Stone Temple Pilots bassist Robert DeLeo discussed 90’s Grunge in a new interview on Talk is Jericho. Alternative Nation transcribed his comments.
“I think that was a way for record companies to market a new thing they could make money off of. I think a lot of bands got caught up in that. One thing I can say is there were some really valid, great music that came out of that. It definitely stood on its own without being called Grunge, I didn’t even know what Grunge was. The people that were already signed, I didn’t really know about them, I got to say I don’t listen to a lot of new music.
I mean I actually listen to jazz, jazz has always been kind of a thing to me, Motown and stuff. When you get signed to a record label, they want you to be in a certain movement. There’s not a lot you can really do about that, but one thing we did get straight with Atlantic was we did want full control over everything we did creatively. When we made those records, there was no one from Atlantic Records there. They got the record, and they were like, ‘Great.’
That’s what was great about Atlantic Records, they did give us full control creatively. That was the main thing we wanted. But overall, I wish there was more camaraderie in the bands of those days. It almost seemed like everyone was just a little snobbish about the music they were making, because I go back to 60’s and 70’s, there was Joe Cocker doing The Beatles.
You think about that concept, who would be doing that now? Or Hendrix goes to England and does Sgt. Peppers. That’s camaraderie, that’s respect, that doesn’t really exist anymore.”
