Here Today... Gone To Hell!

Matt Sorum says Velvet Revolver need a singer "soon"

"We need the right guy in six months"

Joe Bosso, Wed 29 Apr 2009

"We need a singer soon," Velvet Revolver drummer Matt Sorum told MusicRadar in an exclusive interview. "We need the right guy in six months. We can't wait another year. Otherwise, it might not matter."

Sorum told MusicRadar that the band was recently close to deciding on a singer, whose identity he declined to reveal ("I want to protect him"), but after a few recording sessions, both he and various band members ultimately decided it wasn't the right fit.

"The way I like to put it is, we were 'dating,' says Sorum, chuckling. "We had already tried out Spacehog's Royston Langdon - came close there. Then we tried out a few more people, including this guy from Canada [Gord Prior], but nobody seemed appropriate. Then we found this other dude..."

The slam-dunk that wasn't

Sorum heaves a sigh, seemingly deflated at what might have been. "This guy felt like he could be the one. So I took him into my studio and recorded his vocals over a bunch of instrumentals we have. Immediately, he blew me away. 'This is the guy!' I told myself. I was on top of the world."

Sorum describes the unnamed singer as being "way more rock 'n' roll than Scott Weiland. The guy almost had a Chris Cornell/Phil Lynott thing going on - he could really bring it, you know?"

After one recording session, Sorum and various Velvet Revolver band members were over the moon. "It seemed like a slam-dunk," says Sorum. But a second session proved disappointing. "The guy gave maybe 70 percent of what he had before. It was very sad. Already it was a case of diminishing returns, and you shouldn't get that so quickly, especially from a guy who really wants the gig."

According to Sorum, "There was something missing in the swagger department. His vocals were great, but the attitude, it wasn't really there, not all the way at least. Plus, I played his recordings for my girlfriend and a couple of friends and I didn't get the reaction I was hoping for. Nobody went 'Holy shit, that's amazing!' That really sent signals to me that something was wrong."

Scott Weiland was "a mistake"

Although Velvet Revolver's 2004 debut album Contraband went platinum, Sorum now says, "We made a mistake with Scott Weiland. Even though he had a cool swagger about him, he was never 100 percent live. He was hit-and-miss when it came to performing, and eventually it became more 'miss' than 'hit.'"

When Weiland announced his decision to split the band ("He quit before we could fire him." says Sorum), the remaining Velvet Revolver members figured it wouldn't take long to find a suitable replacement. A year later, they're still looking.

"I'm shocked that we're still without a singer," says Sorum. "But if we're going to do this again, we have to find the guy who blows people away. Otherwise, why bother? We can do other things. I'm not saying we want to do other things - we'd much rather be doing a Velvet Revolver album or tour right now - but if it's not going to be awesome?"

He catches himself, then says, "The truth is, we can't wait another year or two. We need a singer. We don't want to lose momentum with one another, and we don't want to lose the fans.

"Face it: people forget. Contraband did great, Libertad did less well. We have to come back stronger than ever, or else we might be looking around for other bands, and nobody wants that. We're still very committed to Velvet Revolver."

http://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/matt-sorum-says-velvet-revolver-needs-a-singer-soon-205288

glad to hear it

So Scott Weiland did quit.

Didnt Slash say before that it was a relief that weiland quit so they didnt have to go through the process of firing him?

Bad news, Matt - it stopped mattering ever since the band released that steaming pile of shit called "Libertad."

i really liked scotts voice right before they broke up. it had a great rasp to it.

anyways im glad VR is still serious about finding a singer.

Maybe to you.

But Let it Roll is far a far better tune to anything on CD

Press Release   Source: Sanctuary Artist Management

Velvet Revolver to Part Ways With Singer
Tuesday April 1, 3:46 pm ET

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Velvet Revolver founding members Slash, Duff McKagan, Matt Sorum and Dave Kushner announced today that they are parting ways with singer Scott Weiland. "This band is all about its fans and its music and Scott Weiland isn't 100% committed to either," said Slash. "Among other things, his increasingly erratic on-stage behavior and personal problems have forced us to move on."

But this was after Scott said he was quitting from the stage.

And I agree with Matt. They need to do something soon or they may as well move on. You can only try out so many singers before you have to realize that something about the band just isn't working. They're also going to have to face the fact that singers are difficult and they probably won't find one that's perfect in that department either.

I'm not sure what you're say here, but Scott didn't quit from the stage, that I remember, he declared the band over.

He (Scott) told the sell-out crowd: "You're watching something special... the last tour by VELVET REVOLVER."

The press release and statements from band members have said they fired him, he says he quit, now Matt says he quit.  Just an observation. :)

You're right. I guess I interpreted that as saying he was quitting. I think saying they fired him sounded better than "He quit to rejoin STP"

Maybe Adam Lambert from American Idol.

Actually, I think Adam's too good for VR...haha.

Libertad was far better than Contraband. record sales dont mean shit in terms of music quality.

the only reason Contraband sold so well was because of the curiosity factor.

Only huh?

Two number one rock singles helped a lil bit I suspect... :yes:

Only reason I... and many other people... ever paid attention.

They have really gone out of their way to make Scott look like a weak link in that band which is absolute bullshit.

dont get me wrong contaband was great too.

but you cant deny the "GNR meets STP" factor was the main reason Contraband sold so well.

I loved contraband, but libertad was better, and whatever way you look at it Scott Weiland was and is a great singer and great frontman.

I've not seen VR live myself but I know people who have and they've pretty much said that Scott wasn't that great live.

An interesting take on this story...

Velvet Revolver Ready to Call It Quits?

GNR leftovers are losing steam trying to find a new singer.

Apr 30, 2009

Who says the power of collective hope is useless? "We need a singer soon," Velvet Revolver drummer Matt Sorum told MusicRadar in an exclusive interview. "We need the right guy in six months. We can't wait another year. Otherwise, it might not matter." In other words, if the sleaze rockers can't get their shit together soon, they'll have to collectively call it a day.

http://www.craveonline.com/entertainment/music/article/velvet-revolver-ready-to-call-it-quits-75988

sleaze rock. LOL

i dont think so.

anyway.

Contraband was a great album when it came out, and was an album i listened to alot in my younger teen years when i was still discovering rock music.

I felt libertad was weak with only a few good tracks.