SCOTT WEILAND Talks STONE TEMPLE PILOTS, VELVET REVOLVER In New Interview

On Tuesday, February 26, a day before he was officially "terminated" from STONE TEMPLE PILOTS, singer Scott Weiland spoke to RollingStone.com about a number of topics, including STP, his willingness to reunite with VELVET REVOLVER and his upcoming solo album.

Asked about the status of STONE TEMPLE PILOTS, Weiland said: "STP has not broken up. I haven't quit. I haven't been fired. We're talking about when we want to tour next.

"My personal feeling is that we just need some new blood in the band. It'll give it new energy, so that we're not just playing the same greatest hits set we've been playing ever since we got back together after I left VELVET REVOLVER. I'd like to make a new record so it breathes new life into it. Right now, I'm focused on building my solo career with this group of guys. That's what feels right.

"As far as VELVET REVOLVER goes, I'd love it if it happened. But it's not something I can count on, and it's not something that I can control. If it happens, it'll happen. It would be a great thing. I know the fans would love to see it, but I respect that Slash has a solo career and he wants it to succeed the same way that I would like my solo career to succeed. Having said that, whether things work out in a timely fashion, and if it's quarterbacked right by the team and we all work together . . . it's all very sensitive right now, but I'd like to do it. It would be fun.

"[The other] guys [in STONE TEMPLE PILOTS] wanted to get together to talk about touring, but I don't think touring right now is the best thing. STP has a legacy, and to protect that is very, very important to me. But to go and do the kind of offers that we were getting would be diminishing the brand, and I don't want to do that. There are offers right now. There are offers that I passed up on. There's offers that those guys didn't want as well. There were some hurt egos, but that's the way it is. Things are like a family. No one's ever fired anybody in STP.

"It's the same thing with VELVET REVOLVER. The whole thing that happened in VR is that I was called by [STONE TEMPLE PILOTS guitarist] Dean [DeLeo] while I was on tour with VR. He said, 'There are a few festival offers. Would you like to do something?' So I approached the guys in VR. They said, 'Yeah, just a few shows? No problem.' Then we went on tour in Europe. We were there for a long time, and everyone in the band went through some difficult times in their own way. "

STONE TEMPLE PILOTS issued a terse statement on Wednesday that simply read, "STONE TEMPLE PILOTS have announced they have officially terminated Scott Weiland." No further details were revealed. This is the second time that the band has parted ways with its often troubled frontman, following a split in 2002. This is also the second gig that Weiland has been dismissed from within five years, after he was given his walking papers by VELVET REVOLVER IN 2008.

The singer responded with his own statement, saying, "I learned of my supposed 'termination' from STONE TEMPLE PILOTS this morning by reading about it in the press. Not sure how I can be 'terminated' from a band that I founded, fronted and co-wrote many of its biggest hits, but that's something for the lawyers to figure out. In the meantime, I'm looking forward to seeing all of my fans on my solo tour which starts this Friday."

Rumors that STP's relationship with Weiland was on the rocks again first surfaced late last year, after the singer hinted that he was possibly rejoining VELVET REVOLVER.

But VELVET REVOLVER guitarist Slash shot that down, saying that Weiland was talking about reuniting with VELVET REVOLVER because he got fired from STP."

Weiland rejoined STP right around the time of his firing from VELVET REVOLVER, with the band touring constantly for the next few years and releasing its self-titled sixth album in 2010.

That last album was recorded with the band playing together in one studio and Weiland recording his parts on his own at his own facility, but bassist Robert DeLeo told The Pulse Of Radio at the time that the band was able to make it work. "There's a certain understanding you have with each other at that point, that you know what the person is gonna like and dislike, and you know what's gonna work," he said. "And, you know, even though it is challenging, you're not in the same room, I think we've gotten to that point where it's a great achievement being able to write and produce and do this record the way we did."

As usual, Weiland's behavior on tour was unpredictable, with the singer often showing up late or going missing before shows, giving lackluster performances and even falling off a stage at one gig.

It's not clear at this point whether STP plans to carry on with a new singer. As for Weiland, he is indeed hitting the road on Friday (March 1) for a solo tour with his band THE WILDABOUTS.

The show on this trek will focus heavily on material from STP's first two efforts, "Core" and "Purple", along with other material.