Stone Temple Pilots to announce 65-date tour


LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Rock band Stone Temple Pilots, whose reunion has been overshadowed by singer Scott Weiland's latest contretemps, will launch a 65-date tour of North American amphitheaters next month, the group's representatives said on Thursday.

The announcement came two days after Weiland was ousted from Velvet Revolver, the all-star band he ditched Stone Temple Pilots for in 2003.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, Velvet Revolver cited his "increasingly erratic on-stage behavior and personal problems." Weiland angrily countered the next day that his bandmates were "discontents" engaged in a "a blatant and tired excuse to cover up the truth," which was that the band had not been getting along for some time.

On the other hand, Weiland said his STP colleagues "have always had my back."

STP's first tour in almost eight years has been in the works for some time, with dates announced last month for a half-dozen festival slots in the United States and Canada, beginning May 17 at Rock on the Range in Columbus, Ohio.

Details of the trek, running through November, will be announced on Monday evening during a party at the Hollywood Hills estate once owned by magician Harry Houdini. Weiland, along with brothers Dean and Rob DeLeo, on guitar and bass, respectively, and drummer Eric Kretz, will perform.

STP last toured in 2002, playing about a dozen shows to promote their final album, "Shangri-La Dee Da," which was released the year before.

The band, whose momentum was often curtailed by Weiland's frequent drug problems, fell apart shortly afterward. The band's popularity had been waning anyway, with sales falling far short of those for their first few albums, which boasted such hits as "Sex Type Thing," "Vasoline" and "Interstate Love Song."

Velvet Revolver's fortunes have also been on a downward trajectory. Founded by three former members of Guns N' Roses, the band enjoyed a surprise hit with its debut album, 2004's "Contraband," which sold 2 million copies in the United States and yielded a Grammy.

But last year's follow-up, "Libertad," has sold only 288,000 copies to date, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

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