Steve, the son of a devoted New York Yankees fan and a passionate supporter himself, adopted the nickname “Steviese7en” early in life as a tribute to his father’s favorite player, centerfielder Mickey Mantle—who famously wore number 7 on his jersey.
But his love for music and singing talent found himself performing live for the masses.
In 2019, Steviese7en’s passion for the Stone Temple Pilots’ (STP) music drove him toward to creating “Stone Temple Tribute (STT),” an homage to one of the most celebrated 1990s alternative rock bands of that era.
“I got tired of doing general covers of two of this band, two of that band, and I saw a couple tribute bands on my own and realized ‘wow,’ that these guys were doing it at a high level,” Steviese7en said. “So, I got real interested in that, and that’s when I started.”
The lead singer and vocalist of STT, who comes pretty close to matching the iconic stylings of the late Scott Weiland, searched for the best musicians around in the New York area who were dedicated to playing the best version of STP’s impressive catalog of songs. What followed is its present members of ‘MONEY’ Mike DeLeO, Rob, Mr. Ed ‘LANE’ DeLeO on bass, and T. Michael’s.
Though steep in heavy metal roots of the 80s, 90s alternative music is where it is at for Steviese7en, he said.
“STP is definitely one of my favorite bands,” the former high school baseball player said. “I’m a 90s’ head. I mean, I go back to 80s with metal, I really do. Iron Maiden was definitely my top band. But the 90s changed things, and it needed a change, which was great. What came out between Sound Garden and Nirvana, from Alice in Chains to STP, just blew my friggin mind.”
After attending a few STP and other 90 bands’ live performances, the long blond-haired Steviese7en was hooked.
“I saw a bunch of shows, and I was just so addicted to the new style of music, and it’s what got me on the scene,” Steviese7en recalled. “I’ve seen them live, obviously. It really had a good vibe when I went into their shows. They’re definitely one of my favorite groups.”
But Steviese7en said that just playing another famous bands’ music to please the fans because of its widespread, well-liked status is not the reason to form a tribute group.
“I think it’s important, if you’re going to do a tribute, the main thing is, you can’t say ‘this is popular. I want to do this.’ I don’t see how it can work,” he stressed. “You really need to love the band. That’s what going to come through in tributes, and that’s what’s important to me, anyway.”
While the look, stage presents, and musicianship factors are important, it all begins with the way the band sounds live, he noted.
“I want to always really go with the sound first,” Steviese7en said. “I just want to start there at the root of the sound of the music. And let it work out, like a seed. But if it doesn’t start out with the music being on point with the musicians, you can forget everything else, the lights and all that stuff.”
Listen and watch STT by clicking this link. Also, follow the band on social media at Facebook and its website at https://sttbandny.com for other clips and photos, and to see where it will be performing next.
Stone Temple Tribute will be part of a Mockumentary, Documentary, Rockumentary due out in 2026. Here are a few of STP’s biggest hits: Interstate Love Song, Plush, Wicked Garden, Dead & Bloated, among others.
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— Jerry Del Priore
NY NJ Sports World/Brooklyn Sports World 