2004.06.05 - MTV2 Headbangers Ball - Interview with Velvet Revolver

Transcript:
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Duff: Coming up next you’ll have more of us, Velvet Revolver. Keep watching. We’ll kick your ass.

[Show titles]

Interviewer (Jamey Jasta): I’m hanging out here with Velvet Revolver on the Headbangers Ball. A brand new CD, their debut CD, Contraband, is gonna be in stores this Tuesday. Go and check that out. Now, you guys, in between Guns N’ Roses and now, you all had side projects. None were as highly anticipated as this. Are you feeling the pressure or what?

Slash: I wouldn’t say there’s... The anticipation level has been all sort of - more than anything, it’s been a lot of hype because of who everybody is, and Scott... that kind of stuff. But when we got together, there was such a bona fide real thing that it just came out as just magic. So it just happened. And we’ve just been out there doing gigs, and made the record and putting that out just based on that’s what we like to do. So it’s not really a lot of pressure to us, even though the anticipation might be high on the public view.

Interviewer: Okay.

Slash: So, now that we’ve been doing shows and stuff, everybody’s like, “Oh!” and all the hype gets to raise and it’s all about the band, so it’s pretty cool.

Interviewer: That’s great. So tell us about the recording and the writing process. You guys had songs prior to Scott joining up with you, correct?

Slash: A few.

Matt: Yeah, we had a ton of riffs and basic structures for songs. When Scott came in, he gravitated towards certain riffs that he really liked the sound of and landed towards his vocal style. And then, after Scott came in, we wrote probably about half the record with him there, in the room, and finished the record, got in the studio and knocked it out in about six weeks; we got it done pretty quickly.

Duff: And what was great about when Scott came in, he was actually there with us in the rehearsal place and we would be knocking out riffs, and he’d hear something and he would ask us to stop and play it again; he’d immediately start singing a melody over it, and by the end of the day we’d have a song.

Interviewer: Cool. Alright, let’s check out another Guns N’ Roses video. This one rarely I ever saw on MTV – MTV2. Tell us real quick though: Garden of Eden, how it came about.

Duff: Right. So we had done the video shoot for Yesterdays - the video - and we had all the gear, and the crew, and the cameras and everything there. And we said, “What the hell,” – it was about 6:00 in the morning – “let’s shoot another video shoot for Garden of Eden.” And they used a single camera, fisheye lens, and we did the video in, like, two takes.

Matt: Yeah, we did about two takes early, early morning. Usually videos take, like, 14-16 hours to make. This one took about half an hour.

Interviewer: Cool. Check it out.

Duff: This is rock ‘n’ roll.

Interviewer: Guns N’ Roses, Garden of Eden. Check it out.

[Video is played]

Slash: Yeah, Velvet Revolver is coming back here on Headbangers Ball.

[Break]

Interviewer: We’re still here hanging out with the fellas from the Velvet Revolver, here on Headbangers Ball. Now we’re gonna talk to Dave Kushner, the man. How did you hook up with these guys? Were you a big fan of STP and Guns N’ Roses or what?

Dave Kushner: I was. Slash, I have known him since junior high. We went to high school and junior high together.

Slash: Before I even started playing guitar – either one of us, actually.

Interviewer: Really?

Slash: Yeah. I hadn’t seen him in years and he was playing in Duff’s band.

Interviewer: Okay.

Slash: I went to see Duff’s band playing and I was like, “I know that guy!” So it was really cool to see him, and he came down to the studio when we were looking for a guitar player and just offered to help out till we found somebody, because he was a good friend of ours.

Interviewer: And then never left.

Slash: Yeah. And we never actually asked him to be in the band, so he’s just been hanging out (laughs).

Dave: At least my picture is on the records.

Slash: No, he brings something to the whole guitar thing as far as this band is concerned, which is a multi-layered thing, and it was really surprising the first day he walked in. I’d gotten so used to playing with guitar players who play pretty much exactly how I play, and it’s just a big mess. So he brought in this whole different thing, so I was doing my trip, he’s doing his trip and then sonically it just sounds really cool.

Interviewer: That’s amazing. So you must be psyched to hear that.

Dave: Yeah. I mean, I always get all goofy when I hear him talk about me, because it’s like, I remember when I was in high school watching him play, you know, before I started playing guitar, so...

Interviewer: That’s cool. So you were in Wasted Youth. Now you used to always wear that shirt. Was that the shirt?

Slash: Yeah, that was the shirt.

Interviewer: Or was it just a slogan?

Slash: No, it was the shirt. It was the band, yeah.

Duff: Of course it was.

Slash: Which, every time I had a shirt from Wasted Youth that was really cool.  

Interviewer: Because someone (?) but I knew it was the band’s shirt. But anyways. We’re gonna see a Wasted Youth video right now. Do you wanna tell us anything about it real quick?

