FYI, I will never leave LP. We are currently working on a new record and its awesome!

— Chester Bennington (@ChesterBe) May 19, 2013

“Chester Bennington and STP Together for the first time?” inquired Bean. “For the first time but not the last,” offered Bennington.

“So STP Guys, you were thinking,” began Bean, “‘We don’t really have the world’s most reliable singer,’ did you just start going through the Rolodex and it could have just as easily been Snoop Dogg? How did you end up on Chester?”

“There was no guessing that,” explained Dean DeLeo. “There was the one and only Chester that could fill that [role].”

“Every band has its own kinda vibe,” said Bennington. “Stone Temple Pilots has this sexier, more classic rock feel to it. Linkin Park is a very modern, very tech-heavy type of band. It was kind of nice. I got to use my voice tonight. I got to sing and show my range a little bit. I still got to through a little scream in here and there but it’s really just so much different. I grew up listening to these guys. When this opportunity came up, it was just like a no-brainer.”

What’s next for the foursome?

“We’re gonna go out to lunch together because we haven’t been able because we haven’t been able to be seen in public together. So, we’re probably going to go hang out as friends,” confessed Bennington.

Dean DeLeo hinted that there might be an album and tour in the near future while Bennington added, “We couldn’t really plan a tour until tonight because we couldn’t let people know what was going on.”

“Now the cat’s out of the bag so we’re going to go out and make more music and go play more shows and have some fun,” added Bennington.

Speaking about Linking Park’s supporting his decision to add another project to his resume, Bennington said, “They’ve always been very cool about guys in the band and going out and doing other things.”

But the question on everyone’s mind was “What does Scott Weiland think of all this. Does the recently fired STP singer know that he was replaced by Bennington? “Probably now,” joked Dean DeLeo. According Dean there has been little or no communication between Weiland and the band; “He changed his numbers years ago and didn’t forward the new ones to us.”

Surprise Performance: Chester Bennington appears with Stone Temple Pilots, debut new song “Out Of Time”

If seeing is believing, the audience at Weenie Roast 2013 definitely left as believers in the power of music. The unbelievable magic of the night was doubly-amplified after all the amazing sets earlier when sonic swamis of alt-stadium rock, Stone Temple Pilots, brought Chester Bennington from Linkin Park out as a featured vocalist.

Constant controversy has surrounded Stone Temple Pilots’ ex-frontman Scott Weiland–complete with conflicting reports on his status with the band.

That’s why when Stone Temple Pilots appeared onstage, the audience’s hands gripped curiously onto their seats and eyes watched the stage with disbelief as Bennington joined the band tonight.

Replacing Weiland’s grunge rock growl with his Bennington’s gracefully gritty tenor, the featured addition of the Linkin Park frontman was delightfully surreal.

Quirky collaborations aren’t rare in the rock music world, but none are as epic as the one-two punch of these veteran hard-rockers.

Want some more evidence of tonight’s awesomeness? Listen below to Stone Temple Pilots’ brand new track “Out Of Time,” featuring Bennington as guest vocalist.

You can also download the song for free exclusively at http://downloads.radio.com/stone-temple-pilots/

“Chester has a one-of-a-kind voice that we’ve admired for a long time,” said guitarist Dean DeLeo. “We know Linkin Park will always be his priority, but we thought it would be cool to try something together. We managed to find the time to record a song and we’re all really happy with the result.”

“I’ve loved STP since I was 13 years old and they’ve had a huge influence on me,” explained Bennington. “When the opportunity came up to do something creative with them, I jumped at the chance. The guys in Linkin Park have been incredibly supportive of me undertaking this project while I’ve continued to work on new music with LP.”

DENVER, CO–(Marketwired – Apr 22, 2013) – Rock the Earth, a national nonprofit environmental organization that partners with the music industry, today announced the winners of the eighth annual Planet Defender Awards. Based on nominations from the community and Rock the Earth’s national volunteer network, the Planet Defender Awards pay tribute to the exceptional individuals and groups working to protect the Earth and inspire others to action, and recognize winners in three categories: Artist, Community Leader and Grassroots Activist.

On Earth Day, Rock the Earth introduced the 2013 Planet Defender Award winners:

– Artist: Linkin Park

Planet Defender Award – Artist – Linkin Park

This year’s Planet Defender Award was presented to music artist Linkin Park. Since Linkin Park was formed in 1996, the award-winning band has combined passion for music with passion for the environment, giving back through extensive charity work, donations and benefit concerts around the world.

In 2005, Linkin Park founded the charity Music for Relief, with a mission to support disaster relief reduce global warming. Since its inception, Music for Relief has raised more than $5 million for the victims of natural disasters around the world, and helped to plant over 1 million trees to help reduce global warming. The charity’s environmental programs also help educate artists and fans about how they can reduce their carbon footprint and how climate change impacts weather related disasters.