Dean DeLeo: ‘Satellite’ of Love
The Stone Temple Pilots guitarist talks about his latest project
Dean DeLeo rose to fame in the 1990s as the guitarist for Stone Temple Pilots, who racked up several major hit singles (including “Plush,” “Creep,” “Big Empty,” “Vasoline” and “Interstate Love Song,” among others). That band is still active, releasing music and touring the world.
But concurrent with his STP career, DeLeo has also been involved in a number of other interesting projects. His latest venture is One More Satellite, a duo with the English singer Pete Shoulder. They’re set to release their self-titled debut album on July 18.
DeLeo says he’s looking forward to getting the album out into the world, even if it’s not quite the same experience as it was when he first began releasing material three decades ago. “I’ll tell ya, back in the day, what was really a thrill was being able to go into a record store and buy your record,” he says, calling from his Los Angeles home. “Of course, record stores are now few and far between, but that was always a pretty enjoyable thing to do. But it’s still a pretty exciting day for me because these are songs you spend time toiling over, and when they’re finally able to see the light of day, it’s pretty nice.”
They called this band One More Satellite as a tribute to the alternative rock group Failure, whom DeLeo strongly admires. “I really, really, really love their records and their songwriting and everything else,” he says. “They have a record that came out [in 2015] called The Heart Is a Monster, and there’s a really cool song on there called “Counterfeit Sky,” and [“one more satellite”] is a line from that song.”
VIDEO: Failure “Counterfeit Sky”
This album is filled with the kind of inventive, melodic riffs that made DeLeo one of the world’s most famous and recognizable guitarists, but he is quick to give a lot of credit to Shoulder, as well, for the way these songs turned out: “It’s always a real pleasure to have someone of that caliber, of that level of talent, to sing on your stuff. It’s really fulfilling.” With a laugh, he adds, “You know, I’m really the guy that stands next to the singer!”
DeLeo says he composed the music, and Shoulder created the lyrics and melodies. As they wrote and recorded, they were able to do some of the work together in L.A., but much of the work was done remotely, with DeLeo in California and Shoulder in England. That the physical distance between them had no bad impact on the process, though. “When some musicians can connect on that level, it can really happen anywhere, if you are indeed talking the talk,” DeLeo says.
As Shoulder sent him different parts, DeLeo says that he was consistently impressed. “It was kind of one of those things where [I thought], ‘Yeah, this is just what I want to hear. That’s perfect,’” he says. And, he adds, it confirmed what he already knew about Shoulder’s skills: “We had done some work together in the past, and it was smooth sailing. It was very evident the first time I heard him sing: this fine gentleman is quite talented.”
DeLeo’s children also make prominent contributions to the album, with his son playing drums on several tracks, and his daughter performing backing vocals on the song “Your Call.” He thinks that they are likely to follow in his footsteps and choose careers in the arts. “They’re both really interested in a lot of different artistic endeavors,” he says. “My daughter loves to paint and sculpt, and she loves to act. And my son is one of those guys that just plays everything: drums, guitar, bass, keys. Whatever they want to do, they have my support.”
DeLeo’s own artistic aspirations were also evident from the time he was young; he says he was always drawn to music, which he says “really affected me. It wasn’t just an audio sense. It was something that made me feel something inside my heart and my soul. Music was very, very powerful for me at a very young age.” The genre didn’t even matter: he loved it all – he recalls being particularly affected by the beautiful classical music that his mother liked.
While he was open to all styles of music, it was clear that DeLeo was especially drawn to rock music. He cites “Gimme Shelter” by the Stones and “I Am the Walrus” by The Beatles as two songs that especially moved him.
Soon, he wasn’t content to just listen to music: He wanted to play it himself, too — and there was no doubt that he was going to become a guitarist. “As a little kid, I was just drawn to guitars,” he says. “I was constantly riding my bicycle up into town. There was a music shop up in the town where I grew up, in Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey. I used to just love going in there. The walls were littered with guitars in all shapes, colors and sizes. I was just really, really into it.”
He estimates that he was around 15 years old when he started writing his own songs. “Because I had such a hard time learning songs, it really forced me to write my own, so I started writing stuff at a very young age. I liked being expressive. I really enjoyed writing my own thing.”
VIDEO: Stone Temple Pilots “Plush”
After moving to San Diego, DeLeo and his brother Robert (the bassist) helped co-found the band Stone Temple Pilots, who released their debut album, Core, in 1992. It was an immediate success thanks to the international hit singles “Sex Type Thing,” “Creep” and “Plush.”
Still, DeLeo recalls that even this experience didn’t convince him that he was going to be able to sustain a career as a musician. That realization, he says, only came a couple of years later: “I guess it was when we realized we were getting to make a second record [1994’s Purple]. It was like, ‘Oh, I guess we’re doing this.’”
That band went on to enjoy many more years of major success — and continues to record and tour to this day — despite having to go through a few vocalist lineup changes. Two previous vocalists passed away after leaving STP, including the original singer Scott Weiland in 2015, and Chester Bennington (who had also sung with Linkin Park) in 2017. But the DeLeo brothers — and drummer Eric Kretz — have remained as constant members since its inception. Current vocalist Jeff Gutt has been with the band since 2017.
Whether it’s with STP or with one of his other bands, DeLeo says he has no trouble staying inspired. “If and when I do pick up a guitar, I just stumble upon something. It’s really as simple as that,” he says, “and when I stumble upon something, I just kind of build on that.”
And, he adds, continuing to play for appreciative audiences around the world has also helped him remain committed to his musical career: “When you get to share anything with an audience like that, it’s pretty fun. I don’t take it for granted. I feel very blessed. I feel very fortunate that I have the ability to go into a studio and leave after a day and get to hear something I created come out of my speakers in my car. It’s quite a feeling. I’m just immersed in gratitude.”
VIDEO: One More Satellite “Paper Over The Cracks”
VIDEO: One More Satellite “Can of Worms”
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