Dave: Yeah, this video – my hair actually looks exactly like his and nothing like it looks now, so you gotta look for a guy that looks like him. It was in our guitar player’s backyard and he just watered it all day, so there’s this huge mud pit. The rest was on the top of the CHP building.

Interviewer: And this was actually shown on the original Headbangers Ball.

Dave: Yes.

Interviewer: Check it out. Here is Wasted Youth with Good Day For Hanging.

Dave: Old-school style.

[Video is played]

Matt: Do you want a lot more bang with much larger balls on your Saturday night? Keep watching Headbangers Ball.

[Break]

Interviewer: You’re watching MTV2’s Headbangers Ball, here still with Velvet Revolver. Now, are you guys tired of people calling you a supergroup or what?

Slash: Man, why did you have to screw it up with that?

(Laughter)

Slash: Yeah, we’re over it.

Duff: Yeah.

Matt: Yeah.

Interviewer: And Scott is not here. Is it because he strongly dislikes me? And Headbangers Ball? Cuz I’m really...

Slash: Well, actually, I think-

Duff: You know what-

Dave: He is really a big fan of yours.

Interviewer: Okay. Cool.

Dave: He was excited but-

Interviewer: But he’s on a flight.

Dave: Yeah.

Duff: It was he and his wife’s anniversary last night.

Interviewer: Okay. So I understand.

Matt: We like him to save his voice, too, for the show. (?)

Interviewer: Sure. Otherwise it’ll sound like me.

(Laughter)

Interviewer: So you guys are obviously playing some STP songs, and we’re about to see the video for...

Slash: Sex Type Thing.

Interviewer: Sex Type Thing. Now tell us about when you were recording – I guess Robert and Dean from STP were right next door (?).

Slash: First time that we were in the studio together doing Set Me Free and...

Matt: The Italian-

Slash: And Money for the Italian Job, we were in the studio and I got this phone call. They said, you know, “Dean and Robert are down in the studio so you might wanna call Scott and let him know” and “How do you guys wanna deal with this?” So I got to the studio and I was like, “Alright, and Scott is going to be coming in right behind me.” So we snuck Scott into the studio, because we knew there was still some issues going on.

Interviewer: Tension...

Slash: And so it was very tense, and they didn’t really talk, and I met Robert for the very first time at the water fountain. He was like, “Hey, I’m Robert from STP” and I was like “Aargh!”

Matt: That was a little awkward.

Interviewer: Yeah.

Slash: Anyway, it was uncomfortable then. So, after that, we went in to actually make the record and we were in the same studio, sharing the same lounge. So, finally Scott-

Duff: At a totally different studio.

Interviewer: Really?    

Slash: Yeah, months and months apart.

Matt: And then Scott and Dean spoke, so that worked out good and everything is cool.

Interviewer: They squashed the rock beef.

Matt: Yeah, the rock beef.

Slash: It was a little weird at first, let me tell you (laughs).

Interviewer: Yeah.

Slash: Like if Axl walked in here right now (laughs).

Interviewer: Yeah.

(Laughter)

Interviewer: Alright. Well, we’re gonna talk about that, too. A little later.

Slash: No, I don’t wanna talk about that.

Interviewer: Anyways, let’s check out a video from Stone Temple Pilots. Here they are with Sex Type Thing.

[Video is played]

Interviewer: Lots more with Velvet Revolver in just a second. So stay tuned.

[Break]

Interviewer: Welcome back to Headbangers Ball. Velvet Revolver is still here hanging out with me. Their debut album is coming out this Tuesday; it’s called Contraband. How did you guys come up with that name also, by the way?

Slash: Scott came up with it. Scott just came in and said, “What do you think of ‘Contraband’?” and we were like, “Cool.” (laughs)

(Laughter)

Interviewer: That was an easy decision.

Matt: Yeah.

Duff: Yeah.

Slash: Yeah, everything was pretty – you know, everything went one thing after the other with this band.

Matt: Slash had “Revolver,” Scott had “Velvet.”

Slash: So that’s where the name “Velvet Revolver” came from, yeah.

Interviewer: Okay.

Slash: And Scott came up with “Contraband.”

Matt: All is going real smooth, you know what I mean?

Interviewer: It is! So is it great to be back on stage you three together or what?

Slash: It’s insane. It’s great.

Matt: It’s greater than ever, I think.

Duff: Yeah, I think definitely we play better than ever. And the vibe is-

Interviewer: Bring back memories?

Slash: No, it’s a whole new thing.

Matt: More high energy than ever, man.

Slash: There is a weird separation between then and now. It’s like we’re not really thinking about then except for every time somebody brings it up, you know?

(Laughter)

Slash: Everything is really in the now, sort of the present tense.

Matt: Right now.

Interviewer: Cool. So you’re playing GN’R songs and I heard that there was an “F- Axl” chant that you quickly diffused. Do you want to tell us about that?

