Just weeks away from Christmas, former Stone Temple Pilots bassist Robert DeLeo admitted he'd already received the best present he could ever wish for - his new band Army of Anyone.

"Man, everything's going great," he gushed over the telephone from Houston, soaked in sun and cooled by a chilly December air. "This past year has been really incredible."

On the road for the first time since Stone Temple Pilots dissolved in 2003, DeLeo said he and guitarist-brother Dean didn't set out to hatch a new band right away; instead, Army of Anyone happened by accident.

Tapped by Filter frontman Richard Patrick to help pen material for that band's fourth album, DeLeo said the brothers formed a powerful bond with the vocalist that ended up birthing Army of Anyone and shelving Filter indefinitely.

"The first song we wrote together ('A Better Place'), made us realize that this was something more than contributing to his Filter record," DeLeo said. "I think we realized this could be a great project on its own, as its own band."

Though the DeLeo brothers had a passing relationship with Richard (Patrick joined STP to sing "Hey Man, Nice Shot" at a Chicago concert in 2000), Robert said he put plans for a solo record on hold, gifting songs that he had been working on for his own project to Army of Anyone's self-titled debut. 
 

"A lot of the songs I contributed, were tracks that had been swimming around my head for a number of years," he said. "I don't like to relinquish material that's so close and so personal, but along the way of getting to know each other, the relationship between the three of us became so good, I had no problem, saying, 'Hey, check this out.'"

The threesome now in place, DeLeo said they didn't want to be known as the guys from STP with a new singer, so they sought out someone new to take over the drums from STP's Eric Kretz. And after a few auditions, Dean, Richard and Robert settled on Ray Luzier (David Lee Roth).

"Nothing against Eric, but I think as STP records went along, it was pretty plain to see that he was kind of losing interest in his drums and his playing and getting into more of the studio aspect of music."

Joking about how he and Dean had to "relearn" things, DeLeo credits veteran producer Bob Ezrin (Pink Floyd, Alice Cooper) with lending the project a fresh pair of ears.

"We wanted the record to not have just one song that'd push it into a higher chart position.

"Our main goal was to have someone put on the CD, and listen to it front to back as a whole listening experience. That's one thing I think the new generation of listeners are longing for.

"And sometimes it takes getting someone else in to help make the tough choices. Having Bob's ear in there and having him say, 'This is working, this is great for the record,' helped us a lot."

Likening the writing process of the album to a marriage, DeLeo said the quartet tried to incorporate each other's tactics when they arrived in studio. "Songs like 'A Better Place,' 'Non Stop' and 'Leave It,' contain a lot of sound imaging. STP dabbled with that on 'Lounge Fly,' but we hadn't worked with loops and stuff like that to the extent that Richard had.

"So in a sense, Dean and myself found ourselves doing things a little different to what we were used to with STP, but it's all part of growing and maturing musically."

Backed by the success of the album's first single, "Goodbye," which pairs the DeLeo brothers' chugging riffs against Patrick's sharp vocals and Luzier's crisp drumming, Army of Anyone kicks off a round of U.S. headlining dates later this month. And with the band's live set having been ironed out over a series of club gigs last November and December, DeLeo said the foursome are enjoying rocking out each of the album's 11 cuts, along with a few surprises.

"Dean and I are genuine Filter fans, and since Richard is an STP fan, we're playing the songs we really dug and really enjoyed performing.

"We're doing 'Vaseline,' 'Big Bang Baby' and 'Piece of Pie,' and Filter-wise we're playing 'Take a Picture,' 'Welcome to the Fold' and 'Hey Man, Nice Shot.' And it's been fun doing them."

As Army of Anyone prepares to tour incessantly behind the release (they're due up in Canada later this winter), DeLeo didn't bristle when it was suggested that Army of Anyone and former STP vocalist's Scott Weiland's Velvet Revolver might cross paths when that band releases their sophomore disc next spring.

"I never say never," he said, when asked whether he'd resurrect Stone Temple Pilots with the newly sober Weiland. "I don't think there was ever a specific end to Stone Temple Pilots, but I know there's a new beginning here with Army of Anyone.

"I wouldn't wish upon anyone not to get their life together, and whether it was for Velvet Revolver or for himself, I'm happy he's got his life together. I think there's a better relationship now that we're not in a band.

"But there was a lot of stuff that went along with STP, and I think when the headlines and the antics started overshadowing the music, that's when I really lost interest in continuing with that."

As Army of Anyone's tour bus rambled toward Houston's Verizon Wireless Theater, DeLeo said that right now, he's content. "That's really a more positive way of looking at where I'm at in my life and I'm really happy with that.

"As far as Dean and I are concerned, we approached this as if this is our first record.

"We're starting on the ground floor all over again and we want to work this thing up."

"Army of Anyone's" self-titled album is in stores now.