of Stone Temple Pilots, we can't say that it surprised us THAT much. He was, as we all know, the singer that has openly called STP one of his favorite bands of all time and was the one who joined STP on 2001's Family Values Tour for Dead & Bloated almost nightly. Plus, we all saw that popular STP shirt that he was wearing at Rock am Ring 2001. And who hasn't heard the Scott Weiland (and Jonathan Davis) style of singing and stage presence displayed by his older band Grey Daze? STP's struggles with Scott Weiland were publicized quite a bit over the years and bringing Chester on board seemed like the consistency they needed. Chester was a professional, he was clean, he has the ability to write quality rock songs (both radio and non-radio), and he had a passion for the STP music.

 

Since Linkin Park was ending their touring cycle for Living Things, it was on from the start. Open the floodgates. STP announced a fall tour and an EP entitled High Rise, and they hit the road. STP was unable to perform a few tracks from their deeper catalogue due to Weiland's persistence against playing them so Chester was glad to add a few of those to the setlist. In fact, in 2014, he even had the band rehearse a song just for him the day before the tour started as they were packing up from their final rehearsal. We'll never know why more than two songs (Out Of Time and Black Heart) weren't played from High Rise like Dean wanted, but the back catalogue more than made up for it with some fans.

 

Some LP fans were a bit hesitant at first, but once most of them saw Chester play with Stone Temple Pilots live, they were won over immediately. He displayed a renewed sense of energy and charisma on stage that he hadn't displayed with Linkin Park in years. Perhaps it was because these were some of his favorite songs in music growing up and he was finally able to perform them on stage. STP fans and casual rock fans were slowly won over as the band completed a few successful club tours across the United States. The band even slowly kept introducing a few more deeper cuts to the setlists, which came as a warm welcome since STP in 2008~ was playing mostly a "greatest hits" type of set on tour.

 

 

Unfortunately, they were a few troubling times for the new lineup too. They failed to gain ground outside of the United States and never were able to make it to Europe, Asia, or Australia. Undoubtedly a European mix of festivals and clubs would have brought international attention to the band. A 12 show tour of Asia and Australia in February/March 2014 was canceled because Linkin Park demanded Chester to be back in the studio to finish The Hunting Party. And as Linkin Park canceled their Winter Tour earlier this year due to Chester's broken ankle and elected to not make it up....an upcoming April STP tour was the first news that we heard out of either camp. That was a bit odd considering Linkin Park was full of radio silence for months after the cancellation, but the tour proved to be quite beneficial for Chester as it allowed him to work through his pain and regain his strength to perform on stage. The shows were packed and STP was back on stage having a blast.

 

We heard from Eric and Dean that 4-5 songs for a full STP album had been completed around April, due out in September on a full-length album. Press on the April Tour gave STP excellent reviews as the band seemed happy as ever in interviews. And then something changed.

 

Stone Temple Pilots embarked on their third full U.S. tour with Chester in September 2015 and were in impressive form. From the start, Chester always made it clear that Linkin Park was his main priority. This is very understandable, and probably expected, as he refers to LP as his "baby" and truly loves the band. However, this might have have been part of the issue with fronting two large rock bands at the same time. Both need balance and it's almost unfair to dedicate too much time to one or the other. In 2014, Chester's first full year of fronting Stone Temple Pilots, they managed to play just six shows all year...one being a private party and three being festivals. That's just two headlining shows the entire year. Not good.

 

Just two weeks after their Aftershock performance in California, Scott Weiland leaked out that Chester wasn't the lead singer of the band anymore. It's almost comical that it came from Weiland and it likely forced STP to play their hand as press was going wild with the reports. A few days later, it was confirmed, and we heard that they were even looking for a new lead singer as far back as August. Unfortunately it seems that the September tour was likely done with full knowledge of Chester leaving and might be why there was no interviews given on the tour, no updates on new music, and no performances of new songs.

 

So what exactly lead to the end of his tenure as STP's lead singer? Being the lead singer of one of the world's biggest rock bands and joining another extremely successful rock band as their lead singer was of course going to demand a significant amount of Chester's time. What he probably didn't know, though, was how much time it really took. Jumping from LP tour to STP tour and vice-versa, his time with his (large) family was definitely affected. He even mentions this in his farewell letter from the band, citing the time he was not able to give to STP as well as the time he wasn't able to spend with his family as his main reasons for leaving the band.

 

Touring on-and-off with STP while Linkin Park was doing their entire recording, release, and touring process for The Hunting Party took a toll on the STP album sessions as they never were able to finish a full album with Chester after they released the High Rise EP. Sadly, the songs they did complete will probably never see the light of day and will most likely be re-recorded with a new singer once STP finds one.

 

Chester managed to squeeze in a few tours with the band, but they were never able to go internationally or complete the music that was required to keep the band going. You can only tour on a back catalogue for so long. In all, Chester performed 68 total shows with Stone Temple Pilots from May 2013 to October 2015. In comparison, Linkin Park performed 108 shows in the same time period.

 

 

It's a sad ending to what seemed like a positive story. Many fans in both fanbases (Linkin Park and Stone Temple Pilots) are split. Some think it's good for Chester to give 100% to Linkin Park and some think he was vibing really well with Stone Temple Pilots. Others believe he wasn't a good fit for Weiland in the first place while supporters say he fit the role pretty well. We can all rejoice, though, in the quality performances given by STP in that time period and all the happiness that it brought to both STP and Chester.

