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Re: Matt Sorum Interview "We need a singer soon"
"We need a singer soon," Velvet Revolver drummer Matt Sorum told MusicRadar in an exclusive interview. "We need the right guy in six months. We can't wait another year. Otherwise, it might not matter."
Sorum told MusicRadar that the band was recently close to deciding on a singer, whose identity he declined to reveal ("I want to protect him"), but after a few recording sessions, both he and various band members ultimately decided it wasn't the right fit.
"The way I like to put it is, we were 'dating,' says Sorum, chuckling. "We had already tried out Spacehog's Royston Langdon - came close there. Then we tried out a few more people, including this guy from Canada [Gord Prior], but nobody seemed appropriate. Then we found this other dude..."
The slam-dunk that wasn't"There was something missing in the swagger department. He felt like a slam-dunk at first, and then he didn't" Matt Sorum on the unnamed singer Velvet Revolver almost chose
Sorum heaves a sigh, seemingly deflated at what might have been. "This guy felt like he could be the one. So I took him into my studio and recorded his vocals over a bunch of instrumentals we have. Immediately, he blew me away. 'This is the guy!' I told myself. I was on top of the world."
Sorum describes the unnamed singer as being "way more rock 'n' roll than Scott Weiland. The guy almost had a Chris Cornell/Phil Lynott thing going on - he could really bring it, you know?"
After one recording session, Sorum and various Velvet Revolver band members were over the moon. "It seemed like a slam-dunk," says Sorum. But a second session proved disappointing. "The guy gave maybe 70 percent of what he had before. It was very sad. Already it was a case of diminishing returns, and you shouldn't get that so quickly, especially from a guy who really wants the gig."
According to Sorum, "There was something missing in the swagger department. His vocals were great, but the attitude, it wasn't really there, not all the way at least. Plus, I played his recordings for my girlfriend and a couple of friends and I didn't get the reaction I was hoping for. Nobody went 'Holy shit, that's amazing!' That really sent signals to me that something was wrong." "We made a mistake with Scott Weiland. He was never 100 percent live. He was hit-and-miss when it came to performing"
Although Velvet Revolver's 2004 debut album Contraband went platinum, Sorum now says, "We made a mistake with Scott Weiland. Even though he had a cool swagger about him, he was never 100 percent live. He was hit-and-miss when it came to performing, and eventually it became more 'miss' than 'hit.'
When Weiland announced his decision to split the band ("He quit before we could fire him." says Sorum), the remaining Velvet Revolver members figured it wouldn't take long to find a suitable replacement. A year later, they're still looking.
"I'm shocked that we're still without a singer," says Sorum. "But if we're going to do this again, we have to find the guy who blows people away. Otherwise, why bother? We can do other things. I'm not saying we want to do other things - we'd much rather be doing a Velvet Revolver album or tour right now - but if it's not going to be awesome…"
He catches himself, then says, "The truth is, we can't wait another year or two. We need a singer. We don't want to lose momentum with one another, and we don't want to lose the fans.
"Face it: people forget. Contraband did great, Libertad did less well. We have to come back stronger than ever, or else we might be looking around for other bands, and nobody wants that. We're still very committed to Velvet Revolver."
- Smoking Guns
- Rep: 330
Re: Matt Sorum Interview "We need a singer soon"
Should have gotten Bach..... What about Phil Colagne or however you spell it?
- monkeychow
- Rep: 661
Re: Matt Sorum Interview "We need a singer soon"
Yeah...they would be insane with Bach...I think slash said when they auditioned with him originally that they felt it would make them like a Skid Row copy...which i guess is a danger given Baz's voice is so distinctive...but it's a shame cos it would have been killer.
These days it's not even an option as Baz's renewed friendship with Axl would prohibit it.
Interesting Article this one. I know a lot of dudes here don't like Matt, but I'll give him that he's pretty straight forward in these inteviews. I hope they find someone....someone with a cornell type flavour like he says would be awesome.....I think its better to wait than do someone crap...as much as Scott was wrong he did have some talents...so using someone really B list would fuck up the band for good.
But I also feel that in this situation there is a risk of always holding out for someone better. Like a person who stays single forever cos there is always someone hotter. Like you could find faults in amazing people like Axl, and Cornell even...so like I'm worried that if they're auditioning no-body's and they have this power inbalance like they are VR and the singer is no-one, then like even if the next Axl or Chris came along, they might over-focus on the dudes faults and keep waiting. Although i guess its a fine line. Cos no one wants them with a bad singer either. The singer is so important.
- Smoking Guns
- Rep: 330
Re: Matt Sorum Interview "We need a singer soon"
Yeah...they would be insane with Bach...I think slash said when they auditioned with him originally that they felt it would make them like a Skid Row copy...which i guess is a danger given Baz's voice is so distinctive...but it's a shame cos it would have been killer.
These days it's not even an option as Baz's renewed friendship with Axl would prohibit it.
Interesting Article this one. I know a lot of dudes here don't like Matt, but I'll give him that he's pretty straight forward in these inteviews. I hope they find someone....someone with a cornell type flavour like he says would be awesome.....I think its better to wait than do someone crap...as much as Scott was wrong he did have some talents...so using someone really B list would fuck up the band for good.
But I also feel that in this situation there is a risk of always holding out for someone better. Like a person who stays single forever cos there is always someone hotter. Like you could find faults in amazing people like Axl, and Cornell even...so like I'm worried that if they're auditioning no-body's and they have this power inbalance like they are VR and the singer is no-one, then like even if the next Axl or Chris came along, they might over-focus on the dudes faults and keep waiting. Although i guess its a fine line. Cos no one wants them with a bad singer either. The singer is so important.
Damn, sometimes I feel I am always holding out for something better, yikes! That is why I never settle down with the girl I am dating... Great, i am going to die single and lonely.
Re: Matt Sorum Interview "We need a singer soon"
^ That's exactly what I thought Buzz. Matt's got less on the musical front to keep him busy than Slash and Duff so lack of VR action would probably be concerning him a bit. Hence his statement: "We need the right guy in six months. We can't wait another year. Otherwise, it might not matter."
Maybe Matt's starting to get a little worried.
