2008.11.14 - Blabbermouth - Velvet Revolver Dropped by RCA/Sony BMG

Velvet Revolver Dropped by RCA/Sony BMG

Blabbermouth.net has received word from a reliable source that RCA Records (a Sony BMG label) has dropped Velvet Revolver, the band featuring former Guns N' Roses members Slash, Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum.

Velvet Revolver released two full-length albums through RCA/Sony BMG — 2004's "Contraband", which has sold 1.98 million copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan; and its follow-up, "Libertad", which has shifted 301,000 units in the U.S. since its July 2007 release.

Velvet Revolver has been looking for a new frontman since dismissing Scott Weiland back in April. Rumored candidates have included ex-Skid Row singer Sebastian Bach, former MTV VJ Steve Isaacs (The Panic Channel) and ex-Spachog vocalist Royston Langdon, who apparently had several successful rehearsal sessions with the band.

Weiland reunited with his previous act, Stone Temple Pilots, and has spent the last few months on the road with them.

In a recent interview with MTV.com, Weiland said about the split with his previous band, "Velvet Revolver fell apart because there were too many big egos in the band — and I'm including myself. It wasn't necessarily about bad egos, just big egos, and unfortunately, it just mistakenly kind of eroded."

https://archive.blabbermouth.net/news/velvet-revolver-dropped-by-rca-sony-bmg/

The MTV News article (Nov. 11, 2008) with Scott Weiland's comment:
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Scott Weiland Talks New Solo Album, Possible Stone Temple Pilots LP

Plus, singer addresses Velvet Revolver split: 'It just mistakenly kind of eroded.'

By Chris Harris

They reunited for a successful run of summer gigs and they've even been writing new material — but, according to frontman , ' future plans are still very much up in the air, given that two of the band's members have been sued by their old record label, Atlantic Records.

"It's pretty f---ed up, actually," Weiland told MTV News last week. "I don't know who we would record for. I'm not into recording for Atlantic Records, and there are some legal issues there. Originally, I was told — and I was told for years — that we were free from Atlantic. I don't know how it is that [bassist] Dean [DeLeo] and [guitarist] Robert [DeLeo] are free from [Atlantic], and [drummer] Eric [Kretz] and I are not. I have no interest in making a record for a major label. If we were going to make a record, I would want to do it in a way that was much more original and in a more creative fashion."

Atlantic Records filed a lawsuit in Manhattan District Court this spring against Weiland and Kretz, claiming the two tried to get out of their recording contract with the Warner Music Group label prematurely. The filing contends Weiland and Kretz have threatened to stop performing under their current contract, and that they've indicated that they'd like to end the agreement unless Atlantic makes some significant changes. In the suit, the label claims that, though STP have written and recorded six LPs, it wants them to record a seventh — and deliver up to two more, should the label decide it wants them.

However, the suit hasn't deterred the band from working on new material, Weiland said. "I know those guys have been writing, and there's been some really cool stuff that's come about from that," he explained. "I'm proud of everything we've written. But to make another record would mean another couple of years of my life dedicated to that, and I just don't know if that's where I see myself going."

Weiland will issue his second solo offering, Happy in Galoshes, on November 25, an album he's been working on for more than a year, even before he was fired from Velvet Revolver back in the spring. He said that, while he's receptive to recording with STP once more, he likes the freedom that being a solo artist affords him.

"When I look at people like Beck and even, unfortunately, Elliott Smith, who was one of my favorite singer/songwriters, the ability to do what you want to do at your own pace is appealing to me," Weiland said. "You don't really have any fiduciary responsibility to anyone but yourself. But being in a band, you do. It's like, you can't just say, 'You know what? I don't want to tour.' You just can't."

As for Velvet Revolver's collapse, Weiland said that, looking back on it now, he knows just what caused the band's turmoil.

"Velvet Revolver fell apart because there were too many big egos in the band — and I'm including myself," he said. "It wasn't necessarily about bad egos, just big egos, and unfortunately, it just mistakenly kind of eroded."

http://www.mtv.com/news/1599107/scott-weiland-talks-new-solo-album-possible-stone-temple-pilots-lp/

Related article in Spin, Nov. 20, 2008:
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Velvet Revolver Dropped By Label?

The search for Scott Weiland's replacement could be over... for good.

By Melissa Goldstein

It’s been a rough year for Velvet Revolver: After a bout of band in-fighting, singer Scott Weiland was ousted last April; Axl Rose is offering his former chums a gigantic “touché!” with the release of Chinese Democracy; and now it seems the band has been dropped by their label, RCA Records.

The band — Guns N’ Roses alums Slash, Duff McKagan, and Matt Sorum, plus guitarist Dave Kushner — has been searching for a new frontman since Weiland’s departure. On parting ways with the band, Weiland recently told MTV.com, “Velvet Revolver fell apart because there were too many big egos in the band — and I’m including myself. It wasn’t necessarily about bad egos, just big egos, and unfortunately, it just mistakenly kind of eroded.”

The names of potential fill-ins for Weiland have included ex-Skid Row singer Sebastian Bach, former MTV VJ Steve Isaacs, and ex-Spacehog vocalist Royston Langdon, though no one has officially been hired for the job. But if the reports are true, it looks like Velvet Revolver will be the latest to join the recent wave of lay-offs.

An RCA spokesperson was unavailable for comment at press time.

https://www.spin.com/2008/11/velvet-revolver-dropped-label/

Comment in Snakepit.org, November 20:

On the net, rumor has it that RCA has dropped Velvet Revolver. SLASH says that while it is true that VR is no longer with RCA, the truth is not as negative as the rumor. The band owed RCA money for a third album which at this time they are unable to produce (no singer). The band and RCA parted amicably. When they are recording the new album, it most likely will be for a new label.

https://web.archive.org/web/20200220095443/http://www.snakepit.org:80/2008news.html