It's not easy getting Eric Kretz's attention while he's in the zone. When the Stone Temple Pilots drummer emerges from the practice room, he sounds winded. It's a healthy sound, like someone interrupted in the middle of a satisfying workout. The Pilots are rehearsing in their North Hollywood studios for a massive six-month-long reunion tour, and Kretz has finally managed to sneak away for a bit.

"Oh, man, there's like 30 or 40 songs to sift through," he says as though just now realizing how prolific his band was. Nailing all the hits in the STP catalogue is a daunting task after six years off, but for Kretz, still a boyish surfer dude at 41, nothing could be better.

In case you were playing with blocks back in the early' 90s, the Pilots were one the primary movers behind grunge: the slowed-down, slicked-over, beefed-up punk sound dominating American rock for the remainder of the decade. The Pilots' spectacular rise would plateau early due largely to the drug problems of leader Scott Weiland, a situation inflamed by an antagonistic media. Inner-band turmoil reached critical levels when a near bout of onstage fisticuffs between guitarist Dean DeLeo and Weiland at the end of 2001 essentially ended STP as fans knew it.