Robert DeLeo
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Robert Emile DeLeo (born February 2, 1966) is an American musician, songwriter and producer, best known as the bassist for rock band
Stone Temple Pilots Stone Temple Pilots (also known by the initialism STP) is an American rock band from San Diego, California, that originally consisted of Scott Weiland (lead vocals), brothers Dean (guitar) and Robert DeLeo (bass, backing vocals), and Eric Kretz ...
. He is part of Delta Deep and he has also played in
Talk Show A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show ...
and
Army of Anyone Army of Anyone was a rock supergroup formed by Filter frontman Richard Patrick with two members of rock band Stone Temple Pilots. In addition to Patrick on vocals, the band featured brothers Dean DeLeo and Robert DeLeo (on guitar and bass resp ...
. He is the younger brother of Stone Temple Pilots guitarist Dean DeLeo. He is also the former bass player for the supergroup Hollywood Vampires.


Early life

DeLeo and his older brother Dean were both born in
New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
and raised in the
Jersey Shore The Jersey Shore (known by locals simply as the Shore) is the coastal region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. Geographically, the term encompasses about of oceanfront bordering the Atlantic Ocean, from Perth Amboy in the north to Cape May Po ...
community of
Point Pleasant Beach Point Pleasant Beach is a borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 4,665,Point Pleasant Borough High School Point Pleasant Borough High School is a four-year comprehensive community public high school located on Laura Herbert Drive in Point Pleasant in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. The school serves students in ninth through twelfth grad ...
in 1984. Their older half-brother is actor
Scott Marlowe Scott Gregory Marlowe (born Ronald Richard DeLeo; June 24, 1932 – January 6, 2001)''Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014''. Social Security Administration was an American actor who had a starring role in the 1957 teen exploitation film '' ...
.


Career


Stone Temple Pilots (1985–2003, 2008–present)

DeLeo met
Scott Weiland Scott Richard Weiland (; né Kline, October 27, 1967 – December 3, 2015) was an American singer and songwriter. During a career spanning three decades, Weiland was best known as the lead singer of the rock band Stone Temple Pilots from 1 ...
(who would eventually become lead singer of Stone Temple Pilots) at a Black Flag concert in Long Beach. They soon realized that they were both dating the same woman. After she moved to Texas, Weiland and DeLeo moved into her San Diego apartment, where they tried to form a band. They eventually hooked up with drummer
Eric Kretz Eric Kretz (born June 7, 1966) is an American musician and producer, best known as the drummer for the rock band Stone Temple Pilots. He is of German descent. He has also played for Talk Show and Spiralarms. Kretz, who was born in San Jose, Cal ...
, and DeLeo managed to convince his brother
Dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...
to play guitar in their new band. The band took the name Mighty Joe Young. They played many gigs in Los Angeles bars, and were eventually signed onto Atlantic Records in 1992. However, the name " Mighty Joe Young" had already been taken, so the band was forced to change their name and tossed around ideas like "Shirley Temple's Pussy" and "Sticky Toilet Paper" before changing it to "Stone Temple Pilots", which, according to Weiland, has no specific meaning, other than that it retained the STP initials. During their years of greatest success in the 1990s, Stone Temple Pilots came to be one of the most successful bands of the decade. DeLeo is credited with much of the band's music, including the famous intros for the songs "
Plush Plush (from French language, French ) is a textile having a cut nap (textile), nap or pile (textile), pile the same as fustian or velvet. Its softness of feel gave rise to the adjective "plush" to describe something soft or luxurious, which was e ...
" and "
Interstate Love Song "Interstate Love Song" is a single by American rock band Stone Temple Pilots. Released in September 1994, the song is from the band's second studio album, ''Purple''. Considered one of the band's biggest hits, "Interstate Love Song" reached numb ...
". Although sales of their records exceeded over 30 million, the band disbanded due to Weiland's ongoing problems with drug abuse. Stone Temple Pilots reunited in early 2008 and released their eponymous sixth studio album on May 25, 2010. On October 8, 2013, they released an EP entitled ''
High Rise A tower block, high-rise, apartment tower, residential tower, apartment block, block of flats, or office tower is a tall building, as opposed to a low-rise building and is defined differently in terms of height depending on the jurisdictio ...
'' with new lead singer
Chester Bennington Chester Charles Bennington (March 20, 1976 – July 20, 2017) was an American singer and songwriter who was best known as the lead vocalist of rock band Linkin Park. He was also the lead vocalist of the bands Grey Daze, Dead by Sunrise, a ...
of
Linkin Park Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. The band's current lineup comprises vocalist/rhythm guitarist/keyboardist Mike Shinoda, lead guitarist Brad Delson, bassist Dave Farrell, DJ/turntablist Joe Hahn and drummer ...
fame.


