If anyone is interested…
[b]LINKIN PARK[/b] frontman [b]Chester Bennington[/b] surprised fans on Saturday (May 18), taking the stage with the [b]STONE TEMPLE PILOTS[/b] at the 2013 [b]KROQ Weenie Roast[/b] in Irvine, California. This marked the first public appearance for the three non-singing group members since firing [b]Scott Weiland[/b] earlier in the year.
During the surprise set, the group also debuted a new track called “Out Of Time” which is available as a free download for a short period of time.
Speaking about his future with STONE TEMPLE PILOTS, Bennington told the KROQ morning radio program “The Kevin & Bean Show”: “Every band has its own kinda vibe. STONE TEMPLE PILOTS has this sexier, more classic rock feel to it. LINKIN PARK is a very modern, very tech-heavy type of band. It was kind of nice. I got to use my voice tonight. I got to sing and show my range a little bit. I still got to through a little scream in here and there but it’s really just so much different. I grew up listening to these guys. When this opportunity came up, it was just like a no-brainer.”
Bennington continued: “We couldn’t really plan a tour until tonight because we couldn’t let people know what was going on. Now the cat’s out of the bag so we’re going to go out and make more music and go play more shows and have some fun.”
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.
Weiland, who was about to launch a solo tour at the time of his dismissal, denied at first that he had been fired, saying that STONE TEMPLE PILOTS legally could not exist or use that name without all four members of the group in the lineup.
He reiterated that view during an interview with a Nevada radio station, saying, “I started the band . . . there’s things in place, like certain clauses that are in place that keep that from happening.”
