For DeLeo, getting the band back together has meant revisiting the songcraft and the bass parts he developed during STP’s decades-spanning reign. “I want to stay true to the lines people know on the recordings,” he says. “Digging back through the material six years later made me realize I’m happy with how I played the original lines and proud of how they make the songs work. I’ve always believed that if I play my ass off, people will recognize me for that.”
WHAT BASS LINE HAVE YOU MISSED PLAYING the most, and what makes it so special?
We’ve been doing “Trippin’ on a Hole in a Paper Heart” [from 1996’s Tiny Music ... Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop] as an encore, and I love it. You need a drummer who knows how to lie way back in the pocket the way Eric [Kretz] does in order to pull off a funky line that incorporates a lot of 16th-notes. [Ex. 1 shows part of the song’s chorus.] Patience adds power. Eric actually wrote “Trippin’”; to me, his demo bass part sounded like something Rocco Prestia or Jaco Pastorius would do, so I took it from there. Eric played the original line with a pick, so just playing it the way I do with my fingers gave it a different feel.
Can you describe how you pluck a busy line like that?
I use my first two fingers over the front pickup. I make sure the calluses are built up enough. If they’re not, I drop some Krazy Glue on my fingertips to get them up to speed. It’s so flattering to see people on YouTube playing your songs, but I’ve never seen anyone do that line right.
What do they do wrong?
The transition from the E string to the A string.
“Interstate Love Song,” from 1994’s Purple, was a hit single that solidified your songwriting style. Can you tell me about writing that song and forging the bass line?
A lot of good and bad things were said about our first record, and, at first, I felt pressured to write another “Plush.” When I let that feeling go, “Interstate Love Song” came out while I was playing acoustic guitar in the back of our Ryder truck on tour. I usually get the chords down on guitar or keyboards and add the bass later, because hearing everything else helps me find the best line. I’ve always looked at bass playing as a reaction to chords or a beat; I have the choice to follow along or not. I learned that from Paul McCartney. He recorded his Beatles bass lines last so he could see his options.
“Interstate” started off as a bossa nova in the vein of Antonio Carlos Jobim. If you play it with that feel—the verse chords are C#m7–Ab/C– C#7/B–Bbm7b5–Asus2–E—and imagine a flute playing the melody, you can hear the original idea. I’ve always been fascinated with Muzak because it takes popular songs of the time and turns them into something else. In this case, I wrote something that sounded like Muzak and turned it into a rock song by changing the groove.
“Days of the Week,” from 2001’s Shangri-La- Dee-Da, is a clever pop song that showcases your melodic side.
Dean wrote that song, and when I heard the demo it made me think of Joe Jackson. Graham Maby’s playing on Look Sharp and I’m the Man floors me. When I played it, I was actually thinking more along the lines of the Who’s John Entwistle. He used a Marshall amp, and I always dug how it sounded like a guitar and a bass playing together. That sound worked well for “Days of the Week” because the guitar sound is not that big.
Your line covers a lot of fretboard ground.
I start on the 5th-fret A [Ex. 3], hammer from open E to F#, and then hit the open A string, climb up, and hit the octave A at the 12th fret. Then the bass runs right along with the guitar notes. I alter that ending the second time through with a countermelody descending down the A string.
It seems you’d rather play high on the A string than shift to the D string.
Yes. I just like the tone. I like that tension of trying to get up there. I love the way Paul McCartney used to do that; rather than hitting that high note on the D or the G, he would make something out of the tension of trying to get up high on the A string.
So much is made of Weiland and his drug issues. Do you feel it overshadows the music?
It’s always overshadowed the music. I’ve never been happy about it, and it frustrates fans as well. They know Scott and the band work well together musically. He writes great melodies, and I’m really proud of the body of work we’ve created. Right now, it feels great to go out and play it.
Are you going to write songs for a new STP CD?
We’re probably going to work on some songs a little at a time, but I don’t know about a record. We haven’t been around each other for a long time. It’s a big bite to make a sixmonth tour commitment after not seeing each other for six years, and I want to see how it goes. We’ll get through with this, and then see where we are.
CAN BE HEARD ON
Army Of Anyone, Army Of Anyone [Firm Music, 2006]; Stone Temple Pilots, Thank You [Atlantic, 2003]
CURRENTLY SPINNING
Margot Guryan, Take a Picture [Oglio, 1968] “I’m on a songwriting kick, and right now my head is in the era from 1967 to ’72.”
GEAR
Bass Schecter Robert DeLeo Signature Model-T, strung with SIT Rock Brights (.050–.105) “I blend in the bridge pickup when I want more honk or definition in a busy line. It’s hard to tackle ‘Trippin’’ and ‘Interstate’ on a P-style neck, so I have a version of my bass with a Jstyle neck that helps me get a better grip.”
Classic STP studio rig ’61 Fender Bassman 1x15, ’67 Marshall 50-watt Plexi head, ’68 or ’69 Marshall 8x10 keyboard cabinet, Demeter Tube Direct Box
Current live rig Shure ULXP4 Wireless, Line 6 Bass PODxt, QSC PLX1602 power amp, two Ampeg SVT-810E 8x10 cabinets “I worked with the EQ on the Bass POD and matched my Marshall/Bassman sound perfectly.”