2005.04.06 - North County Times - No Breakup In Sight For Hard-Driving Velvet Revolver (Duff)

No breakup in sight for hard-driving Velvet Revolver

By Alan Sculley

When Velvet Revolver formed in May 2003, skepticism ran rampant over whether the band would last.

Such predictions weren't unfounded, considering the group featured three former members of the always-volatile Guns N' Roses ---- Duff McKagan (bass), Matt Sorum (drums) and Slash (guitar) ---- and Stone Temple Pilots' lead singer Scott Weiland.

Weiland, of course, was no stranger to instability himself, having been arrested several times on drug charges and in and out of rehab.

And less than a week after officially signing on as singer, Weiland slipped up again, getting arrested on two felony charges of drug possession after police pulled over his vehicle in Burbank and found heroin and cocaine inside. Weiland avoided a possible prison term by offering to go into rehab again.

Weiland appeared to be sticking to his program when in late October 2003 he was charged with driving under the influence after his BMW struck a parked van in Los Angeles and he fled the scene of the accident. The DUI charge violated terms of his probation, and he was immediately sent into a strict six-month residential rehab program.

But here it is, two years later, and not only has Weiland been satisfying the terms of his probation, but Velvet Revolver have enjoyed breakout success. The band's debut CD, "Contraband," spawned a No. 1 rock radio single, "Slither," and has sold more than 1.5 million copies since its release last June.

Still, rumors have persisted that Velvet Revolver is on the verge of implosion. McKagan encountered one in late March on a run of Canadian dates, when during an interview, a journalist asked about an Associated Press story that reported that Weiland was going to be replaced by Mario Vasquez, the "American Idol" finalist who mysteriously dropped out of the Fox TV show last month.

"I said, 'What are you talking about?' " McKagan said, recalling the exchange with the writer. " 'Well the AP says you guys are getting the guy from "American Idol" and he's joining June 8,' I mean that specific. I started laughing."

McKagan could shrug off that rumor, not to mention others that have suggested a rift has developed between Weiland and Slash. According to McKagan, life within the band is going fine and the quintet (which also includes guitarist Dave Kushner) plans to start work on a new CD before year's end.

"We've got so much material it's ridiculous," McKagan said. "We just write constantly, at sound checks or before shows or on our own, but usually together. So we've got tapes and tapes and tapes and CDs full of stuff. I think the hard part is going to be paring it down."

As for Weiland, McKagan said the singer appears to be winning his battle with drugs. He's been clean for more than a year now, and he has also reconciled with his wife (who had filed for divorce in 2002) and two children.

"The main thing is he got his family back," McKagan said of Weiland. "That's the thing he really always yearned for. That was what was killing him. Now he's got his family back. I don't think anything could pull him away. Once you go through that narcotic hell and you get out of it, you'd be an idiot (to go back on drugs)."

Certainly the music on "Contraband" suggested right away that Velvet Revolver had enough musical chemistry to deliver on the expectations that came with the band members' superstar resumes.

Not surprisingly, several songs on "Contraband" recall the reckless but hooky hard rock of Guns N' Roses. "Spectacle," "Sucker Train Blues" and "Slither" all are hard-charging rockers with plenty of catchy guitar riffs to go with potent vocal melodies. The poppier side of Stone Temple Pilots also finds its way into the band's brash sound on a few songs, such as "Do It for the Kids" and "Dirty Little Thing." Several tunes, though, sound quite different from the members' previous bands, including the effects-laced rocker "Big Machine" and the trippy ballad "Loving the Alien."

Critics have hailed "Contraband" as a stirring hard rock effort, and the CD earned Velvet Revolver three Grammy nominations ---- for best rock album, best rock song ("Fall to Pieces") and best hard rock performance ("Slither"). The band won the last category at the ceremony in February.

McKagan, though, clearly has taken the Grammy award in stride.

"I guess it's nice. We never got one with Guns," he said. "It's cool, but it's not the accolade we look for. We like to fill up places we're playing and get a positive response from the audience we're playing for. That's a much better accolade, a much better high. The Grammys are kind of stiff and all that. But actually winning one, I won't lie to you, it's flattering. But it's not something you go out and strive to (do), like let's make this a Grammy-winning record."