The GNR/STP super band to rock Calgary this Monday

When it was announced a year-and-a-half ago that a super group was being formed mixing three notorious partiers from Guns N' Roses with rock and roll bad boy Scott Weiland, there was little doubt that the result would be explosive.

After selling nearly three million copies of their debut album and taking home the award for Best Hard Rock Performance at last month's Grammy Awards, the men of Velvet Revolver are having fun playing music again.

So much fun, in fact, that the debut album "Contraband" hasn't been on shelves for a year, and the band already is talking about hitting the studio this summer to record a follow-up album.

"We're definitely planning to go right into the studio and start working on songs for another record as soon as we're done touring, which could be probably around the middle of July," said guitarist Dave Kushner in a phone interview from his home in Los Angeles.

The spark that eventually became Velvet Revolver originated when former GNR rockers Slash, Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum got together to raise money for the family of former Ozzy Osbourne and Motley Crue drummer Randy Castillo, died of cancer a few years ago.

"They did a benefit and ... I'm not sure who called who, but those three guys got together and played with Keith and Josh from Buckcherry," Kushner explained. "They played with a bunch of guest vocalists from Steven Tyler (Aerosmith) to the guys from Cypress Hill and I guess the chemistry was something that they'd all been looking for since Guns N' Roses. (They) had that sound and realized that the only place they were gonna find it was with each other."

At the time Kushner was playing guitar in the band, Loaded, with McKagan and watched the situation unfold. Soon after the idea started rolling, he was asked to join the group and was paired with longtime friend Slash, whom he has known since junior high school.

The key ingredient to the group was yet to be discovered, and it would take nearly a year before Velvet Revolver would find its voice.

"We had been looking for a singer for about 10 months, and we rehearsed five days a week for that 10 months while looking for a singer," Kushner said.

Originally, the band wasn't formed to be a super group, which is why it took so long to find a vocalist.

"We obviously realized that there was potential there and we had a lot better of a chance starting off (with an established vocalist) than we would if we ... had some unknown singer," Kushner said. "It was never our intention to do something like that, or else we wouldn't have taken 10 months to find a singer. We auditioned anybody. It could've been your kid brother as long as they could sing. It just took us a long time and we weren't willing to settle."

In the meantime, the band was busy writing songs, compiling 60 tracks of music before collaborating with former Stone Temple Pilots vocalist Scott Weiland on the soundtrack for "The Hulk." What resulted was the hit single, "Set Me Free," and, ultimately, the completion of the band.

"Scott really is the complete package from the performance to the way he looks to his writing ability to his creativity," Kushner said. "There's very few people that can do all of that and have all of those qualities, which is why we have Scott."

Once Weiland joined, the task of filtering all the music to one album worth of tracks began, while even more songs were written.

"(Scott) sat and listened through as many as he could get his head around," Kushner said. "I'd say about half the record were songs that we had written before Scott was officially in the band."

As for the remaining music, time will tell if it is dusted off and used down the road.

"We sell 'em on eBay," Kushner joked. "I'm sure maybe we'll revisit some of them. I think most of them will just become this fat that gets trimmed off of making this band."

"Contraband" features 13 tracks, including the hit singles, "Fall to Pieces," and "Slither," but makes for a short list when playing to huge arenas all over the world. To fill the void, concertgoers have been treated to songs from both the Guns N' Roses and STP catalog, as well as covers from other bands including Aerosmith and Nirvana.

"At this point, we'd have to (play other songs) or people wouldn't get their money's worth," Kushner said. "They'd be leaving after less than an hour."

While Weiland's voice is similar to that of Axl Rose, not all GNR songs are suited to Velvet Revolver.

"Axl has such a specific voice," Kushner said. "Scott can do the lower thing. (We) don't want to play 'Jungle,' or 'Paradise City' or 'Sweet Child 'O Mine.' It'd just be goofy. So we don't. It's up to Scott as far as what's right for his voice."