2007.05.10 - The Naperville Sun - Velvet Revolver Is Smooth Sailing, Despite Rumors (Slash)

Velvet Revolver is smooth sailing, despite rumors

By Alan Sculley

Those who want to know how the new Velvet Revolver CD, "Libertad," compares to the band's debut release, "Contraband," probably shouldn't look to guitarist Slash for answers.

"That's really where interviews hit a brick wall for me," Slash said in a phone interview Monday. "It's got a lot of stuff going on in it, but I couldn't verbally explain it to you. You'd just have to listen to it and then sort of figure that out."

Fortunately, Slash proved to be more forthcoming about the ups and downs of the sessions for "Libertad." The band is currently previewing a few of the new songs on a brief club tour that stops May 10 at the Riviera Theatre in Chicago.

The band originally planned to record "Libertad" with acclaimed producer Rick Rubin, who's known for his work with the Beastie Boys, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Jay-Z, among others. But that partnership fizzled.

"We got up and going, but Rick's just got so many projects he's working on all at the same time, and he's very rarely there (in the studio)," Slash said. "I think there was just a feeling of frustration because whoever the guy was that was going to be the producer, we needed somebody that was hands on, who was there 24-7, like the band was. ... It just was hard to sort of sit around and write and write and write indefinitely waiting for Rick to show up."

So Velvet Revolver - Slash, singer Scott Weiland, bassist Duff McKagan, drummer Matt Sorum and guitarist Dave Kushner - pulled the plug on the Rubin session and hired Brendan O'Brien, who had produced several albums by Weiland's popular previous band, Stone Temple Pilots, as Rubin's replacement.

As soon as an enthusiastic O'Brien got involved, Velvet Revolver got back on track and was moving full speed ahead.

"He just came in and we went straight to work and we managed to get pre-production done in like three weeks, just going up and getting into it every day," Slash said. "That's how we needed to do it."

If Slash is reluctant to compare the sound and style of "Libertad" to "Contraband," he said the finished album shows considerable growth in the band's music and lyrics.

This makes sense, considering Velvet Revolver didn't have a long history together when "Contraband" was written and recorded.

The group began to come together in 2002 when former Guns N' Roses members Slash, Sorum and McKagan played at a tribute concert for Randy Castillo, the late drummer for Ozzy Osbourne and Motley Crue.

Kushner, a high school friend of Slash's, was recruited, leaving only the singer's slot vacant. After an extended search, Weiland, fresh from the breakup of Stone Temple Pilots, joined in 2003 to complete the lineup.

"Contraband" became an immediate hit upon its release in June 2004, debuting at No. 1 on "Billboard" magazine's album chart and eventually producing three hit singles, "Slither," "Fall To Pieces" and "Dirty Little Thing."

With "Libertad" completed and awaiting a July release (the CD was pushed back recently from its original May release date), life in Velvet Revolver seems smooth and stable now.

That hasn't always been the case. It's been rumored that Velvet Revolver was ready to break up, and that Slash, McKagan and Sorum were re-joining Guns N' Roses and its frontman Axl Rose.

One confirmed fact, though, is that Slash and McKagan have sued Rose, accusing him of changing publishers of Guns N' Roses' songs without their consent and pocketing the royalties from the deal.

Rose counter sued Slash, and then stirred up further controversy by saying that Slash showed up at his house uninvited to offer a truce. According to a March 2006 MTV.com article, Rose said Slash dissed Velvet Revolver by telling Rose that Weiland was a "fraud," McKagan was "spineless" and that he hated Sorum.

Slash denied everything except the visit to Rose's home.

"It's a long story," Slash said. "I actually did go to Axl's house at one point, but I never saw him. I never talked to him. I left a note with his person over there having to do with lawsuit that we were in. I don't know how it got turned into what it got turned into."

But the quotes from Rose, as well as other rumors, did cause tension within Velvet Revolver. But Slash said he thinks the band has survived the rumors and innuendo and is more solid than ever.

"From the end of the ("Contraband") tour to the beginning of the (new) record, there was a lot of that going on," Slash said. "It was actually pretty detrimental at one point because it just got to be so overwhelming we couldn't seem to escape it. But it was just a matter of sticking together and getting through it, and we did. It will be interesting to see what they come up with next. The band is pretty firmly bonded, so I don't think it will be too easy to break that, to chip away at that stone, so to speak."

Related article in Blabbermouth, May 22, 2007 (Blabbermouth got the Slash quote from another newspaper, which published the same Slash interview a few days later):
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Slash Admits He Visited Axl Rose's House In 2005

Velvet Revolver/ex-Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash has admitted that he visited Guns N' Roses singer Axl Rose's house in 2005, despite previous claims to the contrary.

Slash and ex-Guns N' Roses bassist Duff McKagan sued Rose in August 2005, accusing Rose of changing publishers of Guns N' Roses' songs without their consent and pocketing the royalties from the deal.

Rose countersued Slash, and then stirred up further controversy by saying that Slash showed up at his house uninvited to offer a truce. According to a March 2006 MTV.com article, Rose said Slash dissed Velvet Revolver by telling Rose that singer Scott Weiland was a "fraud," McKagan was "spineless" and that he hated Sorum.

Slash denied everything except the visit to Rose's home.

"It's a long story," Slash told the Home News Tribune. "I actually did go to Axl's house at one point, but I never saw him. I never talked to him. I left a note with his person over there having to do with lawsuit that we were in. I don't know how it got turned into what it got turned into."

Axl's assistant, Beta Lebeis, recently told GUNS fan site Here Today...Gone To Hell! that she was the person that Slash spoke with on the night he visited Axl's house in 2005 and expressed negative feelings for his current bandmates in Velvet Revolver.

Rose's revelation of Slash's visit prompted a scathing rebuttal from Weiland, who called Rose a "fat, botox-faced, wig-wearin' fuck."

The quotes from Rose, as well as other rumors, though, did cause tension in Velvet Revolver. But Slash said he thinks the band has survived the rumors and innuendo and is more solid than ever.

"From the end of the ('Contraband') tour to the beginning of the (new) record, there was a lot of that going on," Slash said. "It was actually pretty detrimental at one point because it just got to be so overwhelming we couldn't seem to escape it. But it was just a matter of sticking together and getting through it, and we did. It will be interesting to see what they come up with next. The band is pretty firmly bonded, so I don't think it will be too easy to break that, to chip away at that stone, so to speak."

https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/slash-admits-he-visited-axl-rose-s-house-in/