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Re: Weiland Talks about VR's Drug Use
Weiland: 'I Was Clean And Sober As Velvet Revolver Imploded'
Rocker SCOTT WEILAND has opened up about his final days as a member of supergroup VELVET REVOLVER, insisting his bandmates were hooked on drugs when he was fired in 2008.
The singer was kicked out of the group following a series of public bust-ups, but he insists his departure had nothing to do with the drug problems that have dogged his career.
Weiland admits he was trying to "kick dope" when he joined Slash and Duff MCKagan's band - but he insists he cleaned up his act, unlike his bandmates.
The rocker tells Spin magazine, "I kicked dope and other members relapsed. Slash was using dope, we were making a second record, and his wife told him she would kick him out of the house if he didn't get clean."
Slash refused to comment about Weiland's claims, but recently revealed "chemical issues" led to his bust-up with the rocker.
He said, "Velvet Revolver was intended to be a lot of fun and we started off having a great time, but I think that we all had a lot of chemical issues as that thing wore on.
"I definitely went way down the f**king drain for a minute there after the Contraband record came out and we went on tour for two years.
"I started drinking heavily and revisited my opiate passion, then had to come out of it, so eventually I had to say, 'That's it!' Certainly Scott had his issues, even (bandmates) Duff (MCKagan) and Matt (Sorum) went down the same road. The only one that stayed sober during the whole thing was f**king Dave Kushner."
http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/st … ed_1143826
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Interesting about Slash being on dope before they came out with their second record. Also funny about Dave being the only one to stay sober.
- mickronson
- Rep: 118
Re: Weiland Talks about VR's Drug Use
Seriously, Duff on dope???
I might be bias (self confessed nutswinger) but I dont believe it. But then I also think Weiland is an overrated egotistical drugged up waste of space who has a new album to preach...
Re: Weiland Talks about VR's Drug Use
^ The last 3 paragraphs are Slash's quotes I believe.
Regardless, I wish they'd let this stuff drop. To be brutally honest it all sounds like lame PR hype & always has. I think VR collapsed due to lack of interest. Here's a band of GnR w/STP with falling interest & lukewarm response to the followup album. I think it's glorifying it for them to say it "imploded" and there was all this drugs & infighting & drama. It's like seeing the Behind The Music for bands like Journey or Europe talking about how brutal their breakup was in 1990 or whatever... Really? You guys were still together in 90? I thought you went away in 83.
Re: Weiland Talks about VR's Drug Use
Slash himself admitted getting addicted to prescription painkillers like oxycontin and hydrocodone, and stuff like that, in the VR time period and had to go to rehab. That shit is pretty much synthetic dope.
Duff on dope? Maybe recreationally, but like Scott & Slash's past behavior - not a chance.
As for VR, like Snow said, it died due to lack of interest. It was done, finished, cooked. Contraband did well because of massive interest, and massive promo, but it died fairly quickly. Libertad was DOA... it was over.
All these people sitting back waiting for Myles Kennedy, and VR III... keep dreaming. It's about as likely as Gary Cherone rejoining Van Halen.
- monkeychow
- Rep: 661
Re: Weiland Talks about VR's Drug Use
^ I don't think it's lack of interest at all, in fact, while obviously their target market is GNR/STP fans, I think VR was doing a good job of slowly crossing over to others as well, in the sence that they were getting a decent level of media exposure as a viable entity.
I think the drug use thing is clearly a problem. Bottom line is, when 4/5 of your band are former addicts, it doesn't take much pressure to trigger a temorary relapse, and when someone does, either everyone joins him, or they have to ostracize that person to stay clean. Neither does good things for band chemestry.
Libertad was a rushed album, although it's hated on here, I think around 1/2 the album is still pretty damn good. "Let It Roll", "Just Sixteen" and others are damn good tracks. But overall i think scott pushed it hard in a certain direction, some of it is quite mellow, and I think the single choices didn't help expose the fan base to the more lively songs.
Add into that the band drama, where it's clear from some of the last peformances of the band that scott is either on drugs or at a minimum doing his own thing and not into it, or, say that myspace gig, where they played some great songs, musically it's tight, but the tension in the room between songs amongst the band members seems fucked. Like scott says things a couple of times and no one answers him.
None of these issues would have helped.
Am I waiting for VR3. Yep. I'm digging slash solo for sure, but at the same time, he was born to play with duff. WHENEVER those two lock in it just sounds fucking amazing. Chemestry like that shouldn't be wasted. After seeing Myles Kenedy live, i've gone from unsure about him to a fan, the guy had the goods. The only thing that makes me doubtful is why havn't they already pulled the trigger on it? Does someone in the band not approve of him?
Maybe I am dreaming, but i just feel that these guys could write some more killer tunes together. So yeah, i'm hanging for Velvet Revolver to regroup.
- metallex78
- Rep: 194
Re: Weiland Talks about VR's Drug Use
It's no secret that Slash was back on drugs while working on Libertad, he even says so in his book. And that's why I think there is a lot of uninspired guitar on Libertad too. Slash was too strung out to care at the time.
Whether it's VR3 or something else, I still want to hear Slash, Duff & Matt making music together again.
