'It's not Stone Temple Pilots' without me, Weiland says

Kim Willis | USA TODAY

Scott Weiland is less than thrilled that Stone Temple Pilots is pressing on without him.

The alt-rock group's former frontman has posted an open letter to fans on his website, describing himself as surprised and hurt that the band performed a couple of California gigs last weekend with Chester Bennington of Linkin Park on vocals.

He claims the band doesn't have a legal right to bill itself as Stone Temple Pilots, "because I'm still a member of the band. And more importantly, they don't have the ethical right to call themselves Stone Temple Pilots because it's misleading and dishonest to the millions of fans that have followed us for so many years.

"Like any band that's stood the test of time and made music for more than two decades, STP had a special alchemy — the four of us together were greater than any one of us apart. So if my former bandmates want to tour with a new singer, that's their prerogative. ... But it's not Stone Temple Pilots."

The estranged musicians have been quarreling publicly for months. In February, Dean DeLeo, Robert DeLeo and Eric Kretz announced that Weiland had been fired. On Friday, they filed suit against him, asking a court to prevent Weiland from performing the band's songs in his solo career or identifying himself as a former member.

Weiland is on his own summer theater tour with his band The Wildabouts.

"But don't give up on STP," he adds. "I know I haven't."