The decision by San Diego-hatched act Stone Temple Pilots to turn down the much-coveted opening slot on the Aerosmith tour in order to co-headline a smaller
trek with the Butthole Surfers initially may seem like a mistake. But a look into the band's past and future plans suggests it may have made the right choice.
The Pilots' debut album, "Core" (Atlantic), went gold in April and climbs this week to No. 15 on The Billboard 200 after 19 weeks.
While much of the Pilot's initial success was due to early exposure on hard-rock radio stations, such as KNAC Los Angeles, the band would rather align itself with
the alternative set.
Says Pilots vocalist Weiland, who uses only his last name, "When we went out and played with Megadeth earlier in the year, probably a lot of people were turned
onto us, but then again there were a lot of people who weren't quite sure what to make of us that were probably thinking, 'Who are these guys, and why are they
opening for my favorite heavy metal band?'"
BARBECUE MITZVAH
The tour with the Butthole Surfers, tentatively dubbed "Barbecue Mitzvah," will take the band to unusual venues, such as drive-in theatres, parks, beaches, and
parking structures. According to Stewart, there will be an effort to keep ticket prices in $12-$15 range, and two other acts will round out the bill. According to
Weiland, the tour also may feature a Kiss cover band and Elvis impersonators. "It's going to be big cheesy fun," he says.
Says Pilots manager Steve Stewart, "We don't think at this stage the band is ready for the type of show where you pay $5 for parking, and $35 for a ticket and you
sit in row 350," he says. "We're looking at 1,500 to 3,000 [capacity] general-admission venues, where the kids can really come up front and see the show first
hand."
Even before signing with Atlantic April 1, 1992, the Pilots were concerned about the band's image and about mingling with traditional rock acts. "Atlantic is an older
label and has a roster based on rock," says Stewart. "A lot of people wondered if we could be successful at such a company."
Adds guitarist Dean DeLeo, "We were very concerned with the label doing some big, stupid, big-money hype on the band, and just giving us a false pretense of our
whole gig."
However, Atlantic was able to silence whatever doubts the band had about signing with the label, starting with Atlantic West Coast A&R staffer Tom Carolan.
"Tom wasn't the typical A&R guy," says Stewart. "He's very down-to-earth, and he really believed in the music from the start."
Another key was Atlantic senior VP Danny Goldberg. The Pilots were one of the first acts signed under Goldberg. "He was associated with Nirvana through Gold
Mountain, and his mandate was to make Atlantic more viable in the '90s," Stewart adds.
According to DeLeo, Atlantic gave the band artistic control over "Core," including the decision to choose which cuts to take to radio.
Atlantic seior VP/GM Val Azzoli says the label took a low-key approach to the project: "We really took it slowly and methodically and let the music lead, in the
sense that we didn't want to hype the band."
Although several members of the band, which also includes DeLeo's brother Robert on bass and drummer Eric Kretz, are from Los Angeles, DeLeo owns a house
in San Diego, and the band often performed in that area before signing to Atlantic.
The Pilots have toured heavily, first on a club trek, then as opening act on a Megadeth tour (Billboard, Jan. 9). At each tour stop, the label keyed into
mom-and-pop retail outlets. Notes Richard Horowitz, of three-store San Diego-based Off The Record chain, "In the last month ["Core"] has really started to take
off."
Hard-rock radio juped on the initial single "Sex Type Thing," followed by MTV, which added the clip to Buzz Bin rotation.
Modern-rock radio, however, didn't embrace the band until "Plush," the second track serviced to radio. Now, Azzoli says Atlantic plans to work that track as a
single at top 40 beginning May 17.
EXTENSIVE TV ADS
Top 40 exposure is only the beginning of Atlantic's plans to take the Pilots into the platinum-plus sales range. In conjunction with the band's June-July dates with the
Butthole Surfers, is planning an extensive television advertising campaign that Azzoli says will be featured on everything from "MTV and cable to broadcast
'Headline News,' and wrestling shows. We want to do things with TV that historically haven't been done before."
Atlantic has even complimented the band on its decision not to accept the spot on the Aerosmith tour. "I think it's a very wise and gutsy move," Azzoli says. "The
decision has nothing to do with Aerosmith, which is one of the premiere bands of the world. The Pilots made the decision that it wants to stay closer to what it's all
about, and stay in the small venues and not take the leap so quickly."
Meanwhile, the Pilots have been working on a track called "Big Empty" for the soundtrack to the forthcoming film "The Crow," and a cover of "Watchin' You" for a
planned Kiss tribute album.
Atlantic plans to continue working "Core" through the summer and fall. Says Azzoli, "there's a lot of momentum on this record. We'll go at least until Christmas. I
think we have just scratched the surface here."
