2004.02.18 - Press Release: Velvet Revolver Set To Release Debut Album (Slash, Duff, Matt)

VELVET REVOLVER SET TO RELEASE DEBUT ALBUM 'CONTRABAND' MAY 18;
FIRST SINGLE “SLITHER” SET TO HIT RADIO MARCH 23

VELVET REVOLVER–lead vocalist SCOTT WEILAND, guitarist SLASH, bassist DUFF McKAGAN, drummer MATT SORUM and guitarist DAVE KUSHNER–will release their debut album CONTRABAND May 18 on RCA Records. Packed with songs like “Sucker Train Blues,” “Fall To Pieces,” “Super Human,” “You Got No Right” “Set Me Free,” “Headspace” and the first single “Slither,” the album was co-produced by the band and Josh Abraham. “Slither” is set to impact radio March 23.

VELVET REVOLVER brings three former members of one of rock’s greatest groups Guns N’ Roses–SLASH, DUFF MCKAGAN and MATT SORUM–together with one of rock’s most charismatic frontmen, SCOTT WEILAND, formerly of Stone Temple Pilots, and guitarist DAVE KUSHNER, ex-Wasted Youth and Dave Navarro’s band, among others.

CONTRABAND is modern rock with a sense of danger and beauty that’s been missing for far too long. It marks the spot for a new beginning from a band of rock & roll brothers united by some legendary pasts and a suddenly brighter future. The album has an eclectic streak and a sonic nerviness, reflecting the players’ influences from The Beatles to Refused, and for obvious reasons a little Guns N’ Roses and Stone Temple Pilots too.

“We’re all looking for a rebirth here,” explains SCOTT. “We’re looking to get back that same feeling we had when we all first started making music–the sense of doing it for the pure joy of making music. Along the way the whole idea that got us into this had been raped and sodomized. We were all in mourning of that and wondering if we could somehow get it back. As it turns out, the only way we could get it all back was to start it all new. Now we have that opportunity and it’s fucking amazing. This music is just vicious, very aggressive and it forces you to lace your boots up and sort of get ready for the fight.”

The idea behind VELVET REVOLVER remains a powerfully simple one.

“There is no real concept to me,” explains guitarist SLASH. “We set out to make music we enjoy and can feel proud of playing–music that people we like will want to listen to. As soon as you start thinking beyond that–about wanting to keep up with the Joneses or about fitting in with somebody else’s format–that’s when you lose the map. So we’ve just done what we do, and tried to have a cool time doing it.”

“Our music is very aggressive,” says DUFF. “There’s always that `Fuck you’ element to it. Really that’s all we know how to do. We can’t play nice…Slash, Matt and I were always that way in Guns, and Scott and Dave are very like-minded. To me, this is the first dangerous band that’s come around in a while–truly dangerous…We really hope to bring some chaos back into the whole world of rock.”

“This is the real deal,” says MATT. “This is all of us firing on all cylinders.”

DAVE adds, “It seems like it’s a sky’s-the-limit kind of thing, you know. We’re ready to go where this takes us.”

With the recording of CONTRABAND recently completed, VELVET REVOLVER now looks forward to the album’s release and hitting the road hard. “We can’t wait,” says SLASH. “I’m just looking forward to fulfilling a touring thing that I never got to really finish with Guns. That’s what I love, but we never got to do a lot of things for reasons that still don’t make sense to me. I just want to play.”

Stay tuned for tour dates and check out www.velvetrevolver.net for up to date information on the band.

http://www.msopr.com/press-releases/velvet-revolver-set-to-release-debut-album-contraband-may-18-first-single-slither-set-to-hit-radio-march-23/