Later collaborations, 1997–present

During Stone Temple Pilots' hiatus in 1997 due to Weiland's run-ins with the law, DeLeo, his brother Dean, and Kretz joined with singer Dave Coutts of Ten Inch Men and formed
Talk Show A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show ...
. Released in 1997 on
Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...
, their eponymous debut album peaked at #131 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and was considered a commercial flop. Coutts was eventually fired and the band disbanded. Weiland went into rehab and released a
solo album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...
during this time. After Stone Temple Pilots' break-up in 2003, DeLeo and his brother Dean joined
Filter Filter, filtering or filters may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Filter (higher-order function), in functional programming * Filter (software), a computer program to process a data stream * Filter (video), a software component tha ...
frontman
Richard Patrick Richard Michael Patrick (born May 10, 1968) is an American musician, singer and songwriter. He is the frontman for the rock band Filter and a founding member of the supergroups Army of Anyone and The Damning Well, and has served as a touring g ...
and drummer
Ray Luzier Ray may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin Science and mathematics * Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point * Ray (gra ...
to form the band
Army of Anyone Army of Anyone was a rock supergroup formed by Filter frontman Richard Patrick with two members of rock band Stone Temple Pilots. In addition to Patrick on vocals, the band featured brothers Dean DeLeo and Robert DeLeo (on guitar and bass resp ...
. The group met after Patrick contacted the DeLeos about writing material for Filter's fourth album. The band eventually called in Luzier in for an audition, found the formula worked, and the band was formed. The band's self-titled debut album was released in November 2006. The album became a critical success; some went as far to label the album as one of the best of the year. DeLeo summed up his sound on the album as follows; However, Army of Anyone ended up going on "indefinite hiatus" in 2007 after low album sales and Patrick's return to Filter. In 2007, DeLeo played bass on songs for Japanese rock band B'z, including two on their album ''
Action Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...
''. He also contributes bass to five songs on their 2019 album ''
New Love "New Love" is the debut single by English singer Dua Lipa from her self-titled debut studio album (2017). It was written by Lipa and its producers Emile Haynie and Andrew Wyatt about the singer's struggle to find her place in the music indu ...
'', including "Rain & Dream" which also features Joe Perry. In 2016, DeLeo appeared with Kings of Chaos.


Solo career (2022–present)

On September 29, 2022, DeLeo announced his debut solo album ''Lessons Learned'' and released its lead single "Love is Not Made of Gold", featuring
Jimmy Gnecco James Francis Gnecco III (born September 30, 1973) is an American singer, songwriter and multi instrumentalist who makes music both under his name and the moniker Ours. Gnecco is known for his multi-octave vocal range and singing style, often de ...
, the same day.


