Stone Temple Pilots to Celebrate 20th Anniversary of ‘Core’

2012 will mark 20 years since the release of Stone Temple Pilot's put-em-on-the-map debut 'Core.' The album dropped in September of 1992 and went on to sell over 8 million copies. Decade-defining songs like 'Plush,' 'Creep,' 'Wicked Garden' and 'Dead & Bloated' are part of the grunge musical lexicon and the band, which has endured its share of ups and downs over two decades, plans to celebrate the 20th anniversary of an iconic album in proper fashion.

While nothing has been set in stone at this time, there's nothing wrong with planning ahead and STP want to celebrate with their loyalists. Guitarist Dean DeLeo told Rolling Stone that he'd like to see the band "go out and do more intimate shows – really lovely theaters around the country. Smaller shows, doing the first album in its entirety, and then maybe take requests."

Sounds like a plan. Sign us up!

As for a reissue, DeLeo admitted that the band did not record extra material during the album session, so it's not like the band can dip into the vaults and the archive for a deluxe reissue full of B sides and previously unheard material from the studio. He did confirm that there is a wealth of live material that is usable, though.

He said, "We have tons of live recordings from that era, and we didn't multi-track record that stuff. There's no fixes, so they'd sound incredible if we just master them. I have dozens and dozens of DATs from that era. So this is the true essence of the band – no fixing a guitar part or a vocal part. This is the how it went down."

De Leo also threw props to singer Scott Weiland, who has often battled substance abuse issues, who tussled with his bandmates and even quit the group at various points. He admitted that Weiland's contributions to 'Core' are what made it connect so fervently with fans. He said, "People seem to know every lyric in every song we do. It's a real testament to Scott and what he pulled off on top of what we gave him."

De Leo also recalled that it was a long way to the top since they wanted to rock 'n' roll, to borrow a phrase from AC/DC. During the lean years, the band sometimes played to as little as eight people in a club and that's because they were venue staffers. However, things picked up when they opened for Megadeth. But it wasn't all rock 'n' roll rainbows at first and it didn't immediately lead the band to the promised land. He recalled, "I did a month of doing 'Crackerman' with little, pimple-faced boys with Iron Maiden shirts giving me the finger all night!"

That's a badge of honor, Dean!