BW&BK EXCLUSIVE: VELVET REVOLVER Bassist Duff McKagan -

BW&BK EXCLUSIVE: VELVET REVOLVER Bassist Duff McKagan - "It's Not Like The Five Guys In GUNS N' ROSES Have Sat Down And Talked About A Reunion"



BW&BK spoke EXCLUSIVELY to VELVET REVOLVER bassist Duff McKagan (ex-GUNS N' ROSES) and drummer Matt Sorum (ex-Guns N' Roses, THE CULT) yesterday in Toronto while they were in town on one of their North American teaser club tour dates in support of their forthcoming album, Libertad, which will be released on July 3rd.

BW&BK asked if delivering a second Velvet Revolver album has silenced the ongoing Guns N' Roses, Stone Temple Pilots reunion rumors?

"I don't know if we are really out there enough to hear the rumors," McKagan admits. "We're kind of insulated from a lot of stuff. It's only when we do interviews and people ask that it comes up. It's always the first time I hear about it. I think promoters are behind that a lot, starting rumors. It definitely doesn't come from us. It's not like the five guys in GN'R have sat down and talked about a reunion. Not even close. I dunno ... life is going to evolve. There is nothing we can do to stop what's going to happen. I've finally figured that out. Whatever is going to happen is gonna happen. Right now, Velvet Revolver is what feels amazing."

"Being here in the present is a good thing," Sorum adds. It's like we are here and we're doing this shit now. Damn, you could really fuck yourself up thinking about the future too much. I had no idea Velvet Revolver would be a band. There was a time after I left The Cult, I was like 'ok?' This was after I was in Guns N' Roses, then I went back to The Cult. Then that fizzled and then I was like - 'do I have another rock n' roll band in me? I'm unemployed but I want to play some rock n' roll.' When this thing came together, we had never spoke about it. It just happened. And that's just how life works."

As previously reported, Velvet Revolver will release an EP titled Harmony and the Tyranny a month before Libertad.
The EP will contain two tracks from Libertad, as well as the TALKING HEADS cover 'Psycho Killer' and a video documentary about the making of Libertad.

Libertad will be released in two formats: a CD version, which will also include the documentary and a CD/DVD version, which will feature a bonus DVD with a 30-minute documentary about the 2007 South American tour.

The final tracklisting for the CD is:
'Let It Roll',
'She Mine',
'Get Out The Door',
'She Builds Quick Machines',
'The Last Fight',
'American Man',
'Mary Mary',
'Just Sixteen',
'Can’t Get It Out Of My Head' (ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA cover),
'For A Brother',
'Spay',
'Gravedancer',
"Making Of Libertad"
documentary (multimedia section).

Watch for more from BW&BK's chat with Velvet Revolver at BraveWords.com and in an upcoming major feature in BW&BK Magazine.

VELVET REVOLVER Bassist Duff McKagan - "Even When I Was Drinking Two Gallons Of Vodka A Day, Snorting Coke And Taking Pills, We Were Still Focused On The MusicBW&BK spoke to VELVET REVOLVER bassist Duff McKagan (ex-GUNS N' ROSES) and drummer Matt Sorum (ex-Guns N' Roses, THE CULT) recently about a number of topics including the band's newly-released sophomore effort, Libertad. Watch for a major feature in an upcoming issue of BW&BK. In the meantime, here are a few excerpts from the chat:

What keeps the punky attitude in Velvet Revolver? "That's a great question," McKagan says with a smile. "I think our attitude - maybe it's when we grew up, learning to play music, listening to our first records that we bought as early teenagers. There was a very rich trove to draw from. The energy that keeps this band going comes from somewhere. We don't question it. And we don't try to be angry or ferocious or try to do anything. We don't even talk about music. We just do it. We are really crappy about talking about music and that's when we get into trouble, get into fights and stuff. We don't know how to do it. We know how to communicate musically. And that goes back to the two hours on stage. Matt and I have known each other for a long time. Maybe 20 years. We are good friends. But we communicate on a whole different level musically."

