DAYS OF THE NEW Frontman Talks About VELVET REVOLVER, Decision To Enter Rehab

DAYS OF THE NEW frontman Travis Meeks, who is in the process of completing a month-long stint in a California rehabilitation center for treatment of a crystal methamphetamine addiction, recently spoke to Rolling Stone about his audition for VELVET REVOLVER, the new band formed by former GUNS N' ROSES members Slash, Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum. "I was out of my head," Meeks said of the tryout. "I respect them, but they said there aren't any good rock singers out there. I laughed. I just felt like there was no growth there. GUNS N' ROSES was all about taking chances. They didn't know what they were doing when they made 'Appetite For Destruction'. That's what was great about it. They were taking chances."

Meeks also spoke about his addiction and his decision to seek out help for his problem.

"A using friend told me to go to rehab," he said. "I was lying in bed, going 'I'm tired, all I'm going to do is sit here and die.' I called Mark Williams, my A&R guy, and said, 'Yeah, about that recovery,' and he put me with some people. My dad's a recovering alcoholic and addict. I grew up around it. I got too deep in my head. I wanted to pick up where concept albums left off, where people thought they were going but never really ended up. I wanted to give the vibes of standing in a field, no one around and the wind hitting you a certain way. I wanted to capture memories and vibes and put it into records. You get that vibe from SMASHING PUMPKINS, the 'Mellon Collie' album, certain elements will give you that energy. 'Led Zeppelin IV'. It's real, and I just wanted to do that. But I started realizing all the information I had, I couldn't apply it. That's when I really had to turn and ask for help. That's one of the things I've never done. I've never asked somebody for help. That's a humbling thing for me to even say.

"When I was fucked up, I got real deep. I was encoding words and stuff. Like that helicopter that just went by — I was like, 'Oh, that's a message of hell.' You know, because it says helicopter. Why would the English language name these things the way they did? I was trying to encode stuff and shit. I was trying to figure out shit. Let me tell you one thing: There's nothing to figure out."

Upon his release from rehab, Meeks is expected to continue work on DAYS OF THE NEW's fourth full-length effort, entitled "The Purple Album", tentatively due before the end of the year.