Dave Coutts On His New Single “Teargas In August,” Singing With 3/4 Of Stone Temple Pilots In Talk Show, Future Music Plans & More

As the frontman of the bands Ten Inch Men and Talk Show, Dave Coutts was part of major label releases, ultimately partaking in the spoils of the mainstream rock world (e.g. MTV exposure, appearing on Howard Stern, touring with Aerosmith). After taking a hiatus from life as a full-time musician in the late 1990’s, Coutts is back with a new single via Golden Robot Records, “Teargas In August.” The track shows off the soft yet rockier sides of Coutts’ style, in the ballpark of prime Beatles, Who and Kinks. Meanwhile, its trippy lyrics ought keep you guessing the true meaning of this tune.

I had the pleasure of doing Q&A with Dave Coutts about “Teargas In August,” his time with 3/4 of Stone Temple Pilots in the VMA-winning quartet Talk Show, his aforementioned hiatus and what lies ahead for him career-wise, as printed below. More on Coutts can be found here, here and here.

“Teargas In August” is your latest single. When did you record it?

Dave Coutts: About a year and a half ago already. Wow.

Who else played on “Teargas In August?” Was any of it recorded at home?

Dave Coutts: No, I do not have a home studio but it was written at home. The songs are recorded at the Racket Room in Santa Ana, California. Marty Beal and I produced, Marty played guitars and bass, I played guitars and my best friend I never met, Dan Chapa, played drums all the way from Detroit, Michigan area. Hey bro, email that drum track, please. (laughs)

Is “Teargas In August” part of a forthcoming album? Or just something you wanted to get out?

Dave Coutts: “Teargas” is actually the third song I have recorded since getting back into music and recording, I have actually done 5 now with 2-3 more ready to go. Yes, I want to put out at least an EP but have enough to do an album. It’s all about the money. I would gladly pay you Tuesday. (laughs)

To my ears, “Teargas In August” isn’t way out of the realm from the work you did with Talk Show. Does that mean you now look back on the Talk Show album proudly?

Dave Coutts: I have always been proud of most of the stuff on Talk Show. The fact that millions of people did not buy it does not make it something I should be embarrassed about. Actually, “Teargas” sounds to me more like Ten Inch Men the band I was in before Talk Show and for good reason; I wrote most of the Ten Inch Men Music and sang it. If it sounds like Talk Show as well, I will take that as a compliment. There were some pretty decent players on that record. Perhaps you have heard of them.

Ten Inch Men released a few Polygram-distributed albums before Talk Show formed, so you were already a seasoned performer by the time you were touring alongside Aerosmith and Foo Fighters. With all those years of touring and recording, is there a moment you look back on most fondly?

Dave Coutts: There were so many stages of that. For me, touring was always such a stop and go experience. 1987, Ten Inch Men toured the whole state of Florida. Our songs [from the Hours-N-Pain EP] were on the radio out there nonstop back then. We played small clubs for 2 weeks and then came home to “what do we do now?” After doing the album in ’93, we opened for Bon Jovi twice, they asked us to go to Europe with them and play soccer stadiums but Victory/Polygram would not pay for the trip. I quit Ten Inch Men shortly after that. I love going to strange new places and playing songs on big ass speakers, fancy buses and planes, hotels all get old after a while. Meeting cool people that you admire is also fun. The guys in all the bands we have played with, Foo Fighters, Aerosmith, Bon Jovi and others were very cool and super-talented humans.

Last question related to Talk Show, I swear! I personally have always been a fan of Stone Temple Pilots and the non-STP projects of the DeLeo brothers. They did Talk Show with you, then a few years later they tried Army Of Anyone with Richard Patrick, and they have worked with a few vocalists out in STP before and after the passing of Scott. In turn, I think it is safe to say that it isn’t and wasn’t ever you that was “the problem.” If ever, when did you start to feel vindicated and that people “got it” about what went down?

Dave Coutts: I don’t give a fuck about being vindicated. I was never accused of any crime, either. (laughs) Talk Show had a virtually-unknown singer and was self-produced. AOA was more of a supergroup-type band with all pretty established and well-known people and produced by the same guy who produced some pretty HUGE Pink Floyd records. I don’t think AOA had too much success either, did they? The Talk Show record cannot be the last thing I do musically. If I can put something out that I am proud of on my own and have people like Golden Robot Records behind me, that is not exactly vindication, but it makes me happier than sitting on my ass wondering about “what if?”

Per what I have read, the primary focus of the last 20 or so years for you has been on your family, which was a smart move. But I know you didn’t give up music entirely. Are there a lot of recordings from the last 2 decades?

Dave Coutts: Yes, thank you and I agree. I love my family and would be nothing without them. I recorded a couple of tunes with John McCloy of Ten Inch Men but really wasn’t ready to throw my whole heart into it. We had a very busy time when our kids were young. I never stopped loving music, though.

Would there ever be a scenario where you went back into music full-time?

Dave Coutts: Oh hell yes. It would have to be a smart move, though.

Music and family aside, where does your free time usually go?

Dave Coutts: I like to surf, I like to play in the cover band I am in with some really good chums.

Finally, Dave, any last words for the kids?

Dave Coutts: Hey kids, I appreciate it if you took the time to read this. Do not be afraid. Stand up and create. Smiling is never uncool.

SHARE ON FACEBOOK SHARE ON TWITTER

Tags: Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, Dave Coutts, Foo Fighters, Golden Robot Records, Scott Weiland, Stone Temple Pilots, talk show

About the Author

Darren Paltrowitz Darren Paltrowitz is a New York resident with over 20 years of entertainment industry experience. He began working around the music business as a teenager, interning for the manager of his then-favorite band Superdrag. Since then, he has worked with a wide array of artists including OK Go, They Might Be Giants, Mike Viola, Tracy Bonham, Loudness, Rachael Yamagata, and Amanda Palmer. Darren's writing has appeared in dozens of outlets including the New York Daily News, Inquisitr, The Daily Meal, The Hype Magazine, All Music Guide, Guitar World, TheStreet.com, Businessweek, Chicago Tribune, L.A. Times, and the Jewish Journal. Beyond being "Editor At Large" for The Hype Magazine, Darren is also the host of weekly "Paltrocast With Darren Paltrowitz" series, which airs on dozens on television and digital networks. He has also co-authored 2 published books, 2018's "Pocket Change: Your Happy Money" (Book Web Publishing) and 2019's "Good Advice From Professional Wrestling" (6623 Press), and co-hosts the world's only known podcast about David Lee Roth, "The DLR Cast."