2008.04.19 - Kerrang! - Slash Reveals The Truth Behind Weiland’s Departure

Slash reveals the truth behind Scott Weiland’s departure and what the future holds for Velvet Revolver

When Scott Weiland strode up the microphone and informed a sold-out Glasgow SECC that "they were watching something special - the last tour by VR" his bandmates, Slash, Duff, Matt and Dave all stood back and stared at each other. To the casual observer this was shock, pure and simple, but to those privy to the inside workings of the band, this was actually an announcement that made everyone’s but the singer’s lives a good deal easier. Because those four men already knew what Scott didn't - that he was already out the band.

"He didn't know that we were already planning on extraditing him,” says Slash. “When we started touring the second record, it just felt like we were losing Scott as far as our connection went. During the tour with Alice In Chains [in August 2007], he was just out to lunch. When he came back, he was supposed to go to rehab, so we postponed our Australian tour but he didn't really go to rehab. That was the final blow. We had a lot of commitments, like the tour in the UK, which we didn't want to go back on, so we wanted to finish those before telling him."

Here Slash reveals the details of Scott’s departure, exclusively to Kerrang!

Was the split with Weiland difficult?

No, not really. At this point everybody’s very relieved that we got past it because, now he’s not around, we can concentrate on getting somebody into the fold that we can rely on. He’s been talking about rejoining STP as well, so we told him, “Cool, go jam with STP in the summer and we'll work on the album.” We said that [before the split], because we didn't think there'd be anything going on with him after the summer anyway.

That must have made the relationship complicated between you on your last tour.

We basically didn't speak a word that whole time. We gave him the cold shoulder in the UK like nobody's business. There were a couple of arguments around the stage, but, other than that, nobody spoke to him. I imagine he was quite uncomfortable. No wonder he didn't have a good time. Then he told everyone in Glasgow that the whole band was over. We were like, “Oh, well, I guess we've got a surprise coming for you, Scott.”

So it didn't end on good terms, then?

It wasn't malicious. The whole thing was basically just a lot more difficult that we've made it sound for the last few years.

If you weren't speaking, did that make travelling together hard?

For the most part, I don't really remember seeing much of him. We flew to Dubai together, I think, when we played recently. Well, I think I remember him being on the plane, anyway. We sort of got used to him not being around. He's never really been part of the mechanics of the group – he’s always been separate and doing his own little thing.

Was it irritating that the singer in your band wouldn't commit to actually being in the band?

I'm really easy-going and I'll make allowances for whatever people need. But there is the other side of it, too and, when you're dealing with someone who is too high-maintenance to hang out with the guys in the trenches, then there are problems.

Did that feel like a snub to you?

I didn't take it personally, but I don't want to dwell on it too much. There was a point where he had certain requirements - he needed this to deal with things, then that - and you just get to a point where you think, “Whatever, I'd like to have somebody up there who's comfortable enough and secure enough with himself to be the frontman without feeling that he's being threatened by the other guys.” Really, though, I don't understand what goes on with these people!

Do you think Weiland was threatened by your shared history with Duff and Matt in GNR?

There was some underlying fucking theme that was going on, but I'd be lying if I said I could put my finger exactly on it. I definitely get the feeling there was some sort of resentment going on.

There was a rumour that Weiland was called 'J.A' - Junior Axl - by the band behind his back. Is there any truth in that?

No, I never called him that. There were a few similarities though. What became really irritating was that I had the same problem with Scott as I had when I toured with Axl. I just couldn't get the guy onstage on time. That I can't accept. I will not do it again. I will not be in a situation where a guy is making the audience wait half an hour or an hour or more. It's criminal. I don't know who someone thinks he is when tries to get away with that sort of thing.

You spoke about Weiland’s 'erratic behaviour' and his 'personal problems' when you announced his departure. What did you mean by that?

Oh man, that’s a broad statement isn't it? When it comes to those things, I don't want to speak badly of him, because I don't want that negative energy going back and forth. Basically, we're done. I don't need to air any dirty laundry about him. We had a good run and there are some good songs in there. We had some magic moments but the bad outweighed the good.

Did Weiland's plans to reunite with STP have any bearing on his exit?

It wasn't the STP thing at all. At the end of the day, he wanted the glory of going back to STP anyway. I think he thought we were going to wait around for him until the end of the summer but, instead we thought, “Just go. We'll see how those guys fare with you.”

You seem to be cursed when it comes to singers...

I know. It figures, at this point, three times charmed, right? We're looking forward to finding a new singer, though, and we're in a much stronger position to do that than when we started. Now at least people know what we're doing, they know we're a rock 'n' roll band and that we're successful enough that you're going to have to be on your game if you're going to hook up with us. I just want to find this guy so we can write some songs.

Are you working with singers at the moment?

We had thought about working with someone else for the UK tour, but there wasn't really enough time to break someone in for that. We're entertaining a couple of different ideas. There has been a lot of interest, so we're working our way through what we like and what we don't like. I'm not going to make any rash decisions. It's nice that people are interested, though. It's 50 percent fate and 50 percent hard work and tenacity trying to find the right guy for the band. We've got the hard work and tenacity down, but, as far as fate is concerned, we'll just have to see.