Stone Temple Pilots and Live – The Jubilee Tour

Stone Temple Pilots and Live – The Jubilee Tour

The alternative rock explosion of the 1990s was framed as a triumph of authenticity: grunge wiped out the sleazy hair metal of the ’80s and ushered in an era of real, dangerous rock. Stone Temple Pilots complicated this narrative considerably. The quartet of Scott Weiland, Dean and Robert DeLeo, and Eric Kretz had a foot planted in two seemingly opposed camps, cutting their teeth on the Southern California hard rock circuit of the late ’80s yet working steadily with Brendan O’Brien, who also produced albums by Pearl Jam, one of the biggest bands to hail from Seattle, the birthplace of grunge. For a while, STP outpaced their contemporaries at least in terms of hit singles, racking up constant plays on MTV and rock radio with “Plush,” “Creep,” “Big Empty,” “Vasoline,” “Interstate Love Song,” and “Big Bang Baby.”

Each of their signature hits boasted a canny blend of crunching classic rock riffs, psychedelic flair, and candied pop melodies, a combination that helped the songs endure beyond the band’s ’90s heyday. Behind the scenes, Stone Temple Pilots were plagued with personal problems, many stemming from Weiland’s troubles with addiction, and the weight of these battles led to the band’s breakup in 2002. After a few years, the group reunited long enough to deliver a comeback album in 2010, but Weiland died of an accidental overdose in 2015, leaving the surviving members to carry on with replacement lead singers, including late Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington and The X Factor competitor Jeff Gutt.

About Live

Live rose to success on the strength of their anthemic music and idealistic, overtly spiritual songwriting, two hallmarks that earned the group frequent comparisons to U2. The group’s roots stretched back to the early ’80s, when future members Chad Taylor (guitar), Patrick Dahlheimer (bass), and Chad Gracey (drums) began playing together under the name First Aid while attending middle school in York, Pennsylvania. After losing an area talent contest, they decided to enlist singer Ed Kowalczyk, and as a foursome the group played under a series of names before settling on Public Affection.

About Soul Asylum

In the ’80s, Soul Asylum were one of the hardest-working bands on the underground rock scene, the little-brother band of Hüsker Dü and the Replacements, known for their raucous but emphatic combination of punk energy, hard rock guitar firepower, and songs that ranged from angry to heartfelt. Released in 1988, Hang Time made them cult heroes and favorites with critics, but with 1992’s Grave Dancers Union they added a bit more polish, hardened their guitar attack, wrote more anthemic choruses, and became one of the biggest acts on the alternative rock scene thanks to the singles “Runaway Train” and “Black Gold.”

After the multi-platinum success of Grave Dancers Union, Soul Asylum had trouble repeating their commercial and critical achievements, and faded out at the end of the ’90s. However, the death of bassist Karl Mueller in 2005 sparked a return to the studio and the stage, with the band soldiering on under the leadership of lead singer Dave Pirner and releasing albums like 2012’s Delayed Reaction and 2016’s Change of Fortune.