Equipment and style

DeLeo is a former employee of
Schecter Guitar Research Schecter Guitar Research, commonly known simply as Schecter, is an American manufacturing company founded in 1976 by David Schecter, which originally produced only replacement parts for existing guitars from manufacturers such as Fender and Gibs ...
and built the prototype of what later became his signature model while working there. The Schecter Model T was his primary live instrument during his years with Stone Temple Pilots. The basses original configuration featured a 34" scale neck and
Seymour Duncan Seymour Duncan is an American company best known for manufacturing guitar and bass pickups. They also manufacture effects pedals which are designed and assembled in America. Guitarist and luthier Seymour W. Duncan and Cathy Carter Duncan foun ...
pickups in a "P/J" configuration. Schecter has since marketed several variants of this theme, including a 5-string model with a 35" scale length, and models with pickups from different manufacturers. He is known for his smooth style of playing, with infusions of jazz, '60s rhythm and blues, and hard rock creating a rather distinctive tone. His primary influence is legendary bassist
James Jamerson James Lee Jamerson (January 29, 1936 – August 2, 1983) was an American bass player. He was the uncredited bassist on most of the Motown Records hits in the 1960s and early 1970s (Motown did not list session musician credits on their releases u ...
. Other influences include the late
John Entwistle John Alec Entwistle (9 October 194427 June 2002) was an English musician who was the bassist for the rock band The Who. Entwistle's music career spanned over four decades. Nicknamed "The Ox" and "Thunderfingers", he was the band's only member ...
of the seminal rock band
The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...
,
Rocco Prestia Francis Rocco Prestia Jr. (March 7, 1951 – September 29, 2020) was an American bassist, best known for his work with the funk band Tower of Power. Biography Born in Sonora, California, Prestia started playing electric guitar as an adolescent. ...
of
Tower of Power Tower of Power is an American R&B and funk based band and horn section, originating in Oakland, California, that has been performing since 1968. There have been a number of lead vocalists, the best-known being Lenny Williams, who fronted the b ...
,
Chris Squire Christopher Russell Edward Squire (4March 1948 – 27June 2015) was an English musician, singer and songwriter best known as the bassist and backing vocalist of the progressive rock band Yes (band), Yes. He was the longest-serving original memb ...
of Yes, and
John Paul Jones John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-American naval captain who was the United States' first well-known naval commander in the American Revolutionary War. He made many friends among U.S political elites ( ...
of
Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...
. DeLeo is known for his riffs; he created most of the signature riffs for Stone Temple Pilots, and wrote and arranged most of the band's songs. Although he primarily uses the Schecter bass live, for recording purposes he has used a wide variety of basses, and has a fondness for oddball off-brand basses from the 1960s, particularly short-scale hollowbody basses which he strung with flat wound strings.''Bass Player Magazine'' interview, November 2001. In
Army of Anyone Army of Anyone was a rock supergroup formed by Filter frontman Richard Patrick with two members of rock band Stone Temple Pilots. In addition to Patrick on vocals, the band featured brothers Dean DeLeo and Robert DeLeo (on guitar and bass resp ...
's "Goodbye" video, he played a
Rickenbacker Rickenbacker International Corporation is a string instrument manufacturer based in Santa Ana, California. The company is credited as the first known maker of electric guitars – a steel guitar in 1932 – and today produces a range ...
bass. DeLeo's usual live rig while with Stone Temple Pilots consists of an
Alembic An alembic (from ar, الإنبيق, al-inbīq, originating from grc, ἄμβιξ, ambix, 'cup, beaker') is an alchemical still consisting of two vessels connected by a tube, used for distillation of liquids. Description The complete disti ...
F1X preamp, a QSC MX1500 poweramp, three Eden 2x12 cabinets and three Eden 4x10 cabinets. One 2x12 and one 4x10 cab are placed on either side of the drum riser, and the third stack is placed on DeLeo's side of the stage and kept in reserve as a backup. He mostly uses
Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia * Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Islands * Marshall Islands, an i ...
and Fender amplification, but has been seen using vintage
Ampeg Ampeg is a manufacturer best known for its bass amplifiers. Originally established in 1946 in Linden, New Jersey by Everett Hull and Stanley Michaels as "Michael-Hull Electronic Labs," today Ampeg is part of the Yamaha Guitar Group. Although ...
amps and basses as well. Stone Temple Pilots' debut album ''
Core Core or cores may refer to: Science and technology * Core (anatomy), everything except the appendages * Core (manufacturing), used in casting and molding * Core (optical fiber), the signal-carrying portion of an optical fiber * Core, the centra ...
'' was recorded with a
Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
-type bass prototype version of his Schecter Model-T bass, a G&L L2000, and an Ampeg SVT amplifier with an 8x10 cabinet. ''
Purple Purple is any of a variety of colors with hue between red and blue. In the RGB color model used in computer and television screens, purples are produced by mixing red and blue light. In the RYB color model historically used by painters, pu ...
'', their second album, was recorded with his live rig. DeLeo's usual studio rig for most of '' Tiny Music... Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop'', all of '' No. 4'', and all of '' Shangri-La-Dee-Da'', all by Stone Temple Pilots, was more complicated; he split his signal, bi-amping it to a '67 50-watt Marshall Plexi guitar head with '69 Marshall keyboard 8x10 cabinet, and a '59
Fender Bassman The Fender Bassman is a bass amplifier series introduced by Fender during 1952. Initially intended to amplify bass guitars, the 5B6 Bassman was used by musicians for other instrument amplification, including the electric guitar, harmonica, and ...
amplifier with a custom 1x15 cabinet. This configuration, which DeLeo noted in a ''Bass Player Magazine'' article as being an idea he lifted from Chris Squire of Yes, allowed him to use distorted and clean sounds simultaneously and produce more workable sounds on tape by blending the signals to taste. Among the basses he is known to have used during his years with Stone Temple Pilots are his Schecter Model T signature basses, a '66
Fender Precision Bass The Fender Precision Bass (often shortened to "P-Bass") is a model of electric bass guitar manufactured by Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. In its standard, post-1957 configuration, the Precision Bass is a solid body, four-stringed instrum ...
with flatwound strings (e.g. on " Sour Girl"), several shortscale hollowbody basses with flatwound strings (the bass on " Creep" was a Limgar; the one on "
Big Empty "Big Empty" is a song by the American rock band Stone Temple Pilots that first appeared in 1994 on the soundtrack of the film '' The Crow''. The band later included the song on its second album, ''Purple'', and released it as the lead single fro ...
" and "Atlanta" was an Orlando), a '76 Rickenbacker 4001 (on "Art School Girl"), and an unknown type of upright bass (on "
Pretty Penny "Pretty Penny" is a 1995 promo single from Stone Temple Pilots' 1994 album ''Purple''. It differs greatly in style from the rest of the songs on the album, and serves as a calm, old-fashioned interlude between the distorted and delirious "Still ...
"). He is also known to have used a '50s
Danelectro Danelectro is a brand of musical instruments and accessories, founded in Red Bank, New Jersey in 1947. The company is known primarily for its string instruments that employed unique designs and manufacturing processes. The Danelectro company was ...
Longhorn and a
Fender Musicmaster The Fender Musicmaster is a solid body electric guitar produced by Fender. It was the first 3/4 scale student-model guitar Fender produced. A Musicmaster Bass model was also put on the market. Musicians such as David Byrne and Liz Phair used ...
. Occasionally he uses Sansamp BDDI for extra drive, and used an MXR phase 90 on "And So I Know" and an
EHX Electro-Harmonix (also commonly referred to as EHX) is a New York City-based company that makes electronic audio processors and sells rebranding, rebranded vacuum tubes. The company was founded by Mike Matthews in 1968. It is best known for a ...
Micro Synth on "Transmissions from a Lonely Room", both by Stone Temple Pilots. He also uses a bass
Wah-wah pedal A wah-wah pedal, or simply wah pedal, is a type of electric guitar effects pedal that alters the tone and frequencies of the guitar signal to create a distinctive sound, mimicking the human voice saying the onomatopoeic name "wah-wah". The ped ...
to change his tone accordingly (a good example being on the Stone Temple Pilots song " Vasoline").


