Scott Weiland is hitting the airwaves again, ramping up to the March 31 release of the Blaster album. The disc finds Weiland working with his group The Wildabouts and Loudwire Nights host Full Metal Jackie recently had a chance to chat with the singer about the Blaster album and his band. Check out the interview below:

Scott, the Wildabouts aren't a new band. They've been your solo band for quite a few years. Does an actual band name signify something more collaborative than singer and backing band?

Yeah, definitely and it is a new band, my backing band was a five piece. I had two guitar players and when I decided to make a new album I wanted it to be a band album and so we trimmed the band down to a four-piece; just one guitar player, bass, drums and me up front and started writing together collaboratively and it just really went exceedingly well. I’ve known these guys for a long time and they’re my closest friends and being a four-piece just allowed us to be leaner and meaner and leave more space between the notes.

What makes using tone, rather than a riff or lyrics a better starting point for writing songs?

Well, we had an idea of what kind of songs we wanted to write. We wanted to find certain guitar tones that were unique to our band and I had written big riffs in my past bands but usually it’s a traditional Marshall guitar sound and we wanted to do something that sounded more new and or more retro-modern.

Your musical taste is pretty broad. How does Blaster reference different styles but still sound cohesive?

I think that you know, any artists or musician writes their own music and is influenced by music that you listen to that you’re into. But I didn’t listen to a lot of music going into writing this stuff because I wanted it to be unique and I wanted it to be unique to us and have a cohesive sound but still have songs that were individually unique amongst themselves.

You've said the exhilaration of making Blaster was comparable to Core. What made those two experiences feel similar?

Obviously making Core was my first album and so there was a real special and exciting vibe during the making of that album and this was very similar because I am starting from scratch again with a new band and being friends with the guys -- the writing, the demoing of the songs and the recording was just so exciting and I haven’t been this exhilarated since making Core.

Fans can be nostalgic about band members never changing. From your perspective, what makes a musician nostalgic for his former bands?

From a fans point of view?

What would make you, let's say, nostalgic for bands that you've been in in the past?

I think when I listen to songs, and when we play The Wildabouts STP songs, it brings back memories. It ended on a sour note although that’s all past us, but there were so many great memories that I’ve had from STP and Velvet Revolver. There were a lot of great times.

How do you feel the fans from Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver are going to feel about this new record?

I think that it will be well received by STP and Velvet Revolver fans because it’s not an experimental solo album like my first two solo albums were. This isn’t like an art project, it’s very much a band album. It’s got big riffs and really it’s a rock and roll album and I think that STP and Velvet Revolver fans will relate to that.

Thanks to Scott Weiland for the interview. You can pre-order Blaster at Amazon or iTunes ahead of its March 31 release. Scott Weiland and the Wildabouts are also touring this spring. Dates can be found here. Tune in to Loudwire Nights With Full Metal Jackie and Tony LaBrie Monday through Friday at 7PM through midnight online or on the radio. To see which stations and websites air ‘Loudwire Nights,’ click here.

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