Velvet Revolver




Hey everybody. This week I'm going to talk about a band that has been out for a couple of years, Velvet Revolver. They have an awesome sound, and if you like Guns N Roses, then this is the band for you. Velvet Revolver was formed when three Guns N' Roses alumni - Slash (guitar), Duff McKagan (bass) and Matt Sorum (drums) - joined together to play a benefit concert for fellow musician Randy Castillo in 2002. They decided to form another band together. When Izzy Stradlin declined an invitation, the band recruited guitarist Dave Kushner who had previously played with Wasted Youth and Dave Navarro.

The then set about recruiting a lead singer with the recruitment process filmed by VH1. Scott Weiland had become friends with McKagan and had played on the same bill as Kushner when Stone Temple Pilots were known as Mighty Joe Young and Kushner was in the Electric Love Hogs. Weiland heard the material and offered his services as the lead singer and the band clicked. Slash suggested the name 'Revolver' for the project and Weiland suggested the addition of 'Black Velvet' to the title. Slash thought this sounded too similar to 'Stone Temple Pilots' so the name was abbreviated to simply 'Velvet Revolver'.

Their first album, Contraband, was released in June 2004 debuting at #1 on the Billboard album charts. As of August 2005, "Contraband" has sold roughly 2.0 million copies in the United States, and the rigorous touring in support of the album has reached global scales. Already, the band has toured both the United States and Europe twice, while also hitting Australia and Japan.

Downloads:

Slither
Falls to Pieces
Loving the Alien
Illegal i Song