Ex-GUNS N' ROSES Drummer MATT SORUM Releases Solo Cover Of TOM PETTY's 'I Won't Back Down'

Former GUNS N' ROSES and VELVET REVOLVER drummer Matt Sorum has released a music video for his solo cover version of the Tom Petty classic "I Won't Back Down".

Sorum uploaded the clip to his Instagram account and wrote in an accompanying message: "I made this video in the desert near Pioneertown when thinking and speaking with my good friends and partners in Brazil .

"Brazil is like a second home to me and I traveled there often before the pandemic to work on projects with my company @sthorm.io Since then we have moved our @viralcure.global project into working on COVID-19 and supporting @hospitalhcfmusp We started the crowd funding space and raised much needed funds to help with the situation and medical supplies.

"Please support if you can. We're all in this together more than ever.

"I call this Band THE MATTS as I recorded and sang all the parts myself at @escape w @chadshlosser recording and mixing ..except slide by #RandyRayMitchell ..

"thank you @kristabri for shooting it and @lucas_snatch for the edit and all the doctors and nurses on the front lines @hospitalhcfmusp that appear in the video ."

Back in 2014, Sorum released a solo album, "Stratosphere", under the moniker MATT SORUM'S FIERCE JOY on Rok Dok Recordings via Kobalt Label Services. The LP was described as a major departure from the hard-hitting rock Sorum is best known for.

Sorum told The Street that he was inspired to make "Stratosphere" by his love of "many diverse artists." "I was a huge Joni Mitchell fan; I remember listening to a lot of her records back to back," he said. "Neil Young, Tom Petty, THE BEATLES, of course, and I was a huge [David] Bowie fan. I was also into progressive stuff, like early GENESIS, Peter Gabriel era. You can hear that influence on the album; there are a couple of songs that have some interesting time changes.

"I've always dabbled on the acoustic guitar, and I wrote a couple songs for VELVET REVOLVER. In GUNS N' ROSES, Axl [Rose] and Slash looked to me for arrangements. I wasn't the predominant songwriter, but I've always been involved in the process."

Sorum's autobiography, "Double Talkin' Jive: True Rock 'N' Roll Stories From The Drummer Of Guns N' Roses, The Cult, And Velvet Revolver", which was previously due in April and was subsequently pushed back to early July, will now arrive in 2021.

Sorum, who replaced Steven Adler in GUNS N' ROSES, recorded the highly successful albums "Use Your Illusion I" and "Use Your Illusion II" (both 1991) and "The Spaghetti Incident" (1994). He also supported the group on the "Use Your Illusion" tour and can be heard on GUNS N' ROSES' "Live Era: '87-'93" (1999) and "Greatest Hits" (2004).

Sorum has said in the past that a GUNS reunion tour should have included both him and Adler, with each playing the songs they recorded with the group. Sorum was inducted as a member of the band into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in April 2012.