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STONE TEMPLE PILOTS Under The Southern Stars

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When it comes to longevity and overcoming major hurdles few bands can boast the path that alternative rock group Stone Temple Pilots have walked. From recording worldwide hits with tracks like ‘Plush’ and ‘Interstate Love Song’ through to the tragic death of their frontman Scott Weiland, this is a band that certainly knows highs and lows.

Now STP are getting ready to tour Australia alongside their good friends Bush and Live as the Under The Southern Stars Festival ramps up once again. Seeing it has been a decade since STP were here last it is pretty understandable that they are excited about heading Down Under once again, and that was pretty clear when HEAVY Mag sat down to chat to founding member Erik Kretz.

Tickets for all events available from:
www.underthesouthernstars.com.au

“I really love it,” he says with a slight laugh. “I just wish Australia was a little bit closer because it is very difficult for a band to ship everything out there and do a tour. I know there are a lot of bands who do cancellations and it is unfortunate but once you get there your country is so wonderful. The music fans are top-notch, the weather is great, the country-side is great and the beaches are fantastic, what isn’t there to love? You guys love your rock music and you produce some amazing music yourselves. This is going to be a great month.”

“Last year we did a tour with Bush and The Cult,” he explains when I ask how this festival has come about with such an amazing line-up. “It was really weird because every night we would go in different time slots, there was no headliner just every night we would discuss ‘who goes on first.’ And it worked out great, there was no ‘I don’t want to go on first’ or ‘I don’t want to go on second’ and we just all ended up getting along so well. Then earlier this year we did a South American tour with Bush and it just works so well because the crowds are there and they know all the songs, they know the catalogues of the bands but they also know all the new songs. So then we were like we need to take this to Australia, we got really excited about it so we started to put this package together and now we are just really looking forward to it. There are some great Aussie bands on the bill as well so it is going to be a great day and evening.”

As we talk about the amazing back catalogue that STP have managed to put together over the years we begin to chat about the brand new album that the band are releasing next year. With very little known about the album so far I ask Kretz if the rumour about the album having a flute solo is true or not. “It’s not only a flute solo it’s like a really great wicked flute solo,” he says laughing hard. “It’s an acoutiscish record. It’s not fully acoustic because there is some electric guitar in there. There are some keyboards in there and there are in some strings in there and some other beautiful instrumentation.”

“It is something that we delved on twenty-five years ago when we did the Unplugged gig in New York,” he says continuing. “We just loved being able to present songs in that genre so we wanted to do not just a few songs like that but we thought why not do a whole album like that so we could do a tour. So we will do a three-week tour of America and just present the songs in a different light, just do some things differently and perhaps play some material that we haven’t been able to touch in twenty or twenty-five years. Some songs that will be really fun to play with some extra players on stage. We haven’t worked it out yet but you will be hearing bits and pieces of the new record really soon.”

The big difference that Australian fans will notice since the last time that STP toured will be the new front-man, Jeff Gutt and Kretz says we are in for something very special. “When you come and see us on the tour this April you will be like ‘oh my God this man’s voice’,” he says. “He doesn’t even need a PA he is so loud. No seriously, it is great he has that naturally beautiful husky voice which really works with the older songs and then when you hear the newer songs it just fits so well into the set. Sometimes the bigger mosh-pits come from the new songs and not from ‘Dead And Bloated’ and ‘Pizza Pie’ – some of the older, crazier songs.”

To finish off he says, “ I can’t wait to see you all. It has been ten years since we came to Australia and we look forward to coming to your wonderful country and we’ll see you in April.”

All the details for the Under The Southern Stars festival can be found below.

Tickets for all events available from:
www.underthesouthernstars.com.au

UNDER THE SOUTHERN STARS 2020 DATES

Friday, April 3: Peter Barclay Field, Tuncurry NSW
Saturday, April 4: The Crescent, Parramatta Park, NSW
Sunday, April 5: The Entertainment Grounds, Gosford NSW
Thursday, April 9: Stuart Park, Wollongong NSW
Saturday, April 11: Hastings Foreshore Reserve, Mornington VIC
Sunday, April 12: Showgrounds, Yarrawonga VIC
Monday, April 13: Bonython Park, Adelaide SA
Wednesday, April 15: HBF Stadium, Perth WA – Not a UTSS Festival Date
Friday, April 17: Sunshine Coast Stadium, Sunshine Coast QLD
Saturday, April 18: Riverstage, Brisbane QLD
Sunday, April 19: Foreshore Park, Newcastle NSW

VIP Tickets include:
VIP Lanyard& Fast track Entry in the event,
Dedicated VIP Bar, Grazing table & VIP Toilets
Strictly Limited VIP Tickets will be available for all shows (excluding Perth)

Tickets for all events available from:
www.underthesouthernstars.com.au

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