After I started singing, I'd go to my dad's records I grew up with in his house listening to: Gordon Lightfoot, John Denver, the Carpenters, Bob Seger, Neil Diamond, voices that resonate with you, that you know who they are right away.
I knew Chester. I've known Chester since 2001. I was in a band called Dry Cell, and we were signed by the same guy that signed Linkin Park, so that's how I knew him. He would come to some of our writing sessions and rehearsals; I'd see him in the studios that we were at.
It's not like I decided to continue the Stone Temple Pilots.
No one will ever fill Scott's shoes and I'm not trying to - he's a legend. But these songs deserve to be performed and people want to hear them. I'm just honored that the guys chose me to help them continue to build this band's legacy.
The thing I admired most about Scott was his fearlessness. Of course his voice, lyrics, and stage presence have always had an effect on me as they have most STP fans. But it was his fearlessness that I admired the most.
The great thing about the STP catalog is it's diversity.
Sure I've done some runs and even toured some amazing places around the world, but this is Stone Temple Pilots!
After my extended hiatus I found myself at the age of 36 and knew the TV route could get me back out there with the biggest splash.
I had walked away from the music industry because I had a certain integrity and all that.
I've been trying my whole life to get to this point, and it's finally here. It's an amazing record, and it happens to be with Stone Temple Pilots. I mean, what could be better than that?
And I'd spent 20 years in bars and nightclubs, dealing with promoters and getting ripped off and just everything that comes with all that stuff - paying your dues, I guess.
I think I've proven that I'm more than just a TV singer. I was always more than that, even before I went on TV.
I just do what the music tells me to do.
At the end of the day, I'm here for my son and our future, to be the dad I always wanted to be and in the position I always wanted to be in.
Making music with people is a very intimate process.
I felt I had a good ear, and I had the ability to sing like my influences.
I was probably 16 or 17 when 'Core' came out, and I just remember how Scott could cater to the song and create these characters. That blew me away.
Every night on stage it gets more and more comfortable. I think it really shows in the performances and just being able to revel in it and do it and live the dream I've thought about for so long.
I just try to do what I can, control what I can, and let the rest handle itself.
At the end of the day, I'm just trying to feel the music and be free - as free as possible.
