2019.03.22 - Loudwire Nights - Matt Sorum Opens Up on Guns N' Roses, Velvet Revolver + More

Article with excerpts in Loudwire:
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Drummer Matt Sorum recently admitted that he credits his time in Guns N' Roses for furthering his career. The drummer, who has also played in The Cult, Velvet Revolver, Hollywood Vampires and more, recently spoke with Loudwire Nights host Toni Gonzalez about his upcoming album, and reflected on his time in GN'R and Velvet Revolver.

Sorum discussed when he first learned of the Guns N' Roses reunion a few years back. "Probably about when everybody else did," he says laughing. "I was in a band, Hollywood Vampires, then for a minute. It was kind of around that time, that's basically what happened and then it just went the way it went. Life goes on."

He continues, "I looked at my time in that band as well-spent. It can never really be reimagined or replaced, that experience in my life. I give a lot of credit to my career going forward because of that experience, right? Because, I guess when you go down the list of bands that I've played with, there've been many. Some people prefer maybe The Cult over GN'R if I run into a fan on the street...There's a lot of people that maybe weren't as much into GN'R, but love Velvet Revolver because maybe it was more of a modern rock band that came, in 2004 we were formed."

When asked if he often revisits Velvet Revolver's first album Contraband, which is approaching its 15th anniversary, Sorum says, "I can't say I do, my wife loves that record. She listens to it more than I do. It's interesting, I need to go back and listen to some of these things sometimes before I play them again because I get different interpretations of what maybe I recorded the first time. I mean that record was like the same feeling, with Deadland Ritual, was the same feeling I had when going in and making Velvet Revolver's first album. It's a renewed energy, you do have to really step it up because you're unleashing something to the world that they might or might not wanna resonate towards."

Sorum goes on to describe his now healthy lifestyle so that he can be the best he can while out on tour. "As fans of rock and roll, once you got rock and roll in your blood and in your veins, that never goes away." Listen to the full interview above.

Sorum is now working with Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler and Billy Idol guitarist Steve Stevens in a band called Deadland Ritual. Their first show together is at Hellfest on June 22.

https://loudwire.com/matt-sorum-guns-n-roses/

More excerpts from Ultimate Guitar:
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During a conversation with Toni Gonzales, drummer Matt Sorum (Guns N' Roses, Velvet Revolver) talked about his new band with Geezer Butler - Deadland Ritual - as well as Velvet Revolver's first album, and more.

You can check out a part of the interview below (transcribed by UG).

You've talked about Black Sabbath and the way they influenced you, especially in the early years. Do you remember the first Black Sabbath song you ever learned, and how long it took you to nail it?

"If you look back at the early Sabbath catalog, they were very adventurous in their earlier songs, songs like 'Symptom of the Universe, 'Changes,' obviously the 'War Pigs' was very intricate - so many interesting twists and turns in that music. If you look at the first Black Sabbath album, by talking to Geezer, they went in and they basically jammed, you know. He told me that they made that whole record in about three days. In those days, it was just a different thing. Now you hear songs on the radio, they might be a little bit more verse-chorus-verse-chorus-solo-chorus, you know. Sabbath had a lot of time in those days to elaborate and did things in a different direction.

That being said, we have a couple of new songs that were definitely coming out a little further on the limb, and I think that's interesting because, in the new world of crazy music, we don't have to really make anybody in the record company happy anymore, we don't have to focus on trying to get a song on the radio. It actually gives you a lot more freedom to be able to do whatever you want. Like I said, I have Geezer in the band, he's really the guy that's the benchmark of what's cool and what's not cool. I always say to him, 'Hey, what do you think about this?'. If Geezer says he doesn't like it, we move on, we do another thing. He's a lot more well-versed on other music than you'd think. I mean, you always think of a guy like Geezer and you think about Black Sabbath, you know, that they live in a castle and everything's dark. It's not really the way it is, I mean he is a really witty man, he's a really fun guy to be around."

15-year anniversary of the debut Velvet Revolver album 'Contraband' is this year. Do you ever go back and listen to that record and re-visit it?

"Can't say I do, you know. My wife loved that record, I do, but you know, it's interesting, I need to go back and listen to some of these things sometimes because I get different interpretations of what I recorded the first time. But I mean, that record, the same feeling I have for Deadland Ritual is the same feeling I had going in and making Velvet Revolver's first album. It's a renewed energy, you do have to really step it up because you're unleashing something into the world that might or might not want to resonate towards, because number one, they think, 'Oh, it's just a bunch of guys getting together because they think they should put a band together or be a supergroup.' But that's not the intention at all. I mean, me, Slash, and Duff really needed to do a band. We were ready, it was time. We were, like, 'Look, Axl's gone out and has done the Roses by himself, so, we can do this.' If anyone ever saw the things about Revolver, it wasn't an easy process because the missing link was the lead singer. We went over and over that until the point we've finally settled on Scott.

In retrospect, all the energy that went into that band and what Scott represented, maybe different demography of rock 'n' roll coming from what we describe as the grunge era, but mixed with the GN'R sort of angst and a bit of a punky feel. It worked, but we were all fired up, we were in great shape, we were ready to take on the world like we had something to prove like a 20-year old kid, which at that time we were all approaching 40, you know."

Are you still a vegetarian?

I eat really well. I keep a clean diet, I don't drink alcohol. The intent is still there, the energy is still there, you know. I mean, as people, as fans of rock 'n' roll, once you get rock 'n' roll in your blood and in your veins, that never goes away. You know, the energy, you felt it, you've been to a rock show. There's no denying the feeling you get from it, that feeling alone is what carries us on to the next thing. Sitting with Geezer today doing interviews, I look at him and, you know, Geezer's been around, I look at him, he's like a kid. He's that same guy that loved rock 'n' roll in the first place, and he's excited too. There's something to be said about the new energy and the new band, and I hope the people gravitate towards what we put out there, dig into it. I mean, the more rock 'n' roll bands, the better as far as I'm concerned."

https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/general_music_news/matt_sorum_explains_what_people_get_wrong_about_velvet_revolver_talks_being_in_band_with_geezer_butler__more.html