Two months ago, Scott Weiland, the troubled face and voice of Stone Temple Pilots, was “terminated” from the band in an official statement that came as much as a surprise to him as it did fans, his bandmates effectively dumping the singer just days after he told Rolling Stone that “STP has not broken up… I haven’t quit. I haven’t been fired.”
The remaining members of the lineup however – guitar playing brothers Robert and Dean DeLeo and drummer Eric Kretz – would vehemently disagree, and proved the point when they played a set at LA radio station KROQ’s annual Weenie Roast, where Weiland was replaced by Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington, as Rolling Stone reported.
The band also aired a new song, titled “Out Of Time”, which Dean DeLeo says has been recorded with Bennington on vocals. “I’ve loved STP since I was 13 years old and they’ve had a huge influence on me,” said Bennington. “When the opportunity came up to do something creative with them, I jumped at the chance.”
The always outspoken Weiland was, understandably, less than happy about his replacement, the singer taking to his Facebook page to write an open letter addressed to his fans. “To tell you the truth, it took me by surprise. And it hurt,” writes Weiland of the Bennington-fronted performance, stating that “the band that played last weekend was not Stone Temple Pilots and it was wrong of them to present themselves as that.”
“When I tour on my own, it’s never as Stone Temple Pilots. It’s as Scott Weiland. The fans deserve to know what they’re getting,” he added. “I don’t give a fuck what they call themselves, but it’s not Stone Temple Pilots.” “I don’t give a fuck what they call themselves, but it’s not Stone Temple Pilots.” – Scott Weiland
The singer also claims the band have no legal right to use the name since “because I’m still a member of the band,” says Weiland, but “more importantly” that it was ethically wrong to use the name “because it’s misleading and dishonest to the millions of fans that have followed us for so many years.”
Following the open letter, the plot has taken a particularly ugly thickening turn; according to The Hollywood Reporter the remaining members of Stone Temple Pilots are now suing Weiland in a lawsuit that accuses him of “misappropriating” the band’s name to advance his solo career, and blames his struggles with addiction and poor commitments for hurting the band’s earning potential.
The lawsuit was filed with a Los Angeles court last Friday and claims Weiland “violated his duties” to the band, charging him with breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty (an ethical trust between parties), and declartatory and injunctive relief. According to the suit, the band claim Weiland interfered with airplay of the new STP song, “Out Of Time” by having his lawyer call the head of programming at KROQ and threatened them with legal action.
The DeLeos and Kretz suit also says they own the rights to the name Stone Temple Pilots along with the group’s songs, copyrights and trademarks, despite Weiland’s public protestations. The lawsuit references agreements made in 1996 and 2010 that no former members could use the band’s name and asked judges to stop Weiland from performing any Stone Temple Pilots numbers in his solo shows or even calling himself a former member of the group. “Without relief from the court, Weiland will continue violating STP’s rights, misappropriating STP assets and interfering with the band’s livelihood.”
Among the long list of complaints against the singer, they claim Weiland’s shoddy commitments during the band’s 2012 20th Anniversary Tour caused the band “to lose lucrative business opportunities for live performances and other appearances, which cost the band millions.”
“Enough is enough,” the lawsuit reads. “Without relief from the court, Weiland will continue violating STP’s rights, misappropriating STP assets and interfering with the band’s livelihood.”
The suit also confirms that the band “plans to record a seventh studio album, its first with Bennington,” confirming that the “Out Of Time” single was not a one-off, but the intended start of a new era for a Weiland-less Stone Temple Pilots.
Its unspecified how much in monetary damages the members of Stone Temple Pilots are seeking against the ex-frontman, but the does refer to a breach of contract worth over $2 million, but that the exact amount will be “proven at trial.”
Somehow we get the feeling that this won’t be the last we hear of this case, Weiland after all, has never been a man to take things lying down.
