Stone Temple Pilots Alright, so here is what I know about STP. The Stone Temple Pilots are a band that was formed in San Diego in 1988. Weiland hooked up with Robert Deleo at a show in California and then picked up Eric Kretz. and then after finally convincing Dean Deleo to come to California They were officially known as Mighty Joe Young. They recieved their first gig in 1990 in a place in L.A. After a couple of years they got a big show in L.A. They hired agent Don Muller and he told atlantic about Mighty Joe Young. After a while the band signed with Atlantic. Unfortunately during recording Mighty Joe Young was told that a singer had already taken the name Mighty Joe Young.