Production

DeLeo and his brother Dean produced the 2010 Stone Temple Pilots album ''
Stone Temple Pilots Stone Temple Pilots (also known by the initialism STP) is an American rock band from San Diego, California, that originally consisted of Scott Weiland (lead vocals), brothers Dean (guitar) and Robert DeLeo (bass, backing vocals), and Eric Kretz ...
'', as well as
Alien Ant Farm Alien Ant Farm is an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Riverside, California in 1996. They have released five studio albums and sold over 5 million units worldwide. The band's cover of Michael Jackson's "Smooth_Criminal#Alien Ant Farm ...
's ''
TruANT Truancy is any intentional, unjustified, unauthorised, or illegal absence from compulsory education. It is a deliberate absence by a student's own free will (though sometimes adults or parents will allow and/or ignore it) and usually does not ref ...
'' in 2003.


Personal life

DeLeo is married to Kristen and has two sons. He lives in
Palos Verdes The Palos Verdes Peninsula (''Palos Verdes'', Spanish for "Green Sticks") is a landform and a geographic sub-region of the Los Angeles metropolitan area, within southwestern Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California. Located in the S ...
, California.


Discography

* ''Lessons Learned'' (2022)


References


External links


Guitaronemag.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Deleo, Robert 1966 births Living people American rock bass guitarists American male bass guitarists People from Montclair, New Jersey People from Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey Point Pleasant Borough High School alumni Guitarists from New Jersey Stone Temple Pilots members American people of Italian descent 20th-century American bass guitarists 21st-century American bass guitarists American male guitarists Musicians from the New York metropolitan area Talk Show (band) members Army of Anyone members Hollywood Vampires (band) members