SCOTT WEILAND Says STONE TEMPLE PILOTS Members Are 'Disrespectful' And 'Selfish'

STONE TEMPLE PILOTS members Robert DeLeo (bass),Dean DeLeo (guitar) and Eric Kretz (drums) last week filed a lawsuit against their former lead singer Scott Weiland claiming that he sabotaged their 20th anniversary tour by being chronically late for performances and missing promotional gigs. They also allege Weiland refused to communicate with other bandmembers in an attempt to "hijack" the tour.

STP officially fired Weiland in February after weeks of rumors about his status, issuing a terse statement that read, "STONE TEMPLE PILOTS have announced they have officially terminated Scott Weiland."

This was the second time that the band has parted ways with its often troubled frontman, following a split in 2002.

In a new interview with AZCentral.com, Weiland states: "Originally, before the whole STP thing blew up, I said, 'Look, we need to take a break. We need to make an album. We've been playing the same (expletive) set for four years. Without a change. We've been watching ourselves go from playing 20,000-seat arenas to county fairs and 2,000-seat casinos.' I said, 'I will not sit around and destroy the brand of this band. I will not do it. Will not do it. We have to get in the studio and make new music.' That's what we loved to do in the first place. We were artists. We were creators. They didn't see things the same way."

He continued: "They had different management. Their managers, who are just basically booking agents, to put it lightly, they have no problem with STP and its legacy being destroyed. A 22-year band who sold more than 40 million records and had numerous No. 1 hits, numerous No. 2 hits, top 5, top 10. Two Grammys. They don't give a (expletive). As a matter of fact, I think they're getting paid per hour. So I wouldn't (expletive) do it. And they can't do it without me… So they can say 'Guys From STP.' But they've already done two bands and failed."

"We were supposed to [play the entire album] 'Core' [on tour] because it was the 20th anniversary of 'Core'. There was supposed to be a new greatest-hits album, a boxed set, everything, which (guitarist) Dean (DeLeo) had originally agreed to and backed out. And I was giving all this press, saying we were doing this. We were booked into all these huge places.

"As soon as promoters found out that's what we were not going to do, everything got pushed in, shut in. We were playing theaters. Now, is that how I want to see STP now? Not at all. Not the band that I started. Not the band that I named. Not the band that when I was in Huntington Beach, took a shot and called Robert DeLeo at his apartment, doing nothing in music, living with his girlfriend, and said, 'Hey man, would you like to do a band?' It was with me and Corey (Hicock) at the time, my best friend. And eventually, he said yes. Then, we got (drummer Eric) Kretz and the whole evolution of it. We went into MIGHTY JOE YOUNG, then STP. But do I want to see that, everything that we grew turn into a circus sideshow? No (expletive) way."

Asked about where things stand between Weiland and his former bandmates, the vocalist stated: "I don't really think about it a lot. I think about how disrespectful they are, sometimes, in between a sip of coffee and a hit of my cigarette. I think about how selfish they are and how much it blows me away that after two times of trying this, they still think they have any opportunity of doing it without me. And it's not me saying that I'm the greatest, because you know what? I'm not. John Lennon. Paul McCartney. They are ... better than I am. But as far as this band goes? The vision? The artistic direction of the band? And trying to keep them from sounding like RUSH? I'm sorry. I have to be totally honest. It was me. I'm guilty. I kept them from doing it. That's all I've got to say."

Fans were shocked when STONE TEMPLE PILOTS made a surprise appearance at a radio festival in the Los Angeles area on May 18 with LINKIN PARK's Chester Bennington making his debut as the new STP lead singer.

The group performed a new song called "Out Of Time" at the show, putting a studio version online earlier in the month. The DeLeo brothers and Kretz now claim in the lawsuit Weiland got vindictive and tried to interfere with the release of the single. Weiland's lawyer, according to the lawsuit, called the head of programming at the Los Angeles radio station KROQ and said if the station played "Out Of Time", it would be infringing on Weiland's rights.

The suit notes that STP "plans to record a seventh studio album, its first with Bennington," which confirms Chester's recent statements that he was planning on doing more recording and touring with STP, while remaining in LINKIN PARK.