SCOTT WEILAND Says There Was One Member Of VELVET REVOLVER Who 'Couldn't Agree With Anyone'

Patrick Donovan of The Sydney Morning Herald recently conducted an interview with STONE TEMPLE PILOTS/ex-VELVET REVOLVER frontman Scott Weiland. A few excerpts from the chat follow below.

On how touring has changed since the early '90s:

"Everything's different now. We all used to tour on the same bus and get high and there used to be girls. But it's all changed. Now it's like, finish the gigs, go straight to the bus and do a runner. I've got a bed in the back of the bus and I can chill out and not waste my voice talking all night. I get to sleep a lot earlier."

On his departure from VELVET REVOLVER:

"There was great chemistry with VELVET REVOLVER. There were just so many egos in the band and one person, in particular, who just couldn't agree with anyone and just caused a lot of contention. It was unfortunate how it ended but that's how it goes for many rock'n'roll bands."

On how he gets along with Slash nowadays:

"I don't see him that often but I recently ran into him in Las Vegas and it was fine. I harbour no ill feelings towards Slash."

On the decision to make the new STONE TEMPLE PILOTS album a self-titled release:

"It felt like starting anew but we were also saying, 'We don't need to come up with some major conceptual title.' The image on the cover [a peace sign] and the music speak for themselves."

On STONE TEMPLE PILOTS' focus on its live shows:

"Rock is really fractured now. It's all about the live show these days — which is something we've never been afraid of anyway. There are occasionally big surprises and rock bands that sell a lot of records. I experienced that with VELVET REVOLVER but it just doesn't happen as often [as] in the '90s. There's not one thing to rally young rock bands to a scene, like punk did, or glam, and grunge and alternative rock in the early 1990s. Everything's all over the place."

On playing to both new and old fans during STONE TEMPLE PILOTS' recent performances:

"The older ones are my age now. They're in their late 30s and early 40s, married, with serious jobs. So they have to get a babysitter. But we've attracted a whole new generation of fans, aged 18-25, and think that's because of the legacy that we've left. And the goal from the very beginning was to have a strong legacy, not Lamborghinis."

Read the entire interview from The Sydney Morning Herald.