Reading fan comments through facebook, blogs, and other music forums, I believe all music fans can come to an agreement that Scott Weiland can’t be replaceable in Stone Temple Pilots. There will only be a few of those that believe that STP has every right to be doing what they’re doing to Scott and you got to be honest with yourself; they don’t have that right. The band getting rid of their important frontman is a career suicide. The band wants to stop Scott from using the band name and they want to stop him from playing STP songs at his solo shows.

Actually, the band DO have the right to move on from members all they want to but if they’re gonnna do something very risky, they should have left STP alone and started a new band like I repeatedly stated before.

It doesn’t matter whether Chester Bennington is a great fit for STP or not, it’s just not the right thing to do to replace the singer under the STP name. It also doesn’t matter if Scott is a huge pain in the ass or if his personal addictions is the reason for firing him. Yes, I’m sure many other legendary bands from the past have fired their founding singers before and replaced them with good ones successfully but with STP; it’s different, ya know? Getting rid of Scott Weiland is like U2 without Bono or Rush without Geddy Lee. Speaking of U2 and Rush, both of those bands has had the same lineup of musicians for over thirty years and the same members are still together today. Why? Because a band is like a marriage. It’s pretty rare when founding members stay together for this long over the years. It’s not only the chemistry of the members and the lineup; it’s the style of playing of those musicians that makes their music work. People are so used to seeing the same members together for years, and if one of those founding members is replaced, they’re gonna get a lot of flak from the public for that. Career suicide.

I’m sure there are many reasons why getting rid of Scott from STP and replacing him with a new singer is a huge mistake but I’m going to explain 5 of those reasons:

•  It hurts the fans – This is pretty much the big one. It’s gonna hurt the fans who have supported them over the years. The fans are the ones who gave them the success. They are the ones who put their money toward the albums, concerts, and merchandise. Fans are not going to get used to a different frontman. Not only the band is hurting the frontman, they’re also hurting the people who loved them. A lot of fans are going to stop supporting them and they’re gonna start boycotting. The fans are what helps the band keeps going to this day, something to think about there. They’re already getting a lot of disrespect throughout the music community. Yes, it’s very possible that a band with a new singer can re-build a new fanbase but it’s even gonna be tough for newer fans too. When new fans listen to new STP music under Chester, a lot of them are going to start listening to their older music with Scott and just think of their reaction when they do discover their old music with their former singer. I would think they’re not gonna be happy either and they will be confused.
• This is gonna hurt record labels – They could lose a lot of money for this — the labels. I don’t think the new upcoming STP album with Chester fronting is gonna sell well. Not only that their longtime fans will stop supporting them, record sales will go down and it will take a LONG TIME for the new STP to get success again. It’s going to be difficult for the new STP to promote and market themselves over again if they want mainstream success again. It’ll be tough for the band to stay in the mainstream and be successful, doesn’t matter how good their new songs are.
• It’s just gonna tarnish their legacy – 6 successful albums. Huge part of the 90’s grunge movement. A number of smash radio hits. Double platinum records. A lot of awards. Possible future rock n’ roll hall of famers. They played sold out arenas and played huge festivals all over the world. They’ve won plenty of awards for their music over the years. They had a good run on a positive note. They’re one of the most successful rock bands in the history of music, and they should just leave it as it is with those 4 original guys even if they want to get rid of members.  The new STP will NOT have that same success. They could go back to playing the smaller clubs instead of arena shows and stadiums. This will do nothing but hurt their history that they created together, ya know?
• The sound of the band won’t be the same – People are so used to hearing Scott as STP’s lead singer. Scott’s voice defines the band’s sound and there is no other singer who will be able to sing STP songs. Scott is the only singer for STP; he should be, anyway. Having a different singer will feel like an STP tribute band or a supergroup. It’s Scott’s recognizable voice is what makes the STP songs work. I’m not gonna knock Chester’s talent like most would do but even if you think he is a good singer, he is not STP. I’m sure other singers can sing Stone Temple Pilots songs well but they won’t be able to sing the songs as perfect as Scott did. The STP songs Scott did with them in the past were meant to be something special and having a different singer will just hurt that.
• This is making the whole band look bad on both sides – It doesn’t matter whose side you’re on. Whether you’re on Scott’s side or the other guys or if you’re neutral; this is gonna make all band members look bad all-around. Professionally and their behaviors. Sure bands don’t get along it happens. While you may not agree with Scott’s actions and may think he deserves to get fired; the other members are no different either as they can be unprofessional assholes as well. This is another reason why getting rid of Scott is a mistake, making them look bad on a professional level.

You see Scott completely understands why the other guys want to move on without them, he made that pretty clear in his response over the weekend. He just wants the other guys to use a different band name like most of us. If STP would man-up and change their band name, then Scott and all the fans will be accepting of them. Maybe the public will even support them more if they change the band name like requested but…

I’m sure Robert, Dean, and Eric won’t change the band name like so many people have begged them to.

This just proves my point after all these years of me ranting about bands & music that bands & artists can be ego-driven pieces of shit; locally or nationally. Bands don’t care. They’re pretty selfish people, all of them. A lot of them are into music for the money and they just want to be at the center of everyone’s attention. That’s the name of the game with the music business. You’re going to come across with a lot of egos and your music dreams & goals could get destroyed just like that. That’s what’s going on with Scott here. He loves what he does. He wants to rock out and keep the music going but people just want to keep destroying him.

