MATT SORUM Says VELVET REVOLVER 'Could Have Been' As Big As GUNS N' ROSES: 'It Just Didn't Last Long Enough'

In a new interview with Get On The Bus, Matt Sorum reflected on VELVET REVOLVER, the band he formed in 2002 with fellow GUNS N' ROSES members Duff McKagan and Slash. Sorum, McKagan, Slash and guitarist Dave Kushner held an exhaustive singer search after VELVET REVOLVER's formation that lasted for almost two years, during which they issued an open invitation to the public to send in demos. Eventually they settled on former STONE TEMPLE PILOTS singer Scott Weiland. VELVET REVOLVER released two full-length albums through RCA/Sony BMG — 2004's "Contraband" and 2007's "Libertad" — before dismissing Weiland in April 2008.

Sorum said about VELVET REVOLVER's early days (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):  "Scott Weiland came in, and we made that record 'Contraband'. And Scott [was] just one of the greatest. And it was difficult times, early days, but so worth it. [There] was a lot of drugs and stuff. I'd gotten clean. And everyone else was cleaned up, and we went through all of our obvious cliché rock and roll shit; it was like a VH1 'Behind The Music' kind of thing. We'd all gotten cleaned up, and we made a pact that we were gonna do this. At that time, we were in our forties, which was fucking really old. It was, like, 'Oh, shit.' And labels didn't really give a shit if it was three guys from GN'R. [They said], 'Who's the singer and where are the songs?' And Weiland came in. And I remember it really jumpstarted the band. At that point we became VELVET REVOLVER, and it was just game on. It was so exciting. And after all the work — hard work — and I say this to people, 'cause I think a lot of people look at us like we're a bunch of guys just wake up, play music and it just happens. It's, like, 'Those guys don't work.' But yeah, it was amazing times. That, for me, was, like, I guess I was a founder of my first band. Obviously, I was in the other band, but it was a new band, and we had to recreate. We really couldn't be GNR. We couldn't just rest on that."

Regarding how VELVET REVOLVER's songwriting approach was different from the way GUNS N' ROSES wrote music, Matt said: "We came up with this album that was kind of [a reflection] of the times. There were other bands really big — LINKIN PARK — but we all liked QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, and the FOO FIGHTERS were coming. It was a different rhythmic sense. The rhythm wasn't this swagger retro rock and roll thing. It was more like pumping kind of punky. It was a good club. And I remember when we put out the first single, 'Slither', and it had sort of this Slash riff with this Weiland kind of 'Sex Type Thing' [STONE TEMPLE PILOTS] vocal, that monotone thing he did, into this big sweeping chorus. And we made the right video. And everything was very thought out when we came up with what we wanted to be. And the name of the album, 'Contraband' — here it was, 'Contraband'. It's, like, all this shit — drugs, paraphernalia — and that was really a reflection on our lives. That was sort of us from then to now. And, man, if you watch the first video, we were all in the best shape of our lives. We got really serious about, how are we gonna compete? We never talked about it like this ever, but it was known. It was just, 'We have to be the best we can be. Let's just fucking throw it down.' And I would say that hunger in that period of time, the hunger was exactly the same as when I was a kid. Fast forward 25 years, it was, like, 'I'm gonna do this. We're all gonna do this.' And the album blew up. When it came out on the radio, like every hour on KROQ [Los Angeles radio station], I was, like, 'Oh, here we go.' And it took off. And then we went out and we were headlining, selling out, all that stuff. So game on. It was exciting."

Sorum went on to lament VELVET REVOLVER's breakup, saying: "[The band] wasn't as big as GN'R, but it could have been. It just didn't last long enough. I don't think it's about the size, actually. You're playing an arena, and you're plenty big enough… But for me it was probably the best, because I was a lot clearer minded too. I'd gone through stuff, we'd all gone through stuff. We'd all made some mistakes. The other band had broken up. We really wanted to keep it together. Unfortunately, it kind of fell into bad habits again and the same old shit and the wheels came off. But I still reflect back on that [period], especially picking up the Grammy. We never got a Grammy with GN'R — ever. But that was a big moment. Three Grammy nominations and then we won one. And people say, 'Oh, awards, whatever.' But I don't know. It's nice to get one. [Laughs]"

Weiland was found dead on his band's tour bus in December 2015. The vocalist, who was 48 years old at the time of his death, was on tour with THE WILDABOUTS in Minnesota when he was found unresponsive.

