Claim: An original member of Stone Temple Pilots died on December 3.

Stone Temple Pilots -LRB- sometimes abbreviated as STP -RRB- are an American rock band from San Diego , California , that originally consisted of Scott Weiland -LRB- lead vocals -RRB- , brothers Dean -LRB- guitar -RRB- and Robert DeLeo -LRB- bass , backing vocals -RRB- , and Eric Kretz -LRB- drums -RRB- . Since the band 's formation in 1989 , its line-up remained unchanged until the firing of Weiland in 2013 , who was replaced by Linkin Park vocalist Chester Bennington . In 2015 , Bennington left the band to focus solely on Linkin Park . On December 3 , 2015 , Weiland was found dead on his tour bus prior to a performance with his band The Wildabouts . In 2016 , the band launched an online audition for a new lead vocalist .   After forming in 1989 under the name Mighty Joe Young , the band signed with Atlantic Records and changed its name to Stone Temple Pilots . The band found immediate success in 1993 upon releasing their debut album , Core -LRB- 1992 -RRB- , and went on to become one of the most commercially successful bands of the 1990s . The band released four more studio albums : Purple -LRB- 1994 -RRB- , Tiny Music ... Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop -LRB- 1996 -RRB- , No. 4 -LRB- 1999 -RRB- and Shangri-La Dee Da -LRB- 2001 -RRB- , before separating in 2002 , after which the band members partook in various projects -LRB- most notably Velvet Revolver and Army of Anyone -RRB- . The band eventually reconvened in 2008 for a reunion tour , released a new self-titled album in 2010 , and actively toured until Chester Bennington 's departure . The band 's only material with Bennington was the EP High Rise in 2013 .   While initially displaying a sound typically identified as grunge early on in its career , further releases from the band expressed a variety of influences , including psychedelic rock , bossa nova and classic rock . The band 's evolution throughout the 1990s and early 2000s involved several tumultuous periods of commercial highs and lows , brought about in part by Weiland 's well-publicized struggles with drug addiction .