I never understood why Scott continues to get so much disrespect and never understood why he’s such an easy target on the drugs/alcohol. Like I said, there are musicians all over the place who are drug addicts and alcoholics, so stop being a hypocrite. Willie Nelson is the biggest pothead around, and people look at him like he’s some sort of hero. People are hypocrites, I tell ya.

Kev

Scott Weiland, the man himself, finally took to his facebook page yesterday to write his thoughts about STP replacing him with Chester Bennington. Scott is just like all of us. He first heard about Chester joining by reading it on the internet and he also agrees with most fans that they should change their band name if they want to move on with a different singer. Scott said in his post, he doesn’t care if the other guys want to move on without him, he just doesn’t want the band releasing new music and performing live under the STP name.

Read Scott’s message, here.

Scott makes a whole lot of sense that the 4 original guys had a special career together and he just wants the band’s legacy to be respected. Replacing any of the members will just tarnish the legacy of the band. He just wants the band to be left as those 4 original founders like I’ve been trying to explain. The Stone Temple Pilots were one of the most successful bands in the 90’s grunge movement. Scott just wants that to be respected.

I understand that bands wants to move on with their music ’cause they love what they do; they just need to be more professional about things. This is pretty unfair to Scott and it’s making him look bad. Scott owns part of the trademark to the STP names and he owns the copyright to pretty much the whole STP catalog of music. That’s why Scott is able to play STP hits during his solo “Purple to the Core” tour.

Robert, Dean, and Eric are great musicians. They seem like they’re good guys, don’t get me wrong. They should have just left STP alone and start a new band if they wanted to move on without Scott out of respect for the legacy of STP. They had a good career. They had 6 successful albums together.

Now I’ve read a report that STP has already sued Scott Weiland which is what Scott was probably responding to. The band wants to stop him from using the STP name to further his solo career and they want Scott to stop performing STP songs at his solo shows. That’s gonna be kind of tough to do ’cause like I said Scott owns part of the copyrights to the songs, so the other guys in the band will have to try and win the rights from Scott. It’s gonna be a tough battle.

I’m still siding with Scott on this. I hope Scott will win the dismissal and hope he will counter-sue which he probably will. I think Scott will win this whole battle. He will prevail. I wish him good luck.

Read the full report, here.

Kev

Today, the Stone Temple Pilots revealed their new singer. Who is it? It’s the singer from Linkin’ Park, Chester Bennington. Hear the new song by STP fronted by Chester in the audio-video below. Yes, the debate of Scott Weiland being fired from STP heats up even more online. I’m reading the comments in facebook on the STP official page, and a lot of fans say that if the other guys want to keep the music going, they should change their band name. Sorry to say but I’m gonna have to side with the fans on this one. I understand that the show needs to go on when terminating or replacing a singer but this is disrespectful to Scott if you think about it. It also disrespects the legacy of Stone Temple Pilots.

I posted a similar discussion in my own facebook page, and got into a heated debate about it with a couple of guys in my facebook. The argument was that the other guy said it would be lame to change their band name ’cause of a singer replacement on a business standpoint. I argued that if they’re gonna replace a singer they need to change the bandname ’cause Stone Temple Pilots was Scott’s baby. Yes, it’s true. Scott Weiland formed STP pretty much himself. Him and one of the Deleo brothers formed, Mighty Joe Young, and STP formed from there.

A lot of people want to mistakenly believe that STP was never really Scott’s band. They want to argue that STP was strictly a band, and they think they can fire, replace members all they want to. Sorry to say, but I’m going to explain that Scott has always been a prominent member of STP from the very beginning. He is pretty much the main guy of the band that you can’t really replace. Scott created the band himself, you can’t be kicked out of something you just created, ya know? Scott was the one who wrote most of STP’s catalog of songs especially the band’s biggest hits like “Plush”, “Wicked Garden”, “Interstate Love Song”, “Big Bang Baby”, etc. All of those were Scott’s tunes. Their first two albums, “Core” and “Purple” were multi-platinum records; they were a huge part of the grunge movement in the 90’s. Scott made all of that happen.

Don’t get me wrong, though. I understand bands want to keep their music going when getting rid of an important member. When they want to do something so risky, there’s a few reasons why changing their band name would be a good idea if they want to get rid of Scott Weiland. I’ll list em: 1) They should change the name out of respect for Scott Weiland ’cause this is making him look bad. 2) They should respect the legacy of STP with it’s four original members, the band had a great career and they shouldn’t ruin it 3) To avoid confusion with the fanbase and the media.

I’m reading all of these comments by the fans in facebook slamming STP for replacing Scott. I hear them, and I agree with the fans calling them out. The fans are just doing it out of love and they just want the band to be more professional about things so they know what they are talking about. Again, don’t get me wrong, their new song with Chester is not that bad, I dig the song actually but don’t release it under STP. LAME!!!!!!!!!!

So far, no response from Scott Weiland about getting replaced by the Linkin Park guy. I have a feeling that Scott is planning a big lawsuit against the other guys in STP. Whether they have the right to fire Scott or whether Scott has the right to stay in the band no matter what happens could be decided in the court room soon.

I do like STP, though. It’s just sad that these guys don’t want to get along. Yes, Scott Weiland has his personal problems but despite that just because you don’t like the guy don’t really mean you have to get rid of him. You can replace other members. Bands do make changes with members over the years, sure, but you can’t get rid of the band’s main guy. It’s just isn’t right on a professional level. I’m still siding with Scott, all the way.

I’m interested in seeing how this feud is gonna end, and I do hope Scott does take them to the court room. I wouldn’t really blame Scott’s so called firing over his drug-problems or personal issues. We don’t know the whole story, so don’t badly judge.

Kev