In the past, Sorum had made it clear that he and his bandmates were very aware of Weiland's drug-addiction battles and chronic tardiness when they first joined forces with him to launch VELVET REVOLVER.

Weiland and his former VELVET REVOLVER bandmates said all kinds of nasty things about each other after their acrimonious split in 2008. But Sorum later said he wasn't bothered anymore, partly because he said he had a chance to talk things out with the frontman a couple of years before Scott's death.

VELVET REVOLVER reunited with Weiland for a four-song set in January 2012 at a Los Angeles tribute concert for late songwriter John O'Brien, but the band has otherwise remained inactive.

At one point it was reported that VELVET REVOLVER was going to team with STONE SOUR and SLIPKNOT vocalist Corey Taylor, but the idea was ultimately vetoed by Slash. The group and Taylor recorded demos of 10 songs together.

Earlier this month, Sorum told SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" about VELVET REVOLVER: "VELVET REVOLVER spawned from [GUNS N' ROSES] too, and that was a great run. It didn't last as long as I wanted it to. I was hoping it'd be more of a long thing and we'd still be here, but unfortunately it didn't go that way. But I think we could have really developed into a great rock and roll band, which I felt like we were on 'Contraband'. But when we first came out, I definitely felt youthful and on fire again. Because when you form a new band out of coming out of a band like GUNS N' ROSES, it wasn't about competition. It was about we have to compete in a younger market now. We were older guys then; we were in our forties at that point — which sounds young now. [Laughs] But we had to fire up. And when we made 'Contraband', I felt like I was 20. If you look back, we all got in great shape. We all got cleaned up. We weren't doing the hard-hitting party nights like we did, and we made a great record. 'Contraband' came out and sold three million copies. We got three Grammy noms. We won one. But we were on fire again."

Recounting an encounter with a fan which made him feel like VELVET REVOLVER had established its own footing after his run with GUNS N' ROSES, Sorum said: "I remember one time me and Duff were in New York, and we were at the gym or something — not like the old days. We were coming out of the gym. We walked out into the street somewhere in Manhattan, and this guy looks at us. He goes, 'Hey, you're Duff and Matt from VELVET REVOLVER.' And me and Duff had never heard that. We looked at each other [and thought that was so cool]. It was always 'GUNS N' ROSES, GUNS N' ROSES.' But at that point in time, GUNS N' ROSES wasn't there. We were. And GUNS N' ROSES is always gonna be there, but they weren't out, they weren't doing much. And we felt very proud of that. We had created something new. You can call it a supergroup or whatever, but that wasn't our intention. We just needed a great frontman, and Scott Weiland was that; he was a great frontman, with his quirks and everything else that went with it. Still, if you look back, in my opinion, he was one of one of the greatest rock and roll frontmen that I've been honored to work with, along with Axl and Ian Astbury [THE CULT] and all the great frontmen I've been in bands with."

More than four years ago, Matt revealed in his book "Double Talkin' Jive: True Rock 'N' Roll Stories" that he learned of the 2016 partial reunion of GUNS N' ROSES' classic lineup via the rumor mill even though he was on a South American tour with Slash and Duff when the Internet chatter first reached him. After he confronted Duff, the bassist told him: "Axl wants to use his drummer [Frank Ferrer]." "Go to Axl and tell him you want me on drums," Sorum responded. "Period. Now's the time." "Oh, man," Duff replied. "I already signed the deal."

Sorum told Rolling Stone in a 2021 interview that he had gotten over the fact that he will probably never play with GUNS N' ROSES again. "I've come to terms with the fact that they're doing their own thing, and I'm doing mine," he said. "I can't say that when it went down, I was completely happy with the circumstances. At the same time, I feel really good about my time in the band."

Photo credit: Jonas Åkerlund (courtesy of AFM Records / Ken Phillips Publicity Group, Inc.)