Velvet Revolver was another supergroup that I admired but never got to see live (although my brother saw attended two of their concerts). They had a very talented lineup and released a pair of albums that were very well-received. However, the death of lead singer Scott Weiland in 2015 made it virtually impossible for this band to ever reform again.
The group began in 2002, a year after Slash's Snakepit ended for the second time. Slash and his former Guns N' Roses bandmates Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum performed at a benefit concert for the late drummer Randy Castillo that year and later started rehearsing with session guitarist Dave Kushner and Buckcherry frontman Josh Todd. Izzy Stradlin, another Guns N' Roses alumni, briefly joined the new group but left after only 2 weeks.
Todd wasn't a permanent singer for the new group and vocalist auditions were held. The band finally selected Weiland, whose original group Stone Temple Pilots called it quits in 2003. Scott was then available to join the group who would eventually be named Velvet Revolver. Their first studio album, Contraband, was released in June 2004.
"Slither," ""Fall to Pieces" and "Set Me Free" were some of the album tracks that helped the new group gain popularity. They toured around the world for 19 months to support their debut record. Their second disc, Libertad, was issued in July 2007. Velvet Revolver toured off and on for that album as well, sandwiched around rehabs and Weiland's legal issues related to his addiction issues. It was also around that time that tensions within the group started to surface.
Scott left Velvet Revolver in April 2008 and later rejoined STP, where he would stay before being kicked out of that band in 2013. Velvet Revolver looked for new singers for a while but wouldn't record any more new music. They briefly reunited with Weiland for a concert that honored John O'Brien in January 2012. Afterward, Scott expressed interest in returning to Velvet Revolver, but Slash soon denied stories that Weiland had in fact rejoined and that new music and a new tour were in the works with him.
Scott Weiland was found dead in his tour bus on December 3, 2015 of a suspected drug overdose. He was scheduled to perform with his group the Wildabouts in MN the next night. McKagan and Slash would later go on to rejoin Guns N' Roses. Sorum performed on the Hollywood Vampires' first album in 2015 and Kushner continued to perform on soundtracks and working with other artists.
I've heard a few VR songs sung by Myles Kennedy at a few of Slash's solo band's concerts, but it's not the same. Velvet Revolver was fun while they lasted, but I know we probably won't see them again. Maybe the kids of these musicians might revive those songs and their legacies at some point. One can only imagine how those shows would be!
Well, that's all for now. Next week, I'll write about the band Hurt. Until then, have a great weekend, everyone!
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