Slash: It’s not much to tell you. They just – all of a sudden I started hearing this, I think it was “F- Axl,” and so I just said, “I don’t think that’s necessary. Whatever.” (laughs) Something like that.

Interviewer: Very classy. Do you have any contact with him?

Slash: I haven’t talked to him since I quit, so... And I don’t think Duff has had any contact.

Duff: No.

Slash: Or that any of us have.

Interviewer: Matt?

Matt: No sir.

Interviewer: You haven’t talked to him either.

Matt: Ah, you know what? I did. I ran into him in a bathroom at the Standard Hotel in Los Angeles. We had a little talk, but-

Interviewer: Really?

Matt: It wasn’t great. But, you know what, he showed us a really good time at this gig that is getting ready to come up here.

Interviewer: Okay.

Matt: MTV Rock in Rio!

Interviewer: And this is your first...

Duff: Matt’s first gig with us in front of 200,000 people. It was like, “Welcome to the band, Matt.”

Matt: Yeah, that was fun. That was a nice warm-up (laughs).

Interviewer: It sounds like it. Alright, let’s check it out. Guns N’ Roses live from Rock in Rio with Mr. Brownstone.

[Video is played]

Interviewer: Velvet Revolver is still here. We’re about to play their debut video when the Headbangers Ball returns.

[Break]

Interviewer: Welcome back to Headbangers Ball. We’re hanging out with Velvet Revolver. Go get their debut CD, in stores this Tuesday; Contraband is the title. Now, I read that you guys have started this band against – you know, back to the pureness of music. I mean, were you jaded by the record industry or the scene in general? Or what scene do you consider yourselves a part of with this one?

Slash: I would say maybe a little bit jaded by the industry, just because of all the bad experiences we’ve had over the years; but just really motivated to get together something that was what we all individually wanted to do, which is, like, a real hardcore rock ‘n’ roll band and tried to find the right people to do it. Once Duff and Matt and I clicked the first time, when this first started, that sort of brought this whole thing back to us. Then Dave came in and added something, and Scott came and he was basically, as I said once before (?). And then there you had it, you know.

Matt: I think as far as, like, scene and, like, music genres and names of bands like nu metal and rap rock, we’re a rock ‘n’ roll band.

Interviewer: Cool.

Dave: Unfortunately now I have a chance to become jaded by the music industry, which is a really great experience. These guys helped me out with that.  

(Laughter)

Slash: We’ve got lots of war stories to spread out, you know.

Interviewer: Totally. So, on this tour, you’ve seen a lot of old faces or is it a mixture of new fans that maybe missed STP or Guns N’ Roses?

Duff: Yeah, there’s a lot of that. We rolled up on a gig in New York, for instance, and we kind of came around discreetly to the side of the venue, and there was a line wrapped around a couple of blocks, and I noticed how young everybody was. And in, like, Toronto, it was-

Matt: And Slash and myself were walking down the street in New York the other day, and this guy came by, and he looked at us and he goes, “Hey! You’re the dudes from Velvet Revolver!”

Duff: That was me and you.

Matt: Yeah, you and me!

Duff: You called me Slash.

Slash: It’s okay. It’s alright. Move on.

(Laughter)

Interviewer: That must have felt good.

Matt: Did I say “Slash”?

Duff: Yeah, it’s alright.

Matt: I’m sorry.

Duff: That’s okay.

Matt: Well, back up. Rewind.

Slash: (?)

(Laughter)

Interviewer: Alright. So anyways-

Slash: It could have been with me.

Interviewer: It must have been cool to be noticed for Velvet Revolver and not Guns N’ Roses.

Slash: Yeah.

Interviewer: Cool. So we’re going to check out your video right now. Here it is: Slither.

Duff: Slither!

[Video played]

Interviewer: That was Slither off of Velvet Revolver’s debut CD, Contraband, that’s gonna be in stores this Tuesday. Anything you want to say about the video? Any stories from the shoot or anything?

Slash: Not really. It was pretty painless. It was just one day shoot, and we just went in and played the song a dozen times and went home (laughs).

(Laughter)

Interviewer: It wasn’t shot in, like, some remote location?

Duff: Downtown L.A. in a basement.

Matt: It did look like Paris underground, we had a little concept, basically.

Slash: We did shoot some exterior stuff in Czechoslovakia (?).

Interviewer: Okay, cool. Well thank you so much, guys, for stopping by. It was an honor to interview you and congrats on the new CD, and the success of the tour and everything.

Duff: We appreciate it.

Dave: Yeah, thanks.

Slash: I’ve enjoyed this (?).

Interviewer: (Laughs) Thank you very much. And don’t forget to tune in to MTV Satellite Radio on XM Radio every Sunday night. Now you can hear Headbangers Ball on the radio from 10:00 to midnight. Morbid Angel and Nora are gonna be guests on Headbangers Ball next week. You won’t see me, because I’ll be in Europe, but enjoy that until next time.