On the eve of the release of “High Rise”, a new EP by Stone Temple Pilots with Chester Bennington (out Oct. 8), the singer says he will juggle the band's schedule moving forward with his ongoing duties in Linkin Park.
Bennington tells Billboard that both groups "have great relations. We all respect each other," which makes it easier for him to be part of both bands. "We've treated this much like if you're doing business with somebody and want to go off and do business with somebody else," Bennington explains, adding that STP "needed to understand my priority will always be Linkin Park. In no way, shape or form do I want anything I do with Stone Temple Pilots to interfere with what we have to do as a band."
"Yeah, his main concern is definitely Linkin Park,” explains STP bassist Robert DeLeo. “But when he's busy with them it offers [guitarist] Dean (DeLeo) and [drummer] Eric (Kretz) and myself some time to really get new music together, and when he's available that's when we work, and we make the best of that time. The main thing Chester brought up is he wanted to be a part of this and really honor the (STP) past catalog and really move ahead and create some great new music. It shows you what kind of person he is."
Linkin Park also anticipates that sharing the singer will work out between the two bands. "Chester's been so awesome about it," reports the group's Mike Shinoda. "He asked for our blessing before he did anything. Chester has always loved that music and loved all those guys, so it's a really fun thing for him to do. He went out and did a bunch of shows with them and recorded some music, and now we're in the studio recording."
Last month, Stone Temple Pilots kicked off a North American tour with Bennington, the first full trek since the band parted ways with Scott Weiland earlier this year.
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