 

Would we have a new STP album and tour if Mike had decided to proceed with a Fort Minor album instead of just releasing Welcome as a standalone single? Or if Linkin Park had taken a break after this world tour? Maybe, maybe not. It still wouldn't have solved Chester's issues of not being home with his family, a large concern for him. Linkin Park is back in the studio with the intention of releasing a new album next year that is fully written by all six members.

 

However, if there's ever a case for Chester to hop back in for a band, this is it. If Linkin Park isn't on the road and STP is playing in Los Angeles, you can pretty much guarantee Chester will be there and likely will want to get on stage for a song or two. This was an amicable breakup and both parties are still great friends. One thing is for sure, with all of the energy and excitement he brought to the stage (even calling audibles to play certain songs not on the setlist)....Chester had the time of his life singing for Stone Temple Pilots.

 

Thank you to everyone who has visited the site or that has followed along with us while STP toured.

[RickLPL]

great post!

[Tako]

Saw 'me live in Boston 2013, Mashantucket 2014, Boston 2015 and Clark 2015. All were fun shows. Like I said before, LP is much better and I'm happy he left STP, but I understand his reasoning and I know that it wasn't ''forced''. Only a complete moron would think that, as both STP and Chester have made official statements and LP has been nothing but supportive to Chester the whole time. It's just an ignorant statement to make, IMO.

[Numbrocker]

Amazing post about STP. 2 very short years. I absolutely believe if Mike wanted to do FM in a full album then Mike would get the time and Chester would have stayed in STP. But that's just me.

 

It's interesting reading this to see that LP didn't seem as into THP, even though I think fans loved it. Way better than Living Things and I'm still hoping to hear KTTK or AFN live. But no summit, no mention of redoing the US tour, the super lame festival tour, the lack of overseas shows. Just weird to me.

 

I'm thankful for the small time Chester was with STP. Wasn't something I realized I really wanted. If they play a one off show I'm flying anywhere to see it

[Tako]

Amazing post about STP. 2 very short years. I absolutely believe if Mike wanted to do FM in a full album then Mike would get the time and Chester would have stayed in STP. But that's just me.

It's interesting reading this to see that LP didn't seem as into THP, even though I think fans loved it. Way better than Living Things and I'm still hoping to hear KTTK or AFN live. But no summit, no mention of redoing the US tour, the super lame festival tour, the lack of overseas shows. Just weird to me.

I'm thankful for the small time Chester was with STP. Wasn't something I realized I really wanted. If they play a one off show I'm flying anywhere to see it

The band was super pumped for THP... What are you talking about? They toured a lot on this album cycle, much more than with LT. Carnivores was very extensive, it hit up a lot of states and places LP hasn't in years, HCT barely scratched the surface! Then a huge Europe tour with amazing shows, amazing shows in Brazil, more amazing shows this year in Europe, etc. There were also a lot of summits, wtf? Darien Center and Woodlands, Amsterdam and there was gonna be one in Canada this year too (first ever summit in Canada) but Chester broke his ankle. Rock In Rio USA, opening for Metallica, they headlined a lot of new festivals, and even did Warped Tour, which was fucking HUGE for that scene, even though LPL has largely ignored that epic show. Rock am Ring 2014, etc. So many great shows this cycle. Seems like you just really aren't that into LP anymore, which is fine, people grow out of stuff.

But LP has been firing on all cylinders this cycle and are gonna go even harder on the next cycle. You can still love and support STP, they said they are gonna find a new singer, etc. And by saying you think Mike should have done a full album and tour for FM just so Chester could continue STP, that's bullshit, sorry. Mike obviously was content with doing Welcome, he didn't want to make a whole album, that wasn't his intention. The FM shows were also epic this year. Chester wanted to leave STP, just accept it. It wasn't forced and you keep implying that it was. He wanted to leave because he wants to focus on family and LP 100%. Sorry that you were a huge fan of STP but don't try to blame LP or anyone else for Chester's decision. Seriously that isn't right.

[Tirea]

I'd prefer to see LP taking a longer break than those few months&seeing Chester with STP than Chester leaving STP because of LP.

[mattyice318]

Chester wanted to leave STP, just accept it. It wasn't forced and you keep implying that it was. He wanted to leave because he wants to focus on family and LP 100%. Sorry that you were a huge fan of STP but don't try to blame LP or anyone else for Chester's decision. Seriously that isn't right.

 

 

I think saying that he wanted to leave isn't the right word. I don't think Chester wanted to leave STP. It was a tough decision, and it was his own decision - but I don't believe would ever "want" to choose between any of those three things. It was just too time intensive for him, people have burnt out on a lot less.

[[AndOne]]

Saw 'me live in Boston 2013, Mashantucket 2014, Boston 2015 and Clark 2015. All were fun shows. Like I said before, LP is much better and I'm happy he left STP, but I understand his reasoning and I know that it wasn't ''forced''. Only a complete moron would think that, as both STP and Chester have made official statements and LP has been nothing but supportive to Chester the whole time. It's just an ignorant statement to make, IMO.

 

Well you could say that he forced himself to make a decision.