2008.08.01 - Artisan News - Velvet Revolver In Negotiations With Big Name Vocalist (Matt)

Velvet Revolver, having parted ways with vocalist Scott Weiland, are apparently in negotiations with a big-name lead vocalist as a replacement.

Velvet Revolver released their debut album, Contraband, in 2004 to critical acclaim and a number-one position on the Billboard Top 200 chart, and the album has sold over 4 million albums worldwide. The band's second album, Libertad, debuted at number 5 and was off the charts a few months later having failed to live up to the band's success of their debut.

Then, soon after a much publicized performance in Europe where Scott declared Velvet Revolver dead in the water on stage, the band and Weiland parted ways and fired off a few shots back and forth on the way out.

Now fans are eagerly waiting an announcement on who will be Velvet Revolver's new lead singer and rumors have been swirling that it could be anyone from Sebastian Bach to Chester Bennington to Donovan Leach - to name just a few.

We caught up with drummer Matt Sorum to get an update on where the band is and he revealed they're actually in negotiations right now with a big-name vocalist, although he didn't want to disclose any names:

“Nothing yet. We got a call from a pretty big guy that wants to be our singer. I can't say who that is yet, but talks are happening about it and hopefully we'll see what happens in the next couple of months.”

With so many rumors going around as to who would fill the lead vocalist position, we asked Matt about the possibility of Sebastian Bach joining Velvet Revolver.

“No. No, it's a lot cooler than that. But I don't know if it's going to happen, so I can't say. It's cool that there are people calling us and wanting to get in the band, so that's exciting."

We also asked Matt if the band planned on changing their name with the addition of a new frontman.

“No, we're going to call it Velvet Revolver. We worked really hard getting that name out there. So, with the core band staying the same, I think it's the right thing to do.”

Fans of Chester Bennington won't have to worry about him leaving Linkin Park, as he already removed his name from consideration due to his close relationship with Scott Weiland, who has since reunited with his former band Stone Temple Pilots.

Look for Velvet Revolver to announce Weiland's replacement in the near future.