Dean DeLeo

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Dean DeLeo

Dean DeLeo
Born September 23, 1961
Alias(es) Dean De Leo
Genre(s) Rock
Psychedelic rock
Grunge
Alternative
Affiliation(s) Stone Temple Pilots
Talk Show
Army of Anyone
Notable guitars Gibson Les Paul
Fender Telecaster
Years active 1987- Present
Official site [1]

Dean DeLeo (born August 23, 1961 in New Jersey) is an American guitarist, best known for his work with the 90's grunge band Stone Temple Pilots.

He is also known for his role in the band Talk Show, a short-lived project, and is currently the guitarist for the newly formed band Army of Anyone, which features his younger brother Robert DeLeo, Filter frontman Richard Patrick, and session drummer Ray Luzier. Their debut album was released on November 14, 2006.

Contents

[edit] Stone Temple Pilots

Dean's younger brother Robert met future vocalist Scott Weiland in a Black Flag concert that represented a punk rock interlude whose ideological framework would soon be abandoned. Robert soon after introduced Dean to Scott and an idea of forming a band was brought up. Dean was a guitarist, and Robert managed to convince him to join. They eventually hooked up with drummer Eric Kretz, and the band was formed. They took the name Mighty Joe Young, inspired by the monkey movie of the same name. They played gigs in many bars around the Hollywood area, and eventually landed a record deal with Atlantic Records in 1992. However, they were forced to change their name, for the name "Mighty Joe Young" like much of his material, had already been exploited. Scott decided on the name "Stone Temple Pilots"; although he states that it has no real meaning, he just liked the initials "STP".

The band exploded with the release of their debut album Core, which sold over 8 million copies . The record sales propelled with the release of the singles Sex Type Thing and Plush, and helped establish STP as a main contender in the newly mainstream music that began to be known as Grunge. However, they were ripped by critics for jumping on the bandwagon and profiting from the Grunge mania. Many confused STP with Seattle bands experiencing national coorporate attention during the same period. STP rode this wave. With their sophomore album "Purple", they challenged critics and became a genuine commercial rock act. Stone Temple Pilots went on to record 5 studio albums and managed to sell over 25 million copies worldwide.

Dean's crunchy guitar playing became a trademark of STP, and his advanced playing and numerous solos helped the band find new audiences. He is known for his wide variety of sounds, most noticeably hard rock with strong elements of psychedelic rock and jazz (which can be seen on STP's later albums). Most of the sounds he makes he produces with little effects.

[edit] Talk Show and Army of Anyone

The band had many troubles however, mostly stemming from Scott Weiland's continuous problems with drug addiction. The band was forced to cancel most of the tours after the 1995 year, as Weiland popped in and out of rehab. The DeLeos and Eric Kretz eventually formed a new band, Talk Show which released one album. Although largely largely a critical success, the album was a commercial flop. Soon after, Dave Couts was fired from the band and eventually the whole group disbanded.

STP soon reunited, released two more albums, and soon disbanded. Weiland became the lead singer of the new formed band Velvet Revolver, joining forces with Slash (musician), Duff McKagan, and Matt Sorum of the iconic hard rock band Guns N' Roses and Dave Kushner of Wasted Youth.

Although Velvet Revolver enjoyed success, Dean and Robert were hidden from the media spotlight and became sought-after studio musicians. Eric Kretz opened a studio in California, Bomb Shelter Studios, and the DeLeo brothers began to work with Richard Patrick, lead singer of the band Filter to compose songs for Filter's fourth album. The three noticed a distinct musical link between each other, and decided to start a new band. They contacted Ray Luzier, a famed session drummer, and Army of Anyone was formed as the result. The band's debut was released on November 14th, 2006. The album became a critical success, with many praising the band as the real "supergroup"(which is in comparison to Weiland's Velvet Revolver and another famed supergroup, Audioslave)[2] . Critics lauded Dean's catchy riffs and solos and some even considered him to be one of rock's most underrated guitarists.

[edit] Equipment

Dean owns numerous guitars, and he is an avid collector of vintage guitars. Some of his more notable guitars include;

Dean's live equipment has been described as "simple yet effective", and allows him to replicate the sounds he gets in studios. His primarily uses a modified Dunlop Cry Baby and a BOSS CE-1 stereo chorus pedal. His effects are handled via a Rockman MIDI Octopus pedal.

His amp set up includes a Demeter TGP-3 three-channel preamp, a Rocktron Intelliverb and a VHT Classic stereo tube power amp that runs 50 watts per side into two Marshall 4x12 cabinets.

[edit] Trivia

[edit] References

    Stone Temple Pilots
    Scott Weiland | Dean DeLeo | Robert DeLeo | Eric Kretz
    Discography
    Studio albums: Core | Purple | Tiny Music... Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop | No. 4 | Shangri-La Dee Da
    Compilations: Thank You
    Singles: "Sex Type Thing" | "Wicked Garden" | "Plush" | "Creep" | "Big Empty" | "Vasoline" | "Interstate Love Song" | "Unglued" | "Pretty Penny" | "Dancing Days" | "Big Bang Baby" | "Trippin' On a Hole in a Paper Heart" | "Lady Picture Show" | "Tumble In The Rough" | "Down" | "Sour Girl" | "No Way Out" | "Days of the Week" | "Hollywood Bitch" | "Revolution" | "All In The Suit That You Wear"
    Related articles
    Talk Show | Velvet Revolver | Army of Anyone
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