"There are a lot of subtleties on this record," Sorum adds. "There were a lot of approaches that weren't brash, in-your-face or punk rock. We know we can do that all day long. Attacking songs like 'The Last Fight' - this is going down a different road. But that's part of being creative and being a musician and pushing yourself. Our producer Brendan (O'Brien) - we all had a lot of respect for him. The album takes you on a journey sonically, musically and otherwise. We even went after a song by ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA called 'Can't Get You Out Of My Head' and at first Slash (guitar) said, 'I don't know man.' But now, when you listen to it - first of all, it was a great song to start with. Then give it the right treatment, play it our own way with no string section, listening to it, I think we did it really good justice."

McKagan interjects: "Even with the more subtle songs, there is that underlying edge."

"I think we are the same guys," Sorum says about the overall vibe in band these days. "Duff has a family. He's not snorting cocaine or drinking bottles of vodka every day, he's down at the gym kicking his ass. It's not what it's about anymore. When we used to fuckin' party every night and play rock n' roll. In our heads, that's what rock n' roll was to us. What we grew up with. And there will always be that part in us. It's not going to go away. There's always going to be that feeling of when were a kid and that first official reason why we got into playing rock n' roll. We wouldn't be doing this if we didn't feel that way. When we get up on stage we mean business. We throw down and it's the real thing. It's not fabricated or any of that shit."

So is this a substance-free record? "We really don't talk too much about drug-free or not," McKagan steps carefully. "We are all individuals and we all do what's best for our survival. We've learned how to survive whether it's drug free or not. Even when I was drinking two gallons of vodka a day, snorting coke and taking pills, we were still focused on the music. We'd focus when we'd record. We'd focus when we'd write. We'd focus for a gig. My personal excesses got in the way at the end. I don't remember whole legs of a tour. I don't remember gigs and that's probably not the best thing for the music. I probably didn't play great during the end. It was a hinderance. I discovered I didn't need my excesses to let my soul out, let the music out. What we do is what we do. Some of us are good and don't do stuff, some of us do and it doesn't really matter. As long as it doesn't get in the way of the music. We've got each other's back and it's all good."

Velvet Revolver begin a North American tour with ALICE IN CHAINS on August 5 in Baltimore, MD. Dates can be found here.

VELVET REVOLVER Bassist DUFF McKAGAN - "We’ve Never Sounded Better As A Band"


The UKs Journal Live recently caught up with VELVET REVOLVER bassist Duff McKagan. The following is an excerpt from the story:

Duff McKagan, best known as a founding member of Guns N' Roses, does not deny he has an addictive personality. Once it was hard drugs. At various times it has been alcohol. But now the all-consuming focus of his fast-paced rock star life is music.

Specifically the music of rock vanguards Velvet Revolver, the vibrant new home of McKagan, fellow Gunners Slash, Matt Sorum and Stone Temple Pilots’ lead singer Scott Weiland.

When I catch up with McKagan, it is only hours since Weiland has checked out of his latest 28-day stint in rehab. The vocalist’s latest battle to get clean led to the cancellation of VR gigs Down Under and there are no assurances the UK leg of the tour will finish as planned. At least not from McKagan.

“Scott is OK as far as I know but I can’t say he’ll be fine when the tour kicks off or when it finishes,” said a man achingly familiar with the problems of an addict. “You just never know. Addiction is crazy and I should know. I can’t be cagey and say, ‘Oh no, we’re going to be fine and everything’s going to go without a hitch’. The truth is I just don’t know what will happen. I don’t want to read this interview where I’ve said there’ll be no problems and then for us not to finish the tour. I don’t want to have to eat my words. All I can say is that right now I’m confident it will happen and we’ve never sounded better as a band.”

Go to this location for the complete story.