Velvet Revolver
-- supergroup for new decade
By Gelu Sulugiuc
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The bad boys of rock
are back -- sober, older and wiser, but
still hoping to turn the music world on
its head.
Guns N' Roses ruled the 80s with a mixture
of punk and glam rock, while Stone Temple
Pilots were one of the top grunge bands
of the 90s. Both crumbled under an avalanche
of alcohol and drug abuse, but now individual
members have recovered and merged to bring
back rebellious rock anthems as Velvet
Revolver.
The supergroup emerged when Guns N' Roses
guitarist Slash, bassist Duff McKagan and
drummer Matt Sorum co-opted Stone Temple
Pilots singer Scott Weiland and Wasted
Youth guitarist Dave Kushner.
"Guns N' Roses just got so big and
we were so young and didn't know any of
the pitfalls, both on the physical level
and on an ego level," McKagan said
in an interview. "Scott has seen it
too with Stone Temple Pilots, so I think
we all come better armed for this thing."
The group already has
a radio hit with "Slither," the
first single off their album "Contraband" set
for release by RCA on June 8. And they
are wrapping up a U.S. theatre tour feeling
invigorated and ready to make a dent in
today's heavy metal scene.
"This is the most punk-rock major
label record I've been involved with," McKagan
said. Since he left Guns N' Roses, "music
has come full circle, people are really
hungry for pure, unadulterated rock n'
roll," he added.
"We're coming out very energised,
youthful and powerful," Sorum said. "Come
and see the band live, there isn't going
to be anybody that can touch us, I guarantee
it."
INDUSTRIAL MUSIC
Slash (born Saul Hudson),
McKagan and Sorum left Guns N' Roses
in the mid-nineties after singer Axl
Rose insisted the band abandon the sound
that made "Appetite
for Destruction" sell 15 million records
to experiment with electronic and industrial
music.
Slash toured with his band Snakepit, McKagan
got a college degree in finance and Sorum
scored films. Rose kept the Guns N' Roses
moniker, but his 2002 tour was cancelled
after he twice failed to show up. He has
yet to release a new record.
Two years ago, after reuniting at a benefit
for the late Ozzy Osbourne drummer Randy
Castillo, Slash, McKagan and Sorum realised
they still had the urge to play together.
Former Guns N' Roses rhythm guitarist
Izzy Stradlin was no longer interested
in being in a band, so the three enlisted
Kushner to provide texture under Slash's
solos. All they needed was a singer.
After auditions with established vocalists
like Sebastian Bach (Skid Row) did not
produce the right sound, they asked anyone
interested to send a demo.
"We heard over one thousand CDs --
some of it was pretty hilarious, some of
it was brutal," McKagan said.
Eventually they settled on Weiland, whose
glory days with Stone Temple Pilots were
far behind.
"The minute he walked into the room
and started singing, we knew this was the
guy," McKagan said.
Before they could rock, Weiland had to
overcome his heroin habit. He had failed
rehab before, but the band's support and
an intense martial arts regimen worked
this time. With their charismatic frontman
in better form, Velvet Revolver set out
to put showmanship back into rock.
"We've cleaned up our act to a point
where we're all in great shape and we're
ready to present ourselves to the world
again," Sorum said.
THE RECORD
Clean and sober, they
recorded "Set
Me Free" for the movie The Hulk and
the contract offers poured in. The band
signed with RCA after Chairman Clive Davis
courted them personally.
Feeling like underdogs
out to stake their turf again, Velvet
Revolver set out to make an aggressive
record that reflects the band's energy
and abrasiveness. The result was "Contraband," a
blues-rock album. It received good reviews
from critics who appreciated the return
of old-fashioned, straight-ahead rock.
The Washington Post said
in its review that with "such anthemic burners as "Sucker
Train Blues," "Do It for the
Kids" and incendiary first single "Slither" ...
there's nothing even slightly ironic about
the old-school theatrics of Velvet Revolver.
These days, that's a beautiful thing."
Playing mostly new songs plus a few Guns
N' Roses and Stone Temple Pilots favourites
on their current tour, Velvet Revolver
tipped their hat to their past as Weiland
sang through a megaphone and Slash donned
his trademark top hat.
"Incendiary guitars
and locomotive grooves ... added up to
a sweltering performance successfully
designed to be a welcome throwback to
the days before rock n' roll was invaded
by clowns like Nickelback," said the
Chicago Sun-Times.
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