Photo credit: Corey Hickok
Stone Temple Pilots bassist Robert DeLeo discussed hiring Jeff Gutt to replace Scott Weiland and Chester Bennington in a new The Record interview.
“I wouldn’t want to be a lead singer,” he confides. “It wouldn’t be in my personality, what you have to put out. There’s a focus on lead singers people have.
“You can take 10 different bands and match up the same story of what happens to each. It’s kind of interesting when you look at it that way. It’s very textbook. There’s a blueprint there of what happens.”
He sighs reflectively: “It’s an age-old thing. I don’t know if it’s explainable.”
But with age comes wisdom, or at least acceptance.
Which probably explains why they chose Jeff Gutt, a 42-year-old reality show contestant who grew up worshipping Stone Temple Pilots and, presumably, has no desire to rock the boat.
“I don’t think it’s about having control,” counters DeLeo.
“It’s about having someone who’s competent and can contribute. When you have somebody who’s going to give you 100 per cent, there’s no room for trying to control anything. This is a band.”
But surely there’s element of hero worship that wouldn’t exist with a singer who was more of a peer — an underlying respect.
“You need somebody who has balls,” corrects DeLeo. “And Jeff has balls and can go out there and make it happen. That’s really the thing — getting someone to ‘make it happen.'”
