Stone Temple Pilots drummer Eric Kretz sat down for an interview recently with Marjorie Hernandez of the Ventura County Star. Read a couple of excerpts from the chat below.
Marjorie Hernandez: After taking such a long break from recording, what was it like getting back in the studio with the rest of the guys?
Eric Kretz: We took quite a long hiatus there and then we started touring for about nine months straight. It was just a natural progression to say, "Let's jump back in and go back in the studio and continue the writing thing." The writing process always comes pretty easy, especially having the DeLeo brothers in the band. There is never a shortage of material. It's just a matter of sifting through it and working with everyone's schedule.
The only difficult part was Scott was finishing up a tour for his solo album. Once he completed his commitments, the record just moved along fine. I am really proud of what we came out with in the end.
MH: Why did it take so long to get everyone together in the studio again?
EK: It was a natural progress. It wasn't forced and there weren't too many reservations jumping back into it. It was really spectacular to take some time off and actually get more fans within that break. When we came back at it, it was nice and fresh for people again. The music, too, seems to be timeless. That era of the early and mid-'90s for so many people was such a great genre of music. When we pull out 10 hits in a row, it helps people remember what they were doing at that time.
MH: How is the new record a departure from previous albums?
EK: The material itself is always just a collaboration of how we put together Robert and Dean's musical ideas and where Scott takes them. Some songs you love and some songs you don't feel. In some sense, that creative process is still the same. What was different this time was we produced the record ourselves.
In the five previous records, we always had Brendan O'Brien as a producer, so we always had an umpire to take charge and settle arguments. By doing it ourselves, you have to tiptoe on people's egos and emotions sometimes. In that sense it was more delicate.
MH: In producing and making the record yourselves, what did you learn about the collaboration process and about yourself?
EK: It's all psychological at that point. You can't necessarily go there in the straight path because of the fragility of people's egos. From working with a lot of other producers, you get to see the psychology of passive direction - how they pull you to one area and then steer you back on course to the other side so they can get you to the place where they want you to be. Working in a band is the same thing. Singers usually have the biggest egos and you kind of have to learn how to get them to change words, but you have to get them to get so excited about changing that word because you challenge them. They love a challenge and they say, "Screw you. I'm not going to change anything for the rest of the month." That's part of the give-and-take and the game of it all.
