Stone Temple Pilots Pay Respect To Scott Weiland As They Search For New Lead Singer

Stone Temple Pilots will go on, despite the death of the band’s founding frontman and the departure of his replacement. Dean DeLeo, Robert DeLeo, and Eric Kretz, the surviving members of the ’90s alternative band, have announced a worldwide search for a new lead singer following the exit of Chester Bennington last fall and the death of Scott Weiland in December. Stone Temple Pilots posted a statement on the band’s official website, in which they explained that their founding frontman can never be replaced.

“No one will ever ‘replace’ Scott, that was never the intent. The intent is for Stone Temple Pilots to continue on, to evolve and to do what we do… make music!”

In addition to paying their respects to Scott Weiland, the bandmates also gave props to Bennington, who left Stone Temple Pilots in November to focus on his work with his other band, Linkin Park.

“As you know, prior to the untimely passing of our brother in arms, Scott, we had been working with the incomparable Chester Bennington. What you also likely know is that having Chester front two bands of this size and scope was too much for one man to be able to do and so regretfully we had to move onto a new chapter together.”

With two irreplaceable past singers to honor, Stone Temple Pilots decided to go in an entirely new direction to find their next vocalist. A singer submission form on the band’s website will allow rock star wannabes from all over the world to audition to be the new lead singer of Stone Temple Pilots. But make no mistake, whoever gets the job will have some really big shoes to fill as he or she belts out the lyrics to STP hits like “Interstate Love Song” and “Plush.”

After Weiland was found dead on The Wildabouts tour bus in Minnesota last December, his former Stone Temple Pilots bandmates posted an open letter to him on the band’s official Facebook page. The trio thanked the late singer for sharing his life with them, and they acknowledged his long and painful struggle with substance abuse.

“We know amidst the good and the bad you struggled, time and time again. It’s what made you who you were. You were gifted beyond words, Scott. Part of that gift was part of your curse.”

In addition to their statement, the surviving members of Stone Temple Pilots honored their late friend with “Memories of Candles and Incense,” a video tribute that highlighted one of his most powerful performances. In a statement to Rolling Stone, the Stone Temple Pilots members said it was the way the way the band wanted to remember Scott, and they described the track as coming from a time when Scott was “truly” at his best.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=31&v=gJQxKmuhPv8

In addition to the band’s statement and tribute, the day after Weiland’s death, his Stone Temple Pilots replacement, Chester Bennington, took to Twitter to express his sadness over his predecessor’s passing.

I am so sad, angry, heart broken… I hate today.

— Chester Bennington (@ChesterBe) December 4, 2015

Bennington joined Stone Temple Pilots in May 2013, just a couple of months after Weiland was fired from the band. The revamped STP released a 2013 EP titled High Rise, but with only 35,000 copies sold, it paled in comparison to the band’s megahit albums of the ’90s, which sold more than 40 million copies. Bennington ultimately quit Stone Temple Pilots in 2015 to focus on his real moneymaker, Linkin Park.

Now, it’s anyone’s guess who will fill Weiland and Bennington’s shoes, but with Stone Temple Pilots’ unique open call for a singer, it could be anyone from any corner of the world.

[Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images]