2005.08.18 - Arizona Daily Star - Velvet Revolver Loaded With Rock Talent (Duff)

Velvet Revolver loaded with rock talent

Supergroup already has its own identity

By Sarah Mauet

The idea of a supergroup - forming a new band with members of other popular bands - is nothing new. But you'd expect a supergroup made up of members from some of the top bands of the '80s and '90s to be stifled by its collective superego.

That doesn't seem to be the case with Velvet Revolver.

"We didn't really expect anything," bassist Duff McKagan said in a phone interview from his home in Seattle. "We didn't know what to expect. We knew in our hearts we were a good band and had faith in ourselves and were very passionate about the thing. The fact that it caught on and was so successful was just icing on the cake. We're lucky to be doing what we're doing and have people still dig it."

Velvet Revolver was created when three members of Guns N' Roses - guitarist Slash, drummer Matt Sorum and McKagan - joined up with former Stone Temple Pilots singer Scott Weiland and guitarist Dave Kush-ner, who has played with Wasted Youth and Dave Navarro.

Guns N' Roses brought gritty rock back to the charts in the mid-'80s with hits like "Sweet Child o' Mine" and "Welcome to the Jungle." Stone Temple Pilots took alternative rock to its zenith in the '90s with songs like "Creep," "Interstate Love Song" and "Vasoline."

Velvet Revolver's first album, 2004's "Contraband," debuted at the top of the Billboard charts and has sold more than 3 million copies. The band won a Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance for "Slither" and earned nominations for Best Rock Album and Best Rock Song for "Fall to Pieces."

"Contraband" combined the best of STP's catchy, layered vocals and GNR's stellar guitar riffs, but Velvet Revolver is very much its own band and more than the sum of its parts, McKagan said. The supergroup's second album will reflect that.

"I'm certain of one thing: It's going to nail down our identity," he said. "People will have no doubt about who it is. There will be no questions as to - that sounds a little like GNR; that sounds a little like STP. It will sound like Velvet Revolver."

The band plans to start recording soon after it hits Tucson Sunday. McKagan hinted that concertgoers might get a preview of new material that the band wrote during the past 14 months on tour.

"There are probably 50 songs there and we have tons of songs left over from 'Contraband,' " McKagan said. "Now we're in the process of gathering the material and paring them down and concentrating on 12-14 songs and making them great."

"I think it will take us longer to pick the songs out of what we've got than to record them," he added. "Recording, that's the fun part. We're a rock 'n' roll band - we realize that's what we are - and spontaneity is the best way to capture us."

McKagan said he'd like the new album to be out by the end of the year, but next spring is probably more realistic. However, fans won't have to wait that long to get more of Velvet Revolver.

"There's a DVD that we're putting together that should be coming out pretty soon," McKagan said. "It's got some live stuff on it and a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff on it."

It's not just older fans of the previous bands that are excited about Velvet Revolver. In fact, most of the people in the pit at concerts are ages 14-24, he said.

"Now the band has an identity," he said. "We're not some guys from GNR and that guy from STP, we're actually Velvet Revolver now and recognized on the street as the guys from Velvet Revolver. We have a lot of young fans who don't recognize me from old videos, they recognize me from new videos."

McKagan may be eager for Velvet Revolver to take on a life of its own outside of its reputation as a supergroup, but he is still grateful for his experience with GNR.

"It's a great laurel to have," he said. "It gave us a lot of opportunity. We certainly don't want to rest on it, however."