Stone Temple Pilots: Ugly People , Good Music
By Brad Moist
Capital Times Staff Writer
In a music industry filled with
beautiful faces that create crappy
music, Stone Temple Pilots
return to show that ugly people
create the best music.
Their fourth album simply
titled No. 4 hits stores Tuesday,
Oct. 26. The album is produced
by Brendan O’ Brien, who is well
know for his work with Pearl
Jam as well as STP.
Strangely enough, the new
album proves to be some of the
best STP work done, but without
frontman/lead singer Scott
Weiland to talk about it. Weiland
is currently serving a one-year jail
sentence in Los Angeles County
Jail’s Biscailuv Recovery Center
for violating his probation.
L.A Superior Court Judge
Larry P. Fiddler said that “Mr.
Weiland has to be punished. If
the court makes a pronounce
ment and somehow fails to fol
low it, the public loses faith in
the judicial system.”
Weiland had been warned ear
lier after his first probation viola
tion, and so the court had no
choice.
Weiland recently released a
Guinness & Finnegan’s Wake Oyster Festival
By Nicole Burkholder
Capital Times Staff Writer
Guinness, oysters, music, and
more Guinness. Sound like a
good time?
The answer is a resounding
yes! That was the consensus at
the Guinness and Finnegan’s
Wake Oyster Festival in
Philadelphia on Oct. 9.
Photo bv Nicole Burkholder
Larry Kirwan,
lead singer of Black 47
statement to all his fans from jail
saying, “What can I say about
jail? It is one of the travesties of
mankind to lose one’s freedom,
to be locked and bound behind
bars of steel, but if the wheels of
a man’s mind are free to turn and
the wings of his spirit cannot be
clipped, then is a man truly in
chains?”
Well, no matter what Weiland
says, the result of him being in
jail will hurt the STP. They will
not be able to tour, and any press
and media attention on the band
won’t be the same without
Weiland present.
No. 4 is complete with straight
ahead rock-n-roll mixed with
ballads and melodic singing.
The first single “Down”
thrashes your stereo with slam
ming drums in a catchy rythmn
that will keep your head banging
and your shoulders moving.
Weiland chimes in softly with
“Pleased to meet you/Nice to
know me/ What’s the message?/
Will you show me?” and then lets
the bats out of the bellfry with
screaming “I’ve been waiting.”
At first listen you are remind
ed of the bands first album, Core,
which proved to be a great
The Guinness company has
been throwing these all-day
bashes in other major cities for
the last few years, but this year
was the first time for
Philadelphia. It was a huge suc
cess.
The festival was held in
Historic Head House Square,
right off South Street. The street
was roped off to create a giant
Irish block party right in the
midst of South Street’s usual
activities.
The day started off at 11 a.m.
That may sound a little early for
Guinness and oysters, but not for
the hearty Irish Philadelphians.
Most of the diehard festival
goers lasted until 9 p.m, when
the festival ended.
Along with the beer and oys
ters, the festival featured a mar
ketplace full of Irish parapherna
lia. The merchandise ranged any
where from Irish wool clothing
and jewelty to literature on Irish
history.
There was also a very clear
presence of those that supported
album. The only downfall was
Weiland had not yet found his
own unique vocals, and sounded
too much like Eddie Vedder,
Chris Cornell and Kurt Cobain at
times.
But, by the second album,
Purple Weiland had found his
nitch. And that nitch is prevalent
on this album.
“Down” still shows that
Weiland is not the clearest lyri
cist, and is evident throughout
the whole album. While reading
the lyrics one can only wonder if
heroin was an influence.
“Down” flows right into
“Heaven & Hot Rods” which
bears incredible catchy guitar
rifts. And what STP would be
complete without some sort of
ballad.
“Sour Girl” proves to be that
ballad which makes No. 4 com
plete. The harmonies with
Weiland singing lead and
O’Brien on backing vocals
makes this track standout as the
two sing melodically “What
would you do?/What would you
do if I followed you?”
In all I definitely see this track
being a radio single at some
point. “Sex & Violence” is a
the Irish Republican Army; cam
paigns to free Irish prisoners of
war; and Project Children, a
group that brings teens from
Northern Ireland to the States for
four weeks to get them out of the
conflict in such places as Belfast.
The highlight of the festival
was the band Black 47. Hailing
from New York City, their music
is a wild blend of rock, reggae,
and traditional Irish reels and
jigs-
Introduced by the very intoxi
cated ex-Philadelphia Phillie
pitcher Larry Anderson, they had
the crowd wild when they broke
into songs like, “Green Suede
Shoes,” “Funky Ceili,”
“Different Drummer,” giving
everyone an excuse to start danc
ing.
The band consists of Larry
Kirwan, a native of Wexford,
Ireland, and a slew of New
Yorkers including Chris Byrne,
Thomas Hamlin, Andrew
Goodsight, Fred Parcells, and
Geoffrey Blythe.
The group combines history
track you’ll love to listen to as
you speed up and down 283.
For the guys especially you’ll
find yourself singing along with
Weiland to the lyrics “I used to
love you, now you don’t care/
Now I turn around, you’re every
where/ So you can chew me up
and spit me out/ You’re just the
little bitch I cared about.”
There are some weak tracks
on this album that will frustrate
and personal experience into a
rockin’ experience that is hard to
forget.
Strong promoters of Northern
Ireland’s independence from
Great Britain, the band whipped
the crowd into a frenzy with
moving protest anthems like
“Time to Go” and “James
Connelly.”
Black 47 is truly an experi
ence for those of any heritage!
The great part about seeing a
band like Black 47 at a festival
like this is the accessibility.
There is a great opportunity to
meet the band and talk with them
about anything from their music
to beer and everything in
between.
In a casual discussion before
the show, Kirwan remarked that
he knew of Harrisburg, Pa.
He then embarked on a story
of his early career when he was
booked on a tour of Holiday Inns
in the area and sold as “Larry
Kirwan: Irish Tenor.”
One taste of Kirwan in Black
47 and it will become quite obvi
FEATURES
you including “Glide” and the
annoying “Atlanta.”
Though all in all this album
surpasses the last STP release by
far. If you loved their first release
and the second, then you won’t
be dissappointed. No. 4 mixes
the sounds of the first two
albums to give you the STP that
you have been waiting for.
For more info on the band go
to www.stonetemplepilots.com.
ous that he is no “Irish Tenor”
and that is very unlikely that he
will be singing “Sweet Molly
Malone” at his next gig.
He remembered this conversa
tion later in the show when he
gave a shout out to Harrisburg in
an attempt to rouse up the crowd.
His remark: “Come on
Philadelphia! This
Harrisburg!” Hey, we have to get
recognized somehow.
Kirwan also asked for a push
on our own college radio station,
WPSH. We’ll see what we can do!
Other highlights at the festival
included oyster shucking con
tests by local chefs, local celebri
ties, and other Irish musicians
like Seven Nations, The
Prodigals, and The Eileen Ivers
Band, formerly of Riverdance.
Since this year’s festival was
such a success, the plans to make
it an annual event are in the mak
ing.
Definitely keep your eyes
peeled for Guinness and other
festivals like it. It